Journal of Public Affairs Education

Transformational Service and Action Learning
in order to build mutual assets. Unless an organization can demonstrate how it
works in concert with other agencies to remedy community needs, it will never
be able to sustain itself because foundations, corporate giving programs, and
government monies all require collaboration. Therefore, the use of the FRO
continues to foster the service learning of students, but it also upholds a legacy
of civic engagement and continues the promotion of social change for students,
organizations, and their communities.
Conclusions
As mentioned in the introduction, concern about the administration of
financial systems governing public service organizations is growing. Coinciding
with this concern is a realization that the administrators of such systems “cannot
simply observe the world, but instead continually interact with and influence it”
(King & Zanetti, 2005, pp. x–xi). Consequently, this article is relevant to the
professional development, teaching, and scholarship of practitioners and academics
who (a) seek to combine the knowledge of expertise with the wisdom of common
sense and/or (b) focus on the fiscal challenges of public service in the 21st century.
Underlying the FRO is the pivotal role of communication in promoting the
teaching of social responsibility and civic engagement. Vigoda (2003) suggests
that the main challenge in the coming years is “a new vitalized administrative
generation that is interdisciplinary in nature and tightly bounded together with
modern participatory democracy” (p. 18). The translation of the goals and
aspirations of public service organizations into economic realities serves as
an untapped reservoir in promoting an educational framework that signals the
financial collaboration between government, private industry, and nonprofits to
speak on behalf of programs and missions that might otherwise be lost.
References
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance. (2003). Standards for charity accountability. Retrieved
from http://www.bbb.org/us/Charity-Standards/
Council on Michigan Foundations. (2004). Common grant application form. Retrieved from http://
www.michiganfoundations.org/s_cmf/bin.asp?CID=2528&DID=10304&DOC=FILE.DOC
Eisenberg, E. M., & Goodall, H. L., Jr. (1993), Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and
constraint. New York: St. Martin’s.
Foundation Directory. (2010). Grantmakers. Retrieved from http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/
fundingsources/fdo.html
GuideStar. (2010). What is the form 990? Retrieved from http://www2.guidestar.org/rxg/help/faqs/
form-990/index.aspx#faq1942
Journal of Public Affairs Education 37