idealist.org

1984-1989

1990-1995

1996-1999

2000-2004

In the fall of 2000, C.O.O.L. relocated to Boston, MA. Its 2001 National Conference returned to Harvard with a theme of "The Path of Service Leads from Charity to Justice," signaling a recommitment of C.O.O.L.'s vision of bringing about a more just society through many avenues of student involvement. 2002 brought the first C.O.O.L. Movement Summit: Learning the Lessons from Social Movements. Held at Dartmouth University, it was replicated in 2003 in partnership with Campus Compact's Raise Your Voice Campaign.

C.O.O.L. also deepened its commitment to serving as a resource to the widespread array of campus-based and student-led programs. n partnership with the Bonner Foundation, C.O.O.L. began work on creating the extensive Civic Engagement Curriculum and Train-the-Trainers Program, offered to campuses nationwide. With C.O.O.L.’s partnership with Action Without Borders/Idealist.org, these and many resources continue to be available to students and others on the web for free.

In its final years, C.O.O.L. never abandoned its original passion - supporting students and other young people to have a voice and take action to make the world a better place. From 2000-2003, the staff continued to involve students in national leadership roles, including through their fellowship program, C.O.O.L. City program, Advisory Board, and Union. Reaching out to find ways to bolster their work, a partnership was formed with Idealist.org. The merger inspired Idealist staff to find new ways to support students to do the cutting-edge work of building coalitions and alliances on campus and in their communities that support the growth, deepening, and quality of civic engagement.