Community Engagement Specialist (AmeriCorps VISTA member)

This job strengthens Butler University’s capacity to expand equitable, high-impact community engagement in Indianapolis. The VISTA member will build and systematize Butler’s GivePulse platform to improve student access to service, enhance nonprofit partner coordination, and strengthen impact assessment. The VISTA will also recruit and prepare students, collaborate with campus partners, engage and present to community organizations, facilitate service-learning opportunities, and contribute storytelling that increases awareness of Butler’s community impact while supporting organizations serving a variety of local populations.

Build Foundational Infrastructure for GivePulse Implementation

• Map and document all existing community engagement processes across Butler
• colleges and offices to identify gaps, duplications, and partner pain points.
• Develop standardized workflows for GivePulse group creation, event posting,
• partner onboarding, student registration, and data collection.
• Create an internal implementation plan outlining platform features, required
• integrations, user permissions, and communication pathways.
• Produce a comprehensive GivePulse Operations Manual for long-term
• institutional use.
• Establish success metrics and data standards (e.g., hours logged, partner
• categories, impact indicators) to ensure consistent impact reporting.

Strengthen Community Partner Capacity and Access to Volunteers

• Design and implement a partner onboarding pathway that includes step-by-step instructions, training modules, FAQs, and support structures.
• Develop communication materials (partner newsletters, one-pagers, tutorials) that help local nonprofits effectively post opportunities and manage volunteers in GivePulse.
• Conduct structured listening sessions with community organizations to surface barriers faced by groups serving low-income or marginalized residents.
• Create a partner resource hub within GivePulse that consolidates tools for volunteer recruitment, impact tracking, and student engagement.
• Pilot an improved partner experience, capturing feedback and refining systems to reduce administrative burden.

Expand Student Access to High-Impact and Poverty-Alleviating Engagement Opportunities

• Develop student-facing guidance—videos, quick-start guides, website language, and messaging templates—to increase awareness and reduce navigation barriers.
• Create a curated pathway system in GivePulse that highlights opportunities connected to food insecurity, housing stability, educational access, and other poverty-related issues.
• Coordinate with First Year Experience, Academic Community Engagement, and student organizations to integrate GivePulse into courses, events, and co-curricular programs.
• Design systems for equitable access, ensuring students from all modalities and backgrounds can engage in consistent and supported ways.
• Analyze early participation trends, making recommendations to increase student involvement in community-serving experiences

Develop Sustainable Assessment and Reporting Systems

• Build dashboards and reporting templates that enable academic units, partner organizations, and university leadership to track community impact.
• Establish an annual reporting cycle documenting student participation, partner needs, and aggregate service outcomes related to poverty alleviation.
• Train campus stakeholders (faculty, staff, student leaders) to use GivePulse data for decision-making, grant applications, and program improvement.
• Create a long-term sustainability plan that outlines staffing, training, evaluation, and maintenance needed beyond the VISTA term.
• Deliver a final impact assessment summarizing project accomplishments, key insights, and recommendations for ongoing capacity-building.