CHAC 101
What are Civic House and the Civic House Associates
Coalition (CHAC)?
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Civic House is both a physical structure (located at 3914 Locust Walk) and an entity that
serves as a center for student led community service and advocacy work on Penn’s campus.
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Civic House Associates Coalition (CHAC) is a unifying organization created by and for
students to support community service and social justice initiatives at the University of
Pennsylvania. CHAC provides members with educational support and workshops,
opportunities to collaborate and network, funding options, organizational support, and other
opportunities to enhance community involvement and advocacy work.
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The CHAC Executive Board consists of two co-chairs, a communications and funding
coordinator, and seven themed liaisons. The executive board works with Civic House staff
to advise CHAC groups.
Civic House
www.civichouse.org
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Civic House promotes mutually beneficial collaborations between Penn and our West
Philadelphia community.
Civic House promotes community service as a means of preparing students for their roles as
citizens and leaders.
Civic House programming including:
o Support for student-led community service groups
o Coordinating PennCORP (pre-orientation program for incoming freshman)
o Overseeing Civic Scholars, Alternate Spring Break, and West Philadelphia Tutoring
Project
o Service and Advocacy Leadership Training Series
o Public Interest Career Programming & Internships
CH Staff
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David Grossman (Director): dhg@upenn.edu
o Civic Scholars advisor
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Arlene Fernandez (Associate Director): arlenef@upenn.edu
o Civic Scholars
Elizabeth Yackel (Associate Director): eyackel@upenn.edu
o Public Interest Careers Programming
o Work Study staff
Megan Pippet (Program Coordinator): mpippet@upenn.edu
o CHAC Exec and ASB advisor
o CHAC Advisor to Poverty, One-Time Service, Advocacy groups
Nora Blumenstein (Program Coordinator): norablum@upenn.edu
o PennCORP and WPTP advisor
o CHAC Advisor to Tutoring and Mentoring and Arts-based groups
Katie Turek (Graduate Assistant): kturek@gse.upenn.edu
o Think About It advisor
o ASB participant workshops
o CHAC Advisor to Public Health groups
Walter Licht (Faculty Advisor): wlicht@sas.upenn.edu
Approximately 5-10 student staff
Civic House Associates Coalition
http://www.pennchac.org
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CHAC is an umbrella organization for student-led community service and advocacy groups.
CHAC Goals
o Promote civic engagement on campus
o Facilitate communication and collaboration among groups
o Promote service and advocacy by providing support, resources, and technical
assistance for member groups.
o To encourage member groups to interact respectfully and successfully with
community partners.
CHAC consists of an undergraduate executive board of 11 members, and around four dozen
member organizations, which are grouped into seven themed liaison groups.
o Arts Based
o Advocacy
o One-Time Service
o Public Health
o Tutoring & Mentoring
o Poverty
o External
o Developmental
CHAC Exec
Each CHAC Exec member has 2 weekly office hours, schedule posted in the Civic House
lobby
 Co-Chairs: Pallavi Podapati and Kenny Puk; chair@pennchac.org
 Communications and Funding Coordinator: Loren Kole; cfc@pennchac.org
 External Liaison: Lisa Doi; external@pennchac.org
o Serves as the liaison between CHAC and non-CHAC groups whose primary focus is
not community service.
 Seven themed liaisons:
o Arts Based: Athena Burkett; arts@pennchac.org
o Advocacy: Mike Sha; advocacy@pennchac.org
o Public Health: Aarthi Ramesh; health@pennchac.org
o One-Time Service: Mifta Chowdury; onetimeservice@pennchac.org
o Tutoring and Mentoring: Connie Hua; tutoringandmentoring@pennchac.org
o Poverty: Ashleigh Taylor; poverty@pennchac.org
o Developmental: Alefiyah Lokhandwala; developmental@pennchac.org
 CHAC serves as a checkpoint for community-service and advocacy groups that receive SAC
funding. In order for a community service and advocacy group (or a group’s whose primary
mission is community service) to receive funding from SAC, they must be first recognized
by CHAC. The Civic House staff and CHAC help these groups oversee their budget.
