Building Capacity to Alleviate Poverty Through National Service: An Evaluation Plan Guided by Community Partner Perspectives

This article explores how a national service program, the Mid-South VISTA Project (MSVP), has impacted community partner organizations through capacity-building activities. Housed at Mid-South University (MSU, a pseudonym), MSVP extends the community-engaged activities of campus units while building capacity at partner organizations. The project takes into account dimensions of nonprofit capacity building and how to navigate the community–campus partnership process in the context of the AmeriCorps VISTA program. The data presented in this article are part of a larger case study focusing on the impact of MSU’s community engagement center programs on community partner organizations. Findings from interviews with 15 VISTA supervisors guided the development of an evaluation plan that uses logic model domains to center mission alignment and reciprocity as outcomes of the partnership process.