Steven Culbertson, President and CEO of Youth Service America (YSA), speaks with infectious enthusiasm about the amazing accomplishments of young people. He believes today�s youth represent one of the greatest generations in American history, and that their legacy of service sets a wonderfully high bar for future generations to follow. Culbertson is such an ardent champion of young people because he has the enviable opportunity to witness youth service in action, and the turning points when young people realize the power they have to effect positive change in the world. Culbertson also believes that the strong ethic of service practiced by this generation of young people can help establish a more viable future for the nonprofit sector. In this issue of dialogue, Culbertson discusses why it is so important�why it is smart business�for the nonprofit sector to support youth volunteering and the service-learning movement.

Youth�Our Best Hope for the Sector�s Future

One of the most encouraging facts about today�s youth is that they are �volunteering more than any other generation in history,� according to Steven Culbertson. In fact, research conducted by Independent Sector shows that volunteering by high school students recently reached its highest level in 50 years. Experts believe that benchmark is due to the growth of school-based service-learning programs. A third of all American schools�including one half of all high schools�currently employ service-learning as part of their curriculum. Although many nonprofit organizations have developed youth volunteer programs over the last few decades, there is still ample room for further growth and development within the sector for both youth service and service-learning initiatives. YSA and other youth service or service-learning groups can provide a wealth of resource information, toolkits, public education and advocacy services to stimulate the development of these initiatives by nonprofits, and to support collaborations with school-based service-learning efforts. (See Resources.)

The New Servant Leaders

Learning how to make a difference through service �creates a much richer and deeper tapestry of people who are engaged in the community,� says Culbertson. Youth service is about the business of developing the next generation of servant leaders�who will soon be the people in charge of our nonprofit, business and government institutions.

Unfortunately, there are precious few opportunities aside from youth service for young people to hone their citizenship and servant leadership skills. Culbertson says that �young people are really the last great minority to be invited to the decision-making table in America.� Volunteering and service-learning experiences, however, often result in young people creating their own decision-making table, or being invited to the adult table by virtue of the exemplary service they provide in their communities. Culbertson fears, however, that the greatest hurdle to supporting and further expanding youth volunteering over the next decade is not a slow economy, or inadequate infrastructure within organizations, but the generally disapproving perception of adults about youth.

Public Education 101

Culbertson says research indicates that over 71% of adults generally have a negative impression of youth. The facts, however, contradict many common misperceptions adults may have about today�s youth. Culbertson reports that more kids are graduating from high school than ever before, making this the smartest and most technically literate generation we have ever had. He also says that youth violence rates are dropping twice as fast as adult violence rates, and that this generation of kids is also one of the most tolerant, open-minded and inclusive in our nation�s history. The tragedies and failures of a small group of kids are given far too much media attention, according to Culbertson, when compared to the facts and accomplishments a much larger group of kids are actually achieving.

Culbertson believes another misperception adults have about young people is that adults tend to underestimate the capacity of young people to deliver meaningful and effective service. Of course, not all volunteer jobs are suitable for certain age groups, but Culbertson can cite moving examples of innovative, in-depth service initiatives that were conceived of and executed by kids of all ages. As far as Culbertson and his staff at YSA are concerned, preschool is not too early to begin cultivating an ethic of service in the next generation. "You don't teach an 18-year-old manners, or how to read," says Culbertson. "You have to start young."

Youth Service versus Serving Youth

Youth service does, however, require adequate resources, support and effective management, just as any other type of nonprofit volunteer initiative does. The most essential form of support an organization should provide is a volunteer resources manager, or someone who is specifically assigned to manage youth volunteer resources. Whenever young people are involved in service at a nonprofit organization, parental and/or school support, if available or feasible, is also highly desired. The volunteer manager at the nonprofit would also be the point person responsible for communication and coordination with parents and school personnel to ensure the success of the youth service initiative.

After making a commitment to youth service, one of the first steps nonprofit leaders and volunteer resources managers should take is to explore whether there are any barriers to youth engagement in their organizations. Making changes to eliminate barriers to volunteering, securing adequate liability coverage, and providing effective management and supervision represent the costs of doing business for any nonprofit that incorporates volunteers.

Having a youth volunteer program and effectively serving the needs of youth volunteers is a matter of organizational choice. If the changes that should be made to run an effective program are too much of a strain for a nonprofit, not launching a youth volunteer program at that particular time would be preferable to launching an ineffective one. The good news is that there are a host of strategies and options available to address the organizational challenges some nonprofits may encounter in developing a youth service initiative.

Challenges and Opportunities

Time�The sector already has a precedent for working around the time constraints of a highly valued volunteer market: corporate volunteers. Kids may have times they can serve in school, after school, during in-service days and other school holidays, and during summer vacation. Service might be performed individually, in small groups, or larger teams. Service opportunities could also be designed for on-site, off-site, or online delivery. Structuring meaningful, appealing opportunities to attract volunteers in today�s marketplace requires nonprofit leaders and volunteer management professionals to think as far outside the box as possible.