Resources
Advising
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Staff Advisors for all CHAC groups
o Our staff advisors have years of experience working with the community, and
provide stability through CHAC Exec and member organization leadership
transitions. CHAC recognized groups are required to meet with their staff advisor at
least once a semester.
o One element of the advising relationship includes budgets. All SAC-recognized
groups must have their budget request approved by their Civic House staff advisor.
CHAC Liaisons serve as peer advisors
o CHAC liaisons serve as a link between CHAC organizations and the Civic House
staff. They are a valuable resource when planning an event or seeking material
resources.
o CHAC liaisons facilitate collaboration within and between liaison groups.
o Your liaison can also help you contact any of the Civic House staff, Civic House
work-studies, CHAC Exec Board members, and other organizations on and off
campus.
Workshops
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Both Civic House and CHAC hold workshops about community service, effective ways to
run an organization, community involvement, etc.
In the past, the work shops have dealt with:
o Fundraising
o Member retention
o Leadership turnover
o One-Time Service
Please feel free to suggest topics to staff members or the CHAC Exec board
List of community partners and volunteer opportunities
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Many CHAC groups partner with community organizations, for a list of organizations visit
the following locations.
o http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/civichouse/search/agencies.php
o Greater Philadelphia Cares is also a great resource for finding community service
events: http://www.philacares.com/
Civic House posts up to date volunteer opportunities and announcements on their website
o http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/civichouse/
Transportation and Administrative Support
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Transportation: Civic House has four 12-passenger vans available for CHAC groups.
o All drivers must have be at least 21 years old, have a current driver’s license, and
must be certified through the Penn Driver Safety Training.
o Before submitting a reservation the Penn Driver Safety Training must be complete, a
user agreement signed and a copy of the student’s license given to Civic House staff.
o Reservations must be made one week in advance.
o For more details, and to make a reservation, see:
http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/civichouse/vanform.php
Meeting Space
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CHAC groups receive priority for use of Civic House space for meetings and activities, on
the 1st or 3rd floor
The CH living room has a TV that groups can use, and the first floor also has a kitchen.
o Requests must be made at least one week in advance.
o For more details, to check availability, and to make a reservation, see:
http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/civichouse/facilities_ch.php
Mailboxes for each CHAC group are located on the 1st floor by the kitchen
Copies
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Civic House has free copying for CHAC groups for the purposes of CH-related activities. To
ask for your copy code, see a Civic House staff member or work-study. No printing is
available and copies are limited to 100 per week.
Advertising
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Listservs
o The Civic House listserv is sent out each Monday to Penn students that are interest in
community service. To list your event, please send the details to
civic@dolphin.upenn.edu by noon on Friday. Keep in mind that weekend events
need to be sent in a week in advance to be included on the proper listserv.
o The CHAC listserv is sent to the CHAC Rep, President, and Treasurer of every
CHAC organization. To list your event, please send the details to
chac@dolphin.upenn.edu.
o Each liaison group should have a weekly listserv; contact your liaison for details.
Community Service & Advocacy night
o At the beginning of each semester, Civic House and CHAC hold an activities fair
open to all CHAC groups. This is a great way to attract new members.
The Daily Pennsylvanian has an events website called events@penn. To submit an event, go
to http://eventsatpenn.com/events/create.
Funding
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SAC funding
o CHAC serves as a checkpoint for community-service and advocacy groups that
receive SAC funding. In order for a community service and advocacy group (or a
group’s whose primary mission is community service) to receive funding from SAC,
they must be first recognized by CHAC. The Civic House staff and CHAC helps
these groups oversee their budget.
CHAC Fund for Student Community Involvement
o The Fund for Student-Community Involvement is a one-time source of funding
available to student groups regardless of CHAC recognition. Its purpose is to support
student groups in their effort to address issues effecting local and global
communities through advocacy, training, and education.
o Any organization on campus may submit an application for funding. CHAC groups
that are in good standing will be given priority for funding.
o Applications must be submitted at least 2 weeks in advance.
o Ask your CHAC liaison for more details.
