Uncle Sam wants a few good college graduates to go to work for the federal government. Actually, more than a few. And so the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, has announced a campaign to help turn college students into feds.

The campaign, dubbed Making the Difference, will appeal to the service-minded by highlighting the work the federal government does, for example, to fight poverty, maintain national security, and protect the environment. “There is no better place to work on critical issues that affect our country on a grand scale than the federal government,” Max Stier, president of the nonprofit organization, said in a written statement.

The organization, which has previously criticized federal recruitment on campuses, kicked off the campaign today on more than 600 college campuses. It is providing $3,000 grants to help institutions share its materials with their students.

For the past two years, five universities — Clark Atlanta, George Washington, Louisiana State, Ohio State, and Stanford — have been pilot participants in the organization’s Call to Serve Recruitment Initiative, a Congressionally backed project with the federal Office of Personnel Management to find cheap, effective ways to promote federal-government service on campuses. The organization also released today its final report on that project, “Making the Difference: A Blueprint for Matching