Community Partners

Partner for the Public Good: Advancing Community Goals Through Community Partnerships

Since our formation in 2007, ICCE has continued to uphold the national reputation of creating innovative partnerships between campus and community to address critical community issues. To date, we have partnered with 440+ diverse organizations and broadened the base of student and faculty involvement in civic engagement across the Bay Area and beyond into local communities across California as well as other states in the nation.

Our mission is to connect SF State faculty, staff, and students with the Bay Area community through strategic partnerships that develop civic & social responsibility leading to positive impacts in communities. We believe that by fostering sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships with diverse organizations across the Bay Area and beyond, these collaborations can assist in launching and developing creative solutions to community challenges. By connecting SF State students with agencies through community service opportunities while fostering long standing commitments and relationships with the community, we hope that this collaboration will support your capacity to fulfill your mission and programs.

We offer organizations an opportunity to enter a formal partnership with SF State and ICCE to join our campus community of engaged learners composed of dedicated students, faculty, and staff. As a valued community partner, your organization will benefit from resources to increase your organization's capacity by recruiting SF State students for volunteer or paid opportunities. We provide structure and administrative services to help your organization find the assistance you are seeking to address community-based problems and focus on action-oriented goals. We also offer many different avenues for spotlighting your organization through social media advertisement as well as the campus newsletter. Together, campus-community partnerships can help co-create positive changes through creating an institution of higher education that is fully engaged. 

Our services to our community partners:

  • Access to our digital community engagement platform, ULink, to network with SF State students and faculty/staff

  • Student recruitment for volunteer and service opportunities that fulfill your organization's capacity through ULink 

  • Organization and opportunity advertisement to SF State community through social media and campus newsletter

  • Introduction to departments and/or faculty members to conduct action-oriented research and/or projects

  • Technical support for ULink

We seek to partner with organizations and agencies that not only strive to create positive community change, but also share similar core values of:

  • Equity & justice 
  • Courage & cultural humility
  • Positive impact
  • Life-long learning & scholarship 
  • Collaboration & partnerships
  • Creating meaningful connections
  • Respect for self and others 
  • Democracy & civic knowledge 

Resources for Partnership

We are very interested in partnering with your organization and connecting you with the SF State campus community to fulfill your organization's mission and goals! 

Register as an "Organization" with ULink 

  • ULink is our free, digital community engagement platform, utilized by SF State students and faculty/staff members. After registration, you will receive a confirmation email. For technical assistance, contact icce@sfsu.edu. 
  • An ICCE representative will follow-up with you and a site visit may be needed. Due to COVID-19, all site visits will be conducted either via phone call or Zoom. 

Review and Sign a Learning Placement Site Agreement

  • An ICCE representative will follow-up with you a provide the LPSA, a formal agreement specifying expectations and responsibilities for both SF State and your organization. The LPSA is valid for 5 years upon renewal. 
  • An ICCE representative will provide a confirmation email with a copy of the LPSA signed by both parties. Your ULink account will be approved and your organization will be listed on the ULink directory. 

Pathways to Partnership

At ICCE, we support non-clinical, academic internship and service learning courses across many different colleges and departments. Throughout the academic year, we have students who actively searching for educational opportunities to contribute to diverse organizations. 

Academic Internship Placement: Students as Volunteers/Interns 

A for-credit academic internship (paid or unpaid) is a structured and supervised professional work experience that is directly related to a student's major field of study or career interest. Students are seeking opportunities to gain valuable mentorship, work experience, and professional skill development. Students contribute towards an organization to help fulfill their organizational capacity, mission, and goals. 

Students typically devote a minimum of ~120 hours over a ~10-15 week period. 

Service-Learning Courses: Placements vs. Projects 

Service-learning courses are designed to help students apply course concepts to structured, community-based experiences. Service-learning courses provide structure critical reflection guided by faculty and opportunities for professional development. Students develop civic and social responsibility while addressing issues identified by community partners. There are two types of service-learning experiences students can participate in: service-learning placements or service-learning projects. Read about the differences below.

Students typically devote a minimum of ~20-30 hours over a ~10-15 week period. 

Service-Learning Placement: Students as Volunteers/Interns

In many service-learning courses, faculty members inform their students to refer to ICCE to assist them in finding a service site. Individual students or groups of students fill volunteer roles at your organization, usually offering 3-5 hours per week throughout the semester for a total of 20-40 hours of service (depending on the course requirements and the needs of the service site) over a 10 -15 week time period. Through structured reflection activities, such as discussion, written/reading assignments, faculty members guide students to understand how their community experiences link with the academic and civic learning objectives of the course.

