You are being called to serve...

Amazed and inspired by http://www.allforgood.org/ . . . and grateful that Google is joining the effort.

Apply now for Pro Bono Consulting Grant

I am proud to announce a new partnership with the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas called the Executives in Action (EIA) program. Through this new program, the Center for Nonprofit Management is able to provide member organizations with access to senior level consultants at no cost.

More info here:

www.ExecutivesInAction.org

 What is it?

EIA supports senior executives who are in transition while engaging them in short-term, high-impact consulting projects with nonprofit organizations.

Who are the Executives? 
Executives are highly skilled individuals with 15+ years management experience who are currently transitioning between jobs and are actively seeking work in the business sector. However, they are not individuals who no longer need to work and who can afford to volunteer significant amounts of time. This program is intended to help the Executives and their families as much as the nonprofits themselves.

Where will they work?

Placements will only be made at nonprofit organizations that have applied for a Consulting Grant and been vetted by the Center.

What are the terms of the consulting projects?
Executives volunteer 1 or 2 days per week while they continue their job search. The typical placement is from 2-8 weeks at a time, but will not exceed 26 weeks. In exchange for their service, executives will receive an honorarium of $125 per day from the Center for Nonprofit Management.

How can a nonprofit apply for a Consulting Grant? 

Nonprofits may submit as many project opportunities as they wish here. The application is simple and straightforward, and should take less than 2 minutes once you have a project identified. There is no financial obligation on the part of the nonprofit that hosts an executive other than providing the supplies and management support that the executives need to complete their project.

Please contact me with any questions by clicking here.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Gregg
Vice President of Development
Center for Nonprofit Management
(214) 826-3470 Ext. 224
(866) 286-8347 Toll Free

Service Targets Elder Volunteer Corps

ReServe of New York enables "experienced" volunteers to give back after retirement

I heard about ReServe Elder Service, Inc. through the TNMAN (Texas Nonprofit Management Assistance Network) conference that I attended last week, and wanted to share the info about this innovative approach to volunteerism:

ReServe: Putting Experience to Work

ReServe connects New York City's experienced older adults with stipend-paying opportunities that challenge them to use their lifetime skills for the public good. Building on the groundwork laid by the pioneers of civic engagement for older adults, ReServe is putting words into action.

ReServe educates civic institutions about the wisdom and experience that older adults can bring them, works to create service opportunities, and recruits, trains, places and supports older adults on the job. We invite you to join us.

More info at the organization's site:
http://www.reserveinc.org/

[where: 11201]

TONIGHT: Get On Board

"The Center for Nonprofit Management is hosting the Get On Board Fair Thursday (tonight!) for people who want to serve on the board of a nonprofit group and other potential volunteers," reported Bob Miller of The Dallas Morning News.

Attendees can visit with more than 100 North Texas nonprofit organizations and learn about what skills they will need to get involved as a nonprofit board member or as a volunteer.

The fair is from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Cityplace Conference Center, North Central Expressway at Haskell Avenue. It's free and open to the public.

To register, find the list of participating nonprofits and get directions, visit www.cnmdallas.org or call 214-826-3470.

More info here:
http://www.cnmdallas.org/get_on_board.aspx



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The Wages of Vice and Virtue

If the wages of vice is death, then the wages of virtue -- in the form of community service -- is apparently a better life. A new study finds the following:

Alumni of AmeriCorps are more civically engaged, more likely to pursue public service careers in government and the nonprofit sector, and more likely to be happy and satisfied with their lives than those who do not serve in AmeriCorps, a new report from the Corporation for National and Community Service finds.

The full article is here.

FYI, Central Dallas Ministries runs its own AmeriCorps program (the largest in Dallas). More info on that here:
http://www.CDMAmeriCorps.org/

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The 'F' word

That's what most boards consider "fundraising," according to The NonProfit Times.



Yes, Mr. Penguin; yes, I did just write that...

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The tyranny of volunteers...

Don't volunteer. Donate. We need your money a lot more than your time.

Preach on, Colonel James:
http://larryjamesurbandaily.blogspot.com/2008/05/people-always-ask.html

TRAC at the Track: Sunburn Grand Prix

Congrats to Maury Meekins, Evy Kay Ritzen and the whole team at TRAC for pulling off another successful event: The Sunburn Grand Prix, presented by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and benefiting Central Dallas Ministries' Transition Resource Action Center (TRAC) program.

