How Coalitions Are Strengthening AmeriCorps VISTA’s Mission in Philadelphia

An Example from Philly Fellows and the Center for Literacy

Abstract

Philadelphia is a vibrant, thriving city that has many top- tier universities producing strong, capable graduates who have the ability to contribute to the large and booming nonprofit sector. Though Philadelphia is blessed with an advantageous pool of talent, the nonprofit sector has not been able to steadily attract substantial numbers of recent graduates, with most leaving the city for jobs in New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and other major cities, creating a “brain drain”. Tim Ifill saw this and tried to find a way to link recent graduates to the Philadelphia nonprofit sector in the hopes of getting them to stay. This is how he came to create the Philly Fellows Program. Philly Fellows offers year-long fellowships that connect college graduates with dynamic Philadelphia-based nonprofit organizations. The program allows these students to build leadership and professional skills while at the same time engaging them in the city’s vibrant communities. Major sponsorship of this program comes from the Corporation for National and Community Services’ AmeriCorps VISTA program.