Service-Learning Project: Engage Specific Courses in Projects

Some faculty members facilitate projects in collaboration with community partners. Students may work together to generate a product over a 10-15 week period. Examples of past collaborations had design students generate graphics and a website for a community partner and students in an urban poverty and policy course partnered with the Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco to conduct field survey’s and qualitative interviews with people experiencing homelessness on where and why people without stable housing find shelter and access the things they need to survive and feel safe. Students apply their academic knowledge to real-world problems and organizations get a concrete product that advances the mission of the organization.
 
Note: Some projects require some lead time and preparation, so please contact ICCE early - at least three months before the start of the project. Some faculty announce a call for proposal in an effort to recruit community partners to collaborate with their students. ICCE will then forward this information to our community partners via email.

Academic Year (AY) Calendar

AY 2020-21

Fall 2020

  • ​First Day of Instruction: Aug. 24, 2020

  • Last Day of Classes: Dec. 11, 2020

Spring 2021

  • ​First Day of Instruction: Jan. 25, 2021

  • Last Day of Classes: May 14, 2021

Annual Events / Workshops 

The following displays upcoming events and workshops during the academic year to sustain on-going relationships with our community partners and provide opportunities to engage.
  • Please check back shortly. 

Glendie Domingo, Community Partnerships & Campus Outreach Coordinator

 415-338-3340 | glendie@sfsu.edu

Community Partner Liaison

  • Current partners: Organizations whose name begin with A-I or a number (ex. 826 Valencia).

  • Interested partners: Organizations whose name begin with A-I or a number.

Jill Russell, Operations Manager

415-405-7588 | jrussell@sfsu.edu

Community Partner Liaison

  • Current partners: Organizations whose name begin with J-Z.

  • Interested partners: Organizations whose name begin with J-Z.

VIRTUAL DROP-IN HOURS

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, ULINK is our digital community engagement platform utilized by SF State 3000+ students and 90+ faculty/staff members. ULink is a one-stop shop for students seeking internship and service opportunities throughout the year and are obtaining academic credit for their experiences. Faculty also use ULink as they seek to collaborate with community organizations. The best way to advertise and recruit students is by posting on this platform. 

Partner with SF State and take advantage of ICCE's services to increase your impact in the community by drawing on the talents and time of faculty, staff, and students. Post opportunities on ULINKand recruit students at no cost! Additionally, schedule recruiting visits and attend campus events. By collaborating with faculty/staff and students, your organization can increase capacity to achieve strategic goals, bolster your organization's reputation, and help address skills gap by assisting to prepare the new generation of students entering the workforce.  

The best times to post opportunities and recruit are: 

  • For Spring Semester (January - May) - Post on ULink by December

  • For Summer Semester (June - August) - Post on ULink by May 

  • For Fall Semester (August - December) - Post on ULink by July 

Please review learning site responsibilities outlined in the Learning Placement Site Agreement. Also, please connect with us! We are more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Note: additional responsibilities may be applicable depending on opportunity, course requirements, changes in public health guidelines and directives, etc. 

  • At SF State, we are concerned with ensuring our students receive quality learning experiences relevant to their academic majors or career interests, and are placed in safe work environments. In order for students to earn academic credit, employers should design the internship as a learning experience and be prepared to dedicate staff resources to train, teach, mentor, and guide the intern. 

  • For-profit organizations can only offer unpaid internships that are in compliance with the FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, FACT SHEET #71 describes seven parameters which, when met, allow an internship to be unpaid.

ULink serves as the risk management/liability platform for students receiving academic credit when doing off-campus site placements. The LPSA is an agreement with the University and your organization to have a mutual understanding of roles and responsibilities (includes risk management and liability). You do not have to recruit or host additional students.

  • Academic interns typically devote a minimum of 120 hours a semester and seek structured and supervised professional work experiences that are directly related to their major field of study or career interests. 

  • Service learners typically devote ~20-30 hours a semester and their goal is to utilize classroom theory to address community-based issues, thereby strengthening their understanding of social justice, developing civic and social responsibility, and re-evaluation their personal values and beliefs.

  • Differences between service learning and volunteering

Please contact ICCE. We are more than happy to connect with you to learn more and provide resources.