Fall 2010 - National Peace Corps Association

Atlas Service CorpsAtlas Service Corps members from 17 different countries.are Atlas Corps—the organization thatsome people describe as “a reverse PeaceCorps” because the vast majority of theparticipants are nonprofit professionalsfrom the developing world who volunteerin the United States.In 2010, Atlas Corps welcomes ourfifth class of Fellows, skilled nonprofitprofessionals from around the world whovolunteer overseas for 12-18 months.Atlas Corps addresses critical social issuesby developing leaders, strengtheningorganizations, and building internationalnetworks of nonprofit professionals. Ourvision is to create a world where everyonecan serve and the developing world is seenas a partner in development as opposed toa recipient of aide. Our host organizationsinclude Ashoka, the Grameen Foundation,Oxfam, the International Centre forMissing and Exploited Children,Population Action International, andWorld Resources Institute. This year, eventhe U.S. Peace Corps will receive AtlasCorps Fellows from Mexico and Uganda.Host organizations pay a cost share thatcovers about two-thirds of programexpenses (still far below the averageexpense for such high caliber candidates)and Atlas Corps maintains a sustainableoperational model.While many components of the AtlasCorps model are new (a two-way flowof skilled nonprofit professionals), ourinspiration finds its roots in the originsof the Peace Corps. During the firstyears of the Peace Corps, volunteersfrom Africa, South Asia, and LatinAmerica also volunteered in the U.S.until Congress cut funding for theprogram. Sargent Shriver and HarrisWofford advocated for a two-way PeaceCorps and thought that volunteerscoming to the U.S. could also advancethe three goals of the Peace Corpsthrough their presence on home soil.However, since the 1960s, there arefew examples of a two-way or reversePeace Corps approach. Enter AtlasCorps in 2006. Our first Fellows arrivedin Washington, D.C., in 2007. Thetypical Atlas Corps Fellow possesses 3-10years of nonprofit experience, a collegedegree, and is fluent in English. It is acompetitive fellowship with about 100applications for every one position. Theyvolunteer full time at U.S. organizationsand participate in monthly managementdevelopment trainings. After 12 months,some Fellows extend for an additionalsix months, though all Fellows return totheir countries after 18 months. In fouryears, the program boasts 50 participantsfrom 17 different countries (Armenia,Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador,Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico,Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines,Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, the UnitedStates, and Zimbabwe). In 2009, theBrookings Institution called AtlasCorps a “best practice” in internationalexchange.48 WorldView Fall 2010 National Peace Corps Association