Pictures from the event are available here:
http://trac.shutterfly.com/action/



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Volunteers for Prosperity: Grants for Volunteers?

The U.S. Agency for International Development just released this: "Office of Volunteers for Prosperity Launches New Volunteer Grant Program."

The Volunteers for Prosperity (VFP) Service Incentive Program or VFPServ... is an innovative public-private partnership to help address the financial challenges facing a number of skilled Americans interested in short-term international voluntary service by providing matching grants ranging from $500 to $1000 to offset travel, insurance and local living costs.

The award process is competitive and a prospective volunteer who applies for a matching grant must have relevant professional experience and a need for financial assistance. The final decision to award a grant will depend on a successful applicant's ability to raise at least an equal amount of funds within his/her community.

More here:
http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2008/pr080306.html

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What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

To volunteer, or to manage volunteers? This is the question.

Advice from my friend Celeste Sauls-Marks, CVA, who serves as the Agency Relations Director for Dallas County and ServiceWorks! at the Volunteer Center of North Texas, on the topic of "resources for those who are looking to pursue a career in volunteer resources":

If you are looking to pursue a career in volunteer resources management, there are several resources locally that can be helpful. The local professional association of volunteer resources managers (VRMs) is the Dallas Association of Directors of Volunteers. On their website, www.dadv.org, they list current available positions. They will also be a great resource for you. They meet once a month on the second Tuesday at 12 pm at the Volunteer Center of North Texas. Also, they host the local Volunteer Management Conference each year on the first Friday in March. This year, it will be held at the SPCA. Information will be posted at www.vmcdfw.org when it becomes available.

Another resources for jobs in the area is the Center for Nonprofit Management (www.cnmdallas.org). You might also consider getting your certification in volunteer administration. You can access this at www.ccva.org.

You may also to check out the new national professional association for VRMs at www.avrm.org. While this is an extremely new organization, they will have programming and training that may be beneficial to you. There is also the Volunteer Management Review (www.charitychannel.com) newsletter that provides short newsletters on topics related to volunteer resources management.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Celeste is where she is. Top notch, that woman. Our community is lucky to have her here.

Now, for those who are less inclined to pursue this vocation in a full-time capacity, here is an intereting opportunity for an internship at the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation (CDCDC, a separate 501(c)(3) from Central Dallas Ministries).

Community Development Interns
The Central Dallas Community Development Corporation is seeking highly qualified interns to work directly with the Executive Director on a variety of strategic projects of critical importance to the organization. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students are encouraged to apply. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in the fields of community development, public policy, and social service. It is also suitable for students of economics, accounting, statistics, or business, or those planning a career in commercial real estate, who would like to gain experience in community-based, nonprofit real estate development.

Download the full Internship Posting here.

Honor your volunteers

One of the greatest parts of our job as fundraisers is that we get to work with amazing people like Dr. James Walton.

Dr. Walton is a member of the Central Dallas Ministries board of directors, and one of the leaders of our community's efforts to provide medical care to the uninsured. As the Chief Health Equity Officer of the Baylor Health Care System, Dr. Walton is a tremendous partner and a great friend to the organization. Through his leadership, we have expanded our clinic from a 3-hour volunteer clinic that annually served several hundred patients into a 48-hour professional clinic that annually hosts over 21,000 contacts with patients.

His life is a great testament to the power of faith and philanthropy.

There is nothing valuable enough that we could give to Dr. Walton to repay him for his efforts. He is a humble man, and not one to display vases with his name engraved on them or plaques listing his many, many awards.

And so, we work to honor him in the way that he would most appreciate: by securing funds in his honor for the medical practice that he founded in our organization.

We recently honored him with our organization's highest honor, the Hazel E. Brown Outstanding Community Partner Award. The award was delivered at our annual fundraising concert, A Night to Remember. Many of the event's sponsors gave us their support in recognition of Dr. Walton's achievements.

At the event, we asked Dr. Walton and his wife -- Dr. Rhonda Walton, who is also a physician similarly dedicated to providing medical care to our less fortunate neighbors -- to come to the stage. There, we gave them a small token of our appreciation, but we announced that two important gifts were made in their honor:

• We purchased a Hoyer lift for Dr. Walton to use in treating paraplegic and quadriplegic patients (see image attached),
  
• We made a $1,000 donation to Christians for Biblical Equality, an organization where Dr. Rhonda serves on the board, in honor of their combined work.