The UA has a guide to the various sources of funding for student groups:
http://pennua.org/services/penn-funding-guide/
Membership Requirements
Associate Membership
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Definition: Associate groups will be defined as groups whose mission statement or core
work is comprised mainly of direct community service and/or advocacy initiatives. A group
applying for Associate Membership must be unique from other Associate groups. If a group
applying does not appear to have a unique program, CHAC Exec may facilitate
collaboration with a similar pre-existing Associate group for one semester upon subsequent
evaluation. If CHAC Exec deems the collaboration to be successful then the two groups will
be asked to merge if the applicant still wishes to join CHAC. Groups may apply for
associate membership after one semester of being a recognized group. These applications
will be reviewed in November of the fall semester.
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Benefits: Associate members will be eligible to approach SAC for funding through their
CHAC connections and will receive a staff adviser from Civic House for purposes of
operational assistance, budget advising, and leadership transitions. They will also receive
full access to Civic House resources including publicity through its website, inclusion on
weekly mailings, and access to web tools. Associate groups will have full voting privileges
for CHAC decisions at CHAC General Body Meetings.
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Requirements: Associate members must attend all General Body Meetings and Liaison
Meetings held by CHAC. The CHAC Rep must also meet with their staff advisor once a
semester. Associate members are expected to remain in constant contact over the semester
with their CHAC liaison. Associate members must submit an evaluation at the end of both
the fall and spring semesters. The evaluation at the end of the fall semester will serve as the
groups’ reaffirmation that they would like to remain a part of CHAC for the next calendar
year. The spring evaluation will be used to check-in with groups to determine their progress.
In the spring semester, SAC-funded CHAC groups must meet with their Civic House staff
advisor to review their budget. They also must submit their budget two weeks before the
SAC deadline so that the staff advisor has adequate time to review the budget. In addition,
the president of each Associate group must attend a leadership retreat at the beginning of the
spring semester.
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Probation and derecognition: Associate groups may be placed on probation for failing to
remain in contact with their liaison or failing to meet the above requirements. CHAC reps
are expected to respond to all CHAC emails and be active participants in all CHAC
meetings. If a CHAC rep fails to respond to liaison emails, the liaison will contact the group
president. If both the president and CHAC rep fail to respond to more than two important
emails, or fail to attend two or more CHAC meetings (including general body, liaison, staff
advisor, or budget meetings) the group will be placed on probation. Once on probation,
groups will have their SAC account frozen. They must meet with their liaison during office
hours, or set up a time that is convenient for both of them and discuss a plan for the group.
After this meeting the group must submit monthly progress report to keep CHAC aware of
its progress. At the end of the semester, the group will be considered for derecognition from
CHAC. They will be permitted to submit a statement outlining why they feel they should
remain a part of CHAC, this statement along with monthly status reports, and a report from
the liaison will be considered when a group is eligible for derecognition. Groups will be
derecognized by a 2/3rd majority vote of the CHAC Exec board. If a group has proven that
is worthy of being a CHAC group they can be taken off probation with a simple majority
vote of the CHAC Exec board.
Recognized Membership
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Definition: A recognized group is defined as an organization whose mission statement or
core work is comprised primarily of direct community service and/or advocacy initiatives,
but one that has not proven their sustainability or activity over the course of two semesters.
A recognized group may also be an organization who receives SAC funding through a
source outside of CHAC. A group may apply for recognized status after they have been
active on campus and doing work in the community for at least one semester. Applications
for recognized groups will be accepted at the end of the fall semester and will be reviewed
by the outgoing executive board. Groups that apply for recognized status must be approved
by 3/4th of the exec board and then two thirds of the General Body.
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Benefits: Recognized members will receive full access to Civic House resources including
publicity through its website, inclusion on weekly mailings, access to website tools, and
priority in Civic House room reservations and van usage.
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Requirements: Recognized members are encouraged to attend General Body Meetings and
liaison meetings. If developing groups are newly formed or struggling they are encouraged
to set up meetings with their designated liaison, especially if they would like to be
considered for associate status.