Tasks�Directly involving and giving young people a voice in the volunteer job design process is a strategy that has worked for many nonprofits that are launching or expanding a youth volunteer program. Developing age-appropriate tasks is critical, and certainly organizations such as YSA, as well as educators, parents and other youth-serving organizations can be helpful in guiding the job design process.

Administration�Preparing an organization to receive volunteers is a fundamental element of an effective volunteer resources program. Staff training may be necessary, along with implementing or reviewing organizational procedures that would ensure young people a safe and positive volunteer experience. Every volunteer�regardless of his or her age�deserves effective management. That means each volunteer should have the opportunity to provide meaningful service, to have their gift of time valued, and for their volunteer service to be delivered in a safe and appropriate environment. �You wouldn�t put an adult volunteer in harm�s way�and you wouldn�t put a kid in harm�s way,� says Culbertson. For nonprofits, this is a bottom line, business issue. In fact, Culbertson advocates three smart business practices for the nonprofits with an eye on the future to consider.

Smart Business Practices

Invest in the Sector�s Future: Support Youth Service
�You�re investing in the future of your agency when you invest in young people,� and in youth service, says Culbertson. Youth service is a smart business practice for the sector because it teaches young people why volunteering and philanthropy are important. After all, philanthropic adults don�t just spring forth at age 18, according to Culbertson. To make the commitment to invest in youth service, nonprofits must first see youth as an important volunteer population to cultivate.

Research from a November 2002 report by Independent Sector and Youth Service America titled, Engaging Youth in Lifelong Service indicated that adults who engage in volunteering in their childhood give more money and volunteer more time than adults who began their philanthropy later in life. Research also consistently shows that adults who volunteered as youth are twice as likely to volunteer as those who did not get involved in youth service. If nonprofits �really want to have adult volunteers ten years from now, they are going to come out of a pool of people who volunteered when they were young,� says Culbertson. He goes on to say that �youth service is really the critical pipeline� to both a healthy adult volunteering market and a healthy adult donor market. Youth service represents one of the most long-range, cost effective investments a nonprofit can make.

Diversify To Expand the Volunteer Marketplace
Youth service and service-learning can also provide another important benefit for the sector: diversifying the volunteer pool. Despite research that indicates children of color say �yes� to volunteering at exactly the same rates when asked as white children do, Culbertson says that these children, as well as children from low-income households generally are not participating in volunteer programs for one reason. No one is asking them. It is, however, a scenario that can, and should be remedied. Recruiting children of color and youth from low-income households as volunteers is tantamount to issuing a whole life insurance policy for the sector. Volunteers and the sector are the beneficiaries, by having a more diverse and representative pool of volunteers who are also more likely to continue volunteering throughout adulthood. Culbertson advises nonprofit staff to find ways to engage children of color as volunteers and to encourage children who are being served in various programs to provide service to others. Inviting the consumers of service to become service providers through volunteering may not be our first response within the sector, but it should, at least, be on the menu of options if it is at all feasible, according to Culbertson.

Incorporate Service-Learning Principles in Volunteer
Resources Management
In a nonprofit setting, service-learning is an experiential process that links specific volunteer tasks to the larger objectives of the organization and the responsibilities of citizenship that volunteers provide with their gift of time. In a school-based setting, service-learning combines service objectives with specific learning objectives. While service-learning is most commonly associated with youth, it is not restricted to youth, or to education-based settings only. Culbertson believes service-learning needs to �stretch out beyond the walls of schools and into every community of faith and every nonprofit in America.�

The hallmarks of service-learning are explicit communication and knowledge exchange with the volunteers about their individual or team assignment, combined with a structured self-reflection process. Self-reflection helps volunteers more easily absorb the learning and self-discovery acquired by volunteering. Another distinction of service-learning is that both the volunteer and the beneficiary of the service are changed for the better by the end of the process. Service-learning is intended to be a transformative process. Culbertson believes every volunteer deserves to know how their contribution of time helps meet organizational objectives. According to Culbertson, service-learning produces a more sophisticated level of volunteering and service advocacy that fosters volunteers to ask, �what�s next?� Incorporating service-learning principles into volunteer resources programs should enrich the volunteer experience, producing volunteers who are capable of providing high impact service.

Everybody Can Serve

Culbertson embraces Martin Luther King�s conviction that everybody can be great because everybody can serve. He wants this generation of youth to experience greatness through the transformative power of service. Culbertson knows that being asked to serve is one of the most empowering requests a person may receive, because the request acknowledges that an individual has something of great value to offer. All we have to do is ask, and make a place for the transformation Culbertson is convinced is sure to follow.