The awards were the perfect way to recognize these two amazing leaders.

Similarly, we recently applied to the Philanthropy Journal for their Volunteer Hero Award. I am proud to say that Dr. Walton's nomination was selected, and a small grant is being made in his honor to Central Dallas Ministries.

When I emailed Dr. Walton about the award, his reply was both deeply personal and very heartfelt. His appreciation for the organization's work was obvious.

Dr. Walton is a faithful friend, a tremendous volunteer and a wonderful donor to the organization. Taking a few minutes to submit an application on his behalf was about far more than attempting to raise money using his name -- it was about recognizing his invaluable contributions in a way that will most effectively convey our appreciation to him.

There are numerous awards out there like Philanthropy Journal's Volunteer Hero Award. You should consider nominating the Dr. Waltons of your organization for these awards as not just a matter of fundraising, but as a way to deepen your relationship with these priceless partners.

You can read about Dr. Walton's recent award here:
http://www.philanthropyjournal.org//lu.cfm?lu=27272

You can also read one of our CEO's many blogs on Dr. Walton here:
http://larryjamesurbandaily.blogspot.com/2006/03/chief-health-equity-officer.html

All I want for Christmas is a few good donors...

In honor of the recent Thanksgiving holiday, and some thoughts that I had in response to Charity Navigator's Holiday Giving Guide 2007, I'd like to offer my own thanks for the donors of the world who give wisely.

Of course, as the desperate fundraiser that I am, I appreciate any and all donors. I will not be so bold as to say that I have never bent over backwards to take some fool's charity. I have certainly done so, and will likely do so again as we approach the year's end and my concern for reaching a surplus overrides my better sense of how to build my organization's long-term sustainability.

But as I prepare for December, when we receive in excess of 1/3 of our gifts from individuals, I would like to offer thanks for the elite few whom I see as wise givers.

What makes for a wise giver?

• They take time to get to know the organizations that they support -- whether through conducting their own online research, having conversations with staff or visiting in person, they ensure that their gifts are made to worthy organizations.
  
• They either enroll in the organization's recurring gifts program (i.e. monthly charges to their credit card) or they send checks throughout the year... not just at the year's end.
  
• They give without restrictions, and invest in the overall organization rather than in one of its projects.
  
• They opt out of receiving print communications, including printed receipts for their gifts, in order to save the organization money.
  
• They help introduce people to the organization who might be interested in supporting it.
  
• They get involved in advocating on behalf of the organization's mission.

There are likely many other things that donors could do to be a wise giver. For example, for some organizations, it might be very important for a donor to be involved as a volunteer in the delivery of the organization's mission. For others, though, there is no such need for volunteers -- in fact, outside volunteers can frequently be a distraction imposed on programs by the development office in order to cultivate gifts.

But these items above are what I consider the gold standard of wise giving. I would rather have a donor give me half as much money while meeting this standard than twice as much money while falling short of these bars. Perhaps I am myself a grand fool, but I believe that I have one true goal as a fundraiser:

"To put myself out a job."

I know that, in reality, this is not a likely possibility. But we as fundraisers must strive to build a core group of committed donors who do not need a professional fundraiser to cultivate their gifts -- they are firmly committed to the organization, and draw other committed donors into their orbit. By focusing on creating this kind of momentum, fundraisers can move their organizations closer to that day when they no longer need to rely on professional development staff to help pay the bills.

Until we get there, we have much to do. For every wise giver, there are hordes of charitymongers who need counseling. Here is some advice on how you can impart wisdom unto the masses:

• Don't fear the reaper. Put your financials and Form 990s directly on your Web site for easy downloading, as well as links to your listing on Charity Navigator or Guidestar. If you're on it, be sure to link to your listing on Charity Watch.
  
• In every receipt letter, offer to meet with donors to take a tour of your organization to see their dollars at work.
  
• Call every donor who makes a gift to your organization. If that sounds like too much to do on a daily basis, set aside one day per month in which you and a handful of other staffers/board members make calls to the last month's donors just to say thank you and to invite them on a tour. Be sure that they know that you are not calling to ask for money.
  
