At the heart of the merger between Points of Light and Hands On Network is the belief that through our combined strength and resources, we are better together. Our collective network is now the largest in the nation—with 370 civic hubs that manage millions of volunteers and organize over 50,000 volunteer-driven, community impact projects annually.

Our Vision: That one day every person will discover their power to make a difference, creating healthy communities in vibrant democracies around the world.

Our Mission : To inspire, equip and mobilize people to take action that changes the world.

FOUR ORGANIZATIONAL IMPERATIVES
Our organizational capacity for transformative change expands exponentially when the community of volunteers grows and the infrastructure grows along with it. To that end, we have embraced four operational imperatives that will guide our strategic decision-making over the next three years.

1. Ensuring a Volunteer and Citizen-Centered Focus . We believe that our core lever for change is the volunteer and the engaged citizen. This means that our work must focus on creating extraordinary, hands on experiences that transform individuals and communities. We will shift to a more direct-to-volunteer approach in our program design and leverage the power of volunteer leaders as capacity builders in volunteer and citizen engagement.
   
   
2. Unifying the Network through the “ Power of We.” While national and local organizations have different roles, our imperative is to act and organize as a unified force. “We,” is now a reference to the national organization as well as our affiliates. Through and with a unified network, we will create needed action, innovation and impact in communities, empowering people to be the center of community change.
   
   
3. Driving Demonstrable Impact. In order to leverage the power of volunteerism, we must create higher accountability for impact by better measuring and communicating the resulting changes in individuals, institutions and communities. To demonstrate this impact, we will orient our programs around key issue areas that are important to communities and create campaigns for scaled national impact.
   
   
4. Creating A Sustainable Economic Model. We must develop a sustainable business model that allows us to be responsive to the changing needs of individuals and communities. By developing diversified revenue streams, mission-centered social enterprises and strategic partnerships with key corporations, foundations and civic entrepreneurs, we will create long-term financial investment in our programs and mission. Simultaneously, we will continue to seek competitive federal dollars for national programs, local infrastructure and affiliate capacity, but will decrease our dependency on federal appropriation.

TWO LINKED STRATEGIES
Based on these imperatives, we have established two mutually reinforcing strategies to ensure that our mission takes anchor in national and global communities. The strategies will enable us to increase and inspire participation, drive change, collective action and demonstrable, measurable impact. They also form the basis of a sustainable economic model, executed through our network and with other organizations that share our mission.

1. Create a Network for Civic Action. We will cultivate a dynamic network of linked community action hubs , corporate partners , nonprofit and faith-based partners , and volunteer leaders to create meaningful community change. Through this networked experience of civic action, we can replicate successful volunteer experiences across the nation, multiplying the impact of human ingenuity throughout our communities and increasing the return on investment of our partners.
   
   
2. Build a Movement to Redefine Citizenship for the 21st Century. Movement building is a key strategic thrust: it fuels the Network by scaling resources, building support and catalyzing action. So, we will build a change movement—achieving scale and impact by inspiring a culture of service and offering practical tools , new ideas and innovation to the civic space. We will establish a fresh and relevant communications platform that brings forward the thought leadership and policy direction needed to sustain a social change movement; and we will tell the shared story of service and citizen-centered change.

OUR IMPACT GOALS

1. Greater Impact for Our Communities . We will connect and mobilize millions of people in service through a strengthened civic infrastructure, technology innovation and a committed focus on issues that are most important to communities.
   
   
2. More People Engaged in Volunteerism. We plan to create strong, community action hubs within reach of every person through increased network infrastructure and technology solutions. We will establish a 100-member Corporate Service Council to lead and plan for long-term volunteer engagement of corporations; and engage leading, faith and nonprofit partners and skills-based volunteers in our work.
   
   
3. Stronger Programs across Our Network. Over the next three years, we plan to complete one million community-driven impact projects per year and drive real, measurable transformation in at least 1000 schools.

CAMPAIGNS FOR ACTION

1. A series of issue-oriented campaigns will highlight community impact area needs, most notably our need to:
   • Restore schools as centers of community revitalization
   • Conserve and preserve the earth
   • Drive community development and poverty alleviation

Through these campaigns and our national volunteer recruitment efforts we will engage a broad-based population of volunteers. We will specifically create platforms that harness the interests, availability and experience of the countries 77 million Baby Boomers, mobilizes and engages families and youth, and draws upon the special expertise of skilled and pro bono volunteers.

2. A series of signature events will also showcase the impact of hands on community participation and harvest new and inspirational stories to fuel the social change movement:
   • MLK Day as an initiative for social justice
   • National Volunteer Week as a time renew or commit to action
   • National Conference on Volunteerism and Service as a platform for innovation, thought leadership and civic entrepreneurialism
   • Corporate Month of Service, Make A Difference Day & National Family Volunteer Day as opportunities to involve specific populations and inspire peers or affinity groups to join them community action.