Image featured above: Crew members of the San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps planting a tree in a local park.
A Proven Plan for Transformation
We have reimagined the federal Civilian Conservation Corps as a locally governed, public-private, national social franchise. Our plan and success does not require any additional federal line-item nor will there be any need for additional federal employees.
Our mission is to dramatically accelerate the expansion of new and established local conservation corps across the country while retaining a national brand, creating significant public cost-savings, and assuring the highest quality outcomes for countless communities.
“Conservation corps” are individual development organizations made up of small diverse teams of members, 16 to 30 years of age, who perform fee-for-service work projects for their communities under highly trained leaders. Members gain skills ranging from job training and readiness, to literacy, to leadership, to an appreciation of civil values: Personal Responsibility, Self-Reliance, Education, Service and Conservation
This historically successful model, effective in both rural and urban areas, dates back to the 1930’s when Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as part of the New Deal Plan. The CCC would go on to be one of the most successful and impactful federal programs our country has ever witnessed. Our goal is to have the same level of impact nationally.
The impacts we envision will be to…
Enroll a million-young people annually
Instill & strengthen values needed for a civil society
Employ thousands of Veterans in civil service leadership roles
Mobilize on an unprecedented scale in times of disasters
Complete critical public and natural infrastructure work
Ambitious New Thinking
The framework of CCCUSA is based on a social franchise model, a combination of a nonprofit mission with best private sector practices.
Our entrepreneurial design is fiscally efficient, ensures high standards will be met, and benefits from the fact that new local corps franchises will be locally “governed” and led.
CCCUSA will train and support leaders/entrepreneurs (Executive Directors) in building their own local corps enterprise. Executive Directors will be trained in all levels of leadership, master the CCCUSA operating model, and receive initial startup assistance, in addition to on-going support from CCCUSA, the national resource center.
Executive Directors will be seen as “owners”, which is intentional as our hope is to instill a sense of drive, passion, and responsibility that comes from being an owner. The overarching goal is for these new corps organizations to prosper for the long-term.
This model has not been used before in the corps industry. However, it has proven successful for non-profit organizations such as the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club, and the Special Olympics. It will create maximum impact, allow the program to scale nationally, create efficiencies, and assure uniform quality leadership and training, whether it is a two-crew program in a small town or a multi-state effort.
Our goal is to build a national brand that is consistent, transparent, inclusive, adaptable, and efficient, that earns the respect of local citizens to every level and member of the government. CCCUSA will be an employer that is valued by young people and a community partner that is embraced by the public.
Our plan is designed to enroll and employ thousands, and eventually millions of young people from every gender, race, economic background, and political stripe to work hard, side by side, to leave behind a tangible body of important community work — though it will be the values they acquire that will be long-lasting.
The Time is Now
The current administration has implemented a hiring freeze for new federal employees and is implementing major budget cuts to federal agency management. However, there remains an enormous amount of annual work let alone the billions in backlogged priorities.
Both parties and the President have strongly indicated the need for improvements to our nation’s infrastructure, and the President has made private-sector job creation, particularly for urban populations, a cornerstone of his agenda. It is the perfect time to launch this national initiative, as federal, state, and local governments will need cost-effective solutions to meet the public demand for services.
Our plan is to launch local corps programs as quickly as possible to take advantage of this great opportunity. By acting quickly, we will build a unique national corps organization that will stand the test of time, change lives, represent and instill civil values, strengthen our communities, and develops leaders at every level of society for generations to come.