• Offer free events that are easy for donors to attend, meet staff, learn more about the organization and invite others without feeling pressured to make a gift. At Central Dallas Ministries, we have a free monthly book club that attracts around 80-100 people each month to our ministry; this has been a great way to meet people and to get to know our donors better.
  
• As much as I hate special events, you should offer at least big fundraiser per year that provides your closest donors with an opportunity to engage their contacts in supporting your organization. Remember that there are many ways to evaulate such events beyond their own bottom line: there is great value in making your top donors more committed to your organization, and in attracting new donors to you (particularly if you follow up with phone calls and invitations to tours).
  
• Offer a recurring gifts program that includes both monthly charges to credit cards as well as monthly transfers from banks. Promote this program in your communications with donors (including finding a way to mention it in receipt letters without directly asking for more money... cite it as a convenience for busy donors).
  
• Let donors know that you need funds throughout the year, not just at the year's end. Find ways to educate them on the cash flow of your organization in your communications pieces. Many donors do not realize how difficult it is for organizations that rely on the "feast or famine" style of year-end fundraising.
  
• Offer options for designations, but show the benefit of giving without restrictions. In your communications, feature stories about donors who invested in the overall organization rather than grants to one project.
  
• Provide donors with the ability to opt out of receiving print communications, including printed receipts for their gifts, in order to save your organization money. Ensure that you have the ability to follow through with this promise, if you offer it.
  
• Provide donors with meaningful ways to introduce people to the organization who might be interested in supporting it. In addition to public events, let your firmly committed donors know that you would be able to host a tour for any of their contacts that they might be interested in introducing to your organization. At board meetings, highlight the contributions of board members who have successfully brought new donors to the table.
  
• Explore ways for donors to set up their own fundraising site for your organization. There are many tools out there that can help with this. Here is an example of one that we use at Central Dallas Ministries.
  
• Educate your donors on how they can advocate on behalf of your organization's mission. Let them know about the public policy ramifications of your work, the barriers that you face and how public representatives could be engaged to help your organization. Regardless of what comes from these actions, providing your donors with the ability to get more engaged in your mission will strengthen your relationship to them.
  
• Provide meaningful ways to get involved as a volunteer on a case-by-case basis. Get to know your donors and their interests, and then map those interests to your needs -- and be sure that it is a genuine need. Do not create something for donors to do simply for the sake of giving them something to do. It will inevitably erode your relationship because they you will both realize that they are not helping you.
  

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who reads this blog. I hope that you are well and warm, and that this blog continues to be useful to you. As always, I welcome your feedback on how I can improve it.

Good luck with the rest of your year! As we approach 2008, I hope that you can avoid the fate of this poor Santa...

National Health Care Company, VHA Inc., Expands Corporate Citizenship Initiative, Signs Up 1,000 Employees for Annual Community Day

It looks like another corporation launched a big, public "hurrah" around the issue of volunteerism. These "days of caring" are seeming to become increasingly common, particularly for United Way-funded organizations that are frequently tapped for such projects (i.e. that are asked to make up something for a big donor's employees to do for six hours so that they feel validated in their support of the United Way).

I have mixed feelings about such programs. They try to maximize "bang for buck" in terms of public reaction to the company's support of the community. They are focused on the employees themselves getting the most out of the experience, not the people they are intended to help.

And yet, I am reminded of an article from PhilanthroMedia that I blogged previously, called "Volunteerism As a Lever to Promote City Revitalization."

It's a good read. And perhaps it's right -- perhaps this latest campaign is a good thing for Dallas as well as VHA.

DISCUSSION: What do you think of such corporate volunteer programs?

National Health Care Company, VHA Inc., Expands Corporate Citizenship Initiative, Signs Up 1,000 Employees for Annual Community Day

IRVING, TEXAS--(Marketwire - October 9, 2007) - Demonstrating a strong commitment to the environment and community, more than 1,000 employees of VHA Inc. and its family of companies -- Novation, Provista and Goodroe Healthcare Solutions -- joined forces with local, community-based organizations across the country today to volunteer their time for the company's annual Community Day. At least 500 Irving-based employees and 500 more from the company's 17 regional offices left their desks behind to make a positive difference in the communities where they live and work.

With the growing national call to 'think green,' some Irving-based employees are digging in on two environmental improvement projects: The Rock the River program from Keep Irving Beautiful, which includes walking the Irving waterways and collecting debris; and the Texas Trees program that involves planting and transplanting trees for a healthier community.

