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ASU Lodestar Center receives Bank of America grant to support new pathways for Public Allies' emerging leaders
June 28, 2022 (Phoenix, Ariz.) – Arizona State University’s Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation has received a grant award from Bank of America to support educational and professional pathways for members and alumni of its Public Allies Arizona program. This funding will support the Public Allies Arizona National Service and Workforce Development initiative, which taps into the unrealized power and potential of these diverse, emerging leaders, many of whom come from disadvantaged or overlooked communities. The ASU Lodestar Center and Bank of America have worked together on this initiative since 2021.
The award is part of Bank of America's latest $1.5 million local investment in 41 organizations that are creating economic mobility for individuals and their families across the Phoenix metropolitan area. Through direct action and investment, including its $1.25 billion, five-year national commitment, Bank of America is focused on creating economic opportunity and advancing racial equality in the areas of health, jobs, small business support and affordable housing, as these are areas where systemic, long-term gaps have existed.
Public Allies Arizona is a program of the ASU Lodestar Center, supported by AmeriCorps, that develops emerging leaders from diverse backgrounds, places them for 10 months at a nonprofit or public organization, and prepares them for lives and careers devoted to social change.
The $50,000 Bank of America grant will allow dozens of Allies to receive enhanced professional development education with courses at the ASU Lodestar Center’s Nonprofit Management Institute (NMI). NMI is a premier provider of certificate programs and training for members of the nonprofit and philanthropic community, taught by ASU faculty and knowledge specialists on topics from nonprofit leadership to fundraising.
“The continued partnership we enjoy with Bank of America is testimony to the power of aligning mutual goals for the public good,” said Dr. Robert Ashcraft, executive director of ASU’s Lodestar Center and Saguaro Professor of Civic Enterprise. "Bank of America is clearly putting into practice its commitment to assuring a prepared and vibrant workforce through our partnership, and it is encouraging to realize how community well-being is improved as a result,” Ashcraft added.
The Public Allies Arizona curriculum gives members a solid foundation to advance to their pathway objective — be it education, career or a second term of service — but gaps in their preparedness sometimes remain. Thanks to the support of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, the Public Allies Arizona National Service and Workforce Development initiative and its NMI training will launch Allies into new careers as change-makers or into higher education to further their knowledge and skills. This proven program model transforms the lives of participants to become educated, engaged and productive citizens. It not only creates more access to higher education and workforce development, but also changes communities by developing the leadership skills of young people committed to making a difference.
Yolotzi Lopez Ortega, a second-year Public Ally who participated in the Public Allies Arizona National Service and Workforce Development initiative earlier this year, said, "I was really grateful to take so many courses from the Nonprofit Management Institute. I learned many valuable nonprofit skills, such as how to help my organization move through change and how to showcase the valuable work we do. These courses complemented and extended the learning I received through the Public Allies curriculum."
The ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation is a global leader in advancing understanding and effective philanthropic and nonprofit practice as a distinctive community development strategy. Through research, education, technical assistance and convenings, the Center focuses on advancing nonprofit leaders and philanthropists to solve problems, to realize a community's highest aspirations and to accelerate social impact.
The Center launched Public Allies Arizona in 2006 in Phoenix communities and now serves both Maricopa and Pima counties. More than 400 Allies have completed the 10-month program, serving at more than 100 different nonprofit and public organizations. Since 1993, the ASU Lodestar Center's Nonprofit Management Institute (NMI) has taught nonprofit professionals the most up-to-date trends affecting the sector today; how to lead and manage staff, volunteers and board members more effectively; and how to make strategic planning, marketing, fundraising and resource development work more impactful.