Become a VISTA Host Site
Does your organization need a capacity builder to help expand your services to help more Montanans?
VISTA projects bring motivated, hard-working individuals to serve in your community for one year. VISTAs have wide-reaching impacts on a variety of initiatives. They can expand community programs, develop internal systems, fundraise, write grants, develop volunteer teams, form coalitions and partnerships with sister organizations, and conduct community assessments. VISTAs build capacity for an organization, but their overall project must tackle a community need, not purely an organizational need.
In order to host a VISTA, you must be a non-profit, tribal government or tribal organization, government agency, school district, or religious institution. All host sites are responsible for having at least one staff member (or board member) primarily in charge of managing and coaching the VISTA member during the year and ensuring that they have the resources they need. Host sites must also pay a cost-share fee to MCVP, provide a VISTA member with all the supplies they need at work (phone, computer, printer, internet, office space, desk, etc), and if travel is required as part of the VISTA member's duties, the site must pay their perdiem and mileage reimbursement (if using a personal car) or otherwise provide transportation for the member.
Host Site Application Deadlines
For 2025, MCVP is tentatively preparing for a small cohort of VISTAs to start in January, and a larger cohort to start in June or August. VISTAs serve for exactly one year with your organization. You must reach out to MCVP to discuss your project and see if this is the right VISTA program for your organization before receiving the application. Click here to contact us.
MCVP accepts applications for new host sites year-round. To learn more about how to brainstorm and plan your VISTA project, check out this guide on our website.
Learn more about AmeriCorps VISTA.
If you have any questions, or need more information contact:
Emily "Lee" Lounder
VISTA Program Specialist
(406) 417-0934
emily.lounder@mt.gov