The focus on environmental projects and active community involvement is one part of a larger corporate citizenship effort at VHA that includes supporting earth-friendly practices as a way of creating communities that keep people healthy and safe. Just last week, VHA worked with its contracting services company, Novation, to secure discounted bulbs from GE Lighting and distributed them to employees, along with a pledge to switch at least one of their regular bulbs. The efforts, part of the ENERGY STAR® Change a Light Day campaign, resulted in more than 150 VHA employees pledging to change 1,400 light bulbs and an estimated energy savings of more than $35,000.

Local employees will tackle other projects around the community today ranging from painting, sorting clothing donations, landscaping and rejuvenating playground areas. Groups VHA is partnering with include: Buckner Children & Family Services, Dallas Heritage Village, Faith Christian School, Heart House Dallas, North Texas Food Bank and CC Young Memorial Home.

"Both VHA and its employees have made a commitment to the environment and to contributing to the communities in which we live and work," said Curt Nonomaque, VHA's president and CEO. "We believe that together, we can make a difference."

Since its inception in 2000, VHA's Community Day has generated at least 15,000 volunteer hours and more than $100,000 in donations to 80 charities. VHA's commitment to community extends beyond this annual event as well with an active volunteer program that enables employees to volunteer each month and then matches their time with a financial contribution.

To learn more about VHA's Corporate Citizenship efforts, visit www.vha.com.

About VHA Inc.

VHA Inc., based in Irving, Texas, is a national health care alliance that provides industry-leading supply chain management services and supports and promotes the formation of regional and national networks that help not-for-profit health care organizations improve their clinical and economic performance. With 17 offices across the U.S., VHA has a track record of proven results in serving more than 1,400 hospitals and more than 21,000 other health care providers nationwide.

Today is Freedom Day!

Every year, the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas hosts Freedom Day, "a powerful day of community service that was developed to honor the lives lost and changed on September 11, 2001."

This year is the 6th annual event, in which hundreds of volunteers from EFNT member companies will join together to support local non-profits in their community. In addition to serving at Catholic Charities, volunteers will be working at three of Central Dallas Ministries' locations. Painting, landscaping and even building a fence, these volunteers are going to make some significant improvements to our community in a day of service that reminds us:

"WE ARE ALL NEIGHBORS, TOGETHER."

Thank you to the Communities Foundation of Texas, the parent of EFNT, for their visionary leadership in bringing a branch of the Entrepreneurs' Foundation to our community.

And, of course, thank you to Pam Gerber, the dynamo behind EFNT and Freedom Day. Her spirit, her work and her life are inspirations to us all.

The Double Bottom Line

Two recent articles reminded me of the concept of the "double bottom line," in which a company looks beyond profits and to other "benefits" produced by its work. Some companies, like Ben & Jerry's, espouse a "triple bottom line" approach that integrates profits with environmental impact as well as social impact.

The articles below are some of the "next steps" along this line of thinking:

• Volunteerism As a Lever to Promote City Revitalization | PhilanthroMedia
  
• Charitable work helps a company's bottom line, too | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

The latter article makes an excellent point that must also not be forgotten:

But remember, while you are getting the knots worked out of your back, that "cause marketing is not a substitute for personal philanthropy," Hessekiel said.

"Buying a product that makes a contribution does not absolve you from contributing to society with your time and treasures."

Would Mandatory Service Breed Resentment or More Volunteers?

The Chronicle of Philanthropy's Give and Take blog recently discusses the proposal by Sen. Chris Dodd to require high-school students to participate in volunteer service. You can read about it here:

http://philanthropy.com/giveandtake/

From my perspective, I think that this is the flawed manifestation of what was probably a good motivation. Forcing kids to volunteer has the following downsides:

• A flood of volunteers usually results in significant inefficiencies and wasted resources "creating work" for them to do.
  
• This reinforces the idea that volunteering is negative, or at least "not good"; when these kids grow up, they will affiliate volunteering with a mandatory requirement of their teenage years... how likely are you to want to sit through another algebra class, for example?
  
• This could create barriers to other volunteers. Adults might take themselves "off the hook" because they think that volunteer problems are being met. The reality is that there is a lot of volunteer work that is only suitable for adults; floods of teenage volunteers are good for cleaning up parks or building Habitat houses, but not running advisory committees or supporting intensive case management programs.

