Social media tools can be very powerful. A direct example of that power is documented in the story below, courtesy of John Taylor, AmeriCorps Program Director for the Michigan Primary Care Association.

Written by: John Taylor    

"Congratulations! You've Been Selected ..."   

This fall the Michigan Community Service Commission, in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service, will host their first-ever Symposium - a two-day event geared towards bringing together national service programs who are working to increase educational outcomes for Michigan's youth.

What: The Symposium: National Service as a Strategy for School Success

When: October 5 and 6

Where: Thompsonville, Michigan at Crystal Mountain

Please save the date to participate in this unique opportunity.

In teams of no less than two and no more than five, Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve programs will learn the latest research on what works in educational delivery support programs. Teams will be given targeted time to examine how these strategies could improve their programming and to integrate them into their 2011-2012 program plans and beyond. Using a proven visioning model, coupled with access to program experts, this Symposium is sure to provide the tools needed to identify approaches that will result in positive impacts.

The 2011 Symposium will feature Nikki Martin, Project Director of the Volunteer Leadership Center at Education Northwest. The Volunteer Leadership Center works to build the capacity of national and regional volunteer programs, including AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve. They train new national service volunteers and share best practices with program directors and supervisors so they can better meet critical community needs. Education Northwest works to transform teaching and learning by providing resources that help schools, districts, and communities across the country find comprehensive, research-based solutions to the challenges they face.

Additional details and registration information will be available soon! Stay tuned to your email, or visit www.michigan.gov/mcsc, for more information.

The Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC) is committed to encouraging all Michigan residents to engage in service. Our vision is a state where all residents meet community needs and find personal fulfillment through service and volunteerism.

The second annual Disability/Inclusion Week will be celebrated by the MCSC to help empower national service programs and volunteer organizations to make service a part of the lives of individuals with disabilities. Mark your calendars to participate October 17 through October 21! This week-long effort will raise awareness about disability and inclusion while engaging programs and organizations in the various efforts of the MCSC and connecting them with valuable tools and resources to help serve and connect with those with disabilities.

Of Michigan's 10 million residents, about 1.9 million have a disability. That's one in every five residents - and an immense population to tap. We encourage members of the volunteer, national service, and mentoring communities to join us the week of October 17 in the following ways:  

• E-newsletters
  Check out the MCSC, Mentor Michigan, Cross-Stream, and IN Touch e-newsletters for various tidbits on the 2011 Disability/Inclusion Awareness Week. Find archived editions here! (link)
• Emails
  Watch your email inbox for emails from the MCSC, Mentor Michigan, Michigan's AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve, Senior Corps, and others ways you can get involved in the 2011 Disability/Inclusion Awareness Week. Not on our listservs? Sign up! (link)
• Blogs
  Check out the Michigan's AmeriCorps LeaderCorps (link) and Learn and Serve - Michigan Resources (link) blogs for perspectives from the disability/inclusion community.
• Facebook
  Join us online, during the week of October 17, as we connect you with various disability/inclusion resources, links, and great stories. (FB links)
  • Michigan Community Service Commission
  • Learn and Serve - Michigan
  • Mentor Michigan
  • Michigan's AmeriCorps
• Twitter
  Follow us on Twitter as we share with you various disability/inclusion resources, links, and thoughts. Check out our hashtag: #Inclusion. (Twitter links)
  • @MCSConline
  • @learnandservemi
  • @MentorMI
  • @miamericorps
• YouTube  Check out the MCSC YouTube channel (link) to view disability/inclusion-related videos.  

SEED Grants from Do Something.org

Are you working to start a community action project or program? Do you need money to put your ideas into action? If you answered, "YES", you are eligible to apply for a Do Something Seed Grant. Do Something gives out a $500 Do Something Seed Grant every week to help young people just like YOU!

These grants can be used towards project ideas and programs that are just getting started, or to jump-start your program and realize your ideas for the first time. For more information, visit http://www.dosomething.org/grants/seedgrants.

Wal-Mart Community Grant/Good Works

The Community Grant Program is the largest program funded by the Wal-Mart and Sam's Club Foundation and includes both matching and direct grants. The Matching Grant program allows local nonprofit organizations to hold fundraisers outside their local Wal-Mart or Sam's Club. Wal-Mart and Sam's can elect to match a portion of the funds raised up to $1,000. Events held off the premises of a Wal-Mart store or Sam's Club are also eligible for funding when a store associate is actively involved in the event. Additionally, once the Wal-Mart or Sam's Club has met certain criteria in the Matching Grant Program each year, a second source of funding, direct grants, is awarded to the store/club to use in the community. These funds do not require a fundraiser to be held; instead the funds can be awarded directly to a deserving organization.

More than 80,000 grants, totaling $61 million, were awarded through the Community Grant Program last year. Additional funds were also raised by participating community organizations who received matching funds.

Organizations that may qualify to receive funding through the Matching Grant Program are 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations or organizations that are exempt from needing 501(c)(3) status, such as public schools, faith-based institutions such as churches (must be conducting a project that benefits the community at large), and government agencies.

For more information, visit http://walmartstores.com/CommunityGiving/203.aspx.

Google Grants

Google Grants is a part of the Google for Nonprofits program. As a qualified Google for Nonprofits organization, you will gain access to a variety of different product offerings such as Google Grants.

The Google Grants program empowers over 6,000 organizations to achieve their goals by helping them promote their websites via advertising on Google. Google ads appear when users search on Google. For example when you search for "world poverty" on Google, text ads related to world poverty appear on the right hand side. When you click on one of the ads, you are brought to the website being advertised.

Organizations that receive a Google Grant are awarded an in-kind online advertising account which can be used it in a variety of ways, including general outreach, fundraising activities, and recruitment of volunteers. Google Grants participants have found much success with the program. For example, the US Fund for UNICEF's e-commerce site, Shop UNICEF, experienced a 43 percent increase in sales over the previous year, while CoachArt - supporting children with life-threatening illnesses through art and athletics programs - has seen a 60 to 70 percent increase in volunteers.

For more information, visit http://www.google.com/grants/details.html.