Although I would like to say "anything that gets more people to volunteer more often is a good thing," I think that we must strongly consider the ramifications of any action that seeks to mandate that which should be freely given. I believe that part of what makes volunteerism such a powerful force for good is NOT the actual actions that are done, as much as the commitment and passion that are displayed through those actions. I believe that this would be lost through a program that mandates unpaid service time.

What do you think?

The Cost of Volunteers

Before I get to the article below, let me drop in a shameless plug for our big garage sale here in Dallas:

Second Saturday Sale: June 9!

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This article from the The Chronicle of Philanthropy presents a disturbing topic that is all-too-familiar to those of us in the social services industry...

Well-Meaning Volunteers Strain Katrina Charities
Businesspeople who visit New Orleans for conventions and spend a day helping to rebuild the city often inadvertently strain the finances and resources of local charities, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The volunteers provide welcome help in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina, but they also consume water and lunch and need to be insured and transported to the sites where they help.

Charities say it typically costs $30 to $100 per day per volunteer for such amenities. Beyond costs, charities face other issues, especially when local regulations prevent out-of-town visitors from taking on certain duties.

The crush of volunteers shows no signs of abating: 90 percent of visiting corporations ask about providing help, the article reports, and finding useful work for everyone can be difficult.

Surprising facts: American donors and "the least of these"

Although not entirely about fundraising, one of the best blogs on the 'net for anyone working in a non-profit setting is Larry James' Urban Daily. The article linked here is his reaction to a recent Wall Street Journal Article entitled, "The Charity Gap," in which author Sheryl Sandberg describes the difference between the reality of American philanthropy and its perception.

On a related note, there is a similar "gap" in our desires to volunteer vs. the amount that we volunteer, as I noted in this blog:

The Raiser's Razor: Desire to volunteer not matched by action

"All that we see or seem / Is but a dream within a dream."

Desire to volunteer not matched by action

After reading the attached article from Philanthropy Journal, please share your feedback on whether you think that this is the case for your volunteers. Do you think that people are finding it easier or harder to volunteer in your programs?

Desire to volunteer not matched by action
03.26.2007 -

An overwhelming majority of Americans are willing to volunteer their time, but a much smaller proportion actually did so in 2006, a new survey says.

A survey of 1,000 adults conducted by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans found almost nine in 10 respondents would be willing to volunteer, but fewer than two in three performed a service activity last year.

An even larger gap between intention and action existed across some volunteer activities, including serving meals to the homeless, tutoring or mentoring at-risk kids and building affordable housing.

And while six in 10 say they are open to volunteering through their place of worship, almost slightly more than that number did so over the past year, the study says.

Roughly half the respondents say giving money was easier than giving time.

Americans want to help people, Brad Hewitt, senior vice president of Thrivent Financial, said in a news release, but "often have trouble fulfilling their volunteer intentions."

One way to engage those potential volunteers is to increase short-term opportunities that are easily accessible but produce real results, he said.

The Evolution of Volunteerism

From The New York Times, an article about how the role of mandatory community service -- and even the use of community service in college applications -- has changed the face of volunteerism.

(Thanks to Chronicle of Philanthropy's "Philanthropy Today" for pointing this article out)

I've posted the full article below for those who don't like registering to read articles.

Community Service - A Better Society? Or a Better Résumé? - New York Times

A Better Society? Or a Better Résumé?
By MICHAEL POWELL

Ah, Naomi.

Maybe it was when you stepped out of the black Cadillac Escalade in your gray fedora and chinchilla (a furry cousin to New York’s Taco Bell-loving rat) coat and your bodyguard handed your black bag to a police officer, who carried it, valet-like, into the sanitation depot at Pier 36. Maybe that was the moment when the community service ideal seemed to lose something in the translation.

Naomi Campbell, supermodel, served five days of community service last week for the crime of bouncing a cellphone off the head of her maid. The Dumpster Diva — as the paparazzi dubbed Ms. Campbell — donned an orange vest with reflective stripes and mopped floors. Then she stepped outside and did a photo shoot — punishment chic.

Service to the community didn’t seem to be the point, precisely, but perhaps that expectation was unfair.

Why look for altruism from surly supermodels? Conceived as a selfless contribution toward building a civil society, community service can sometimes seem perilously close to compulsory drudgery, a way for misdemeanants to avoid the clink, for corporations to market a brand, and for ambitious high school students to polish résumés.

It’s not always clear who feels that genuine love.

“The community service boom began a while back and it looked right and felt real,” said Bruce J. Poch, vice president and dean of admissions at Pomona College in California. “Now it’s devolved into a lot of kids just punching a ticket. It turns my stomach a little bit.”

Perhaps. But sometimes society stumbles in the right direction for the wrong reasons, said Robert Putnam, a professor of public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and author of “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.”

He picks up on teenagers’ cynicism about using selflessness to promote oneself. Even so, he wrote in an e-mail message: “If young people acquire the habit of community service (even for less than exalted reasons), there is some evidence that the habit persists into adult life. So even if the initial motive was ignoble, the long-run net effect may create a more caring society.”

On the criminal side, public shaming has a long history. Colonial unfortunates sat in the stocks on public commons and convicts worked in road gangs. Now Ms. Campbell, and Boy George before her, works off her (relatively minor) sins in a sanitation depot.

Penologists agree this almost certainly beats putting minor offenders in jail, at a cost of thousands of dollars per prisoner. Considering the alternative, who could object to picking up trash along a highway, or painting a dreary subway station. (In 2006, judges in Manhattan sentenced 19,000 people to community service of between one and 10 days). But they are chary about extolling its redemptive value.

Joel Copperman, chief executive of CASES, a Staten Island-based organization that supervises community sanctions, recalled that the temperamental actor Russell Crowe spent community service hours working off his own telephone-tossing tantrum in a SoHo hotel.

But he said that many such rich and famous defendants are spared many of the humiliations of the city’s judicial system. And that bothers Mr. Copperman.

“I’ll bet Russell Crowe and Naomi Campbell did not spend 24 hours in arraignment, and I’ll bet they did not eat baloney sandwiches,” Mr. Copperman said. “It’s a miserable process even with community service, and it really should be miserable for everyone.” The high school students’ predicament is more complicated, not least because the teenagers are trapped in a maze not of their own making. For the past 15 years, highly competitive colleges have demanded that students detail their charitable work, and not surprisingly that has fired a community service arms race.

“Do sports. Check! Take advanced-placement classes. Check! Feed a sandwich to the homeless. Check!” Scott White, director of guidance at Montclair High School, heaves a sigh. “Is it better than sitting on a couch watching MTV? I guess.”

“But is it truly meaningful? No.”

Whatever. The most exclusive private schools in Manhattan, from Trinity to Dalton to Collegiate, hire community service specialists. Well-heeled families pay $5,000 to send their high school children jetting off to build cottages in the hills of Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

Ivywise, an educational consulting company that provides admissions counseling to students, charging families as much as $30,000 or so to place their children in high-profile colleges, advises on construction of the proper “brag sheet” and says: “Extracurricular activities count! But they have to be of a certain nature.”

Students become hip to this game. Many possess genuine humanitarian impulses, and tens of thousands work in all matter of good causes. But the emphasis on official, college-certified “community service” strikes even some of the most committed teenagers as almost beside the point.

Lucy Stewart, 18, a senior at Montclair High School, has worked in inner-city Newark for the past four years, helping abused and neglected children with their homework, and reading them stories and providing good company. Hers is a family that stresses such service — her older brother volunteers in an animal shelter — and she notes the value of exposing even the most jaded student to community service.

But she’s aware of a self-conscious aspect to the work.

“I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t mean something on a college application,” she said. “I would only say that you really can tell the difference between those who are passionate and those who are doing it to put it on their résumé.”

Mention this to Mr. Poch, the vice president at Pomona College, and he makes much the same argument: that a good admissions counselor can divine true passion. But in the next breath he issues a guilty plea for his peer group, the college admissions community. “Look, there’s no doubt that we in the highly selective colleges have done this to the world, and we’ve killed a lot of the joy in being a student,” he said.

Call back Mr. White, the guidance director at Montclair High, and he recalls the most giving man he knew. He guarantees you’ve never heard of him, and that anonymity is his point.

“Pete Fellows was the guidance director here, and the most wonderful man I ever met,” said Mr. White, who recently spoke at Mr. Fellows’s funeral. “He took on the really struggling kids like his own and after retiring he volunteered full time at a hospice and took such pride in the dignity and honor of his patients.”

“He devoted his life to others and demanded no attention. That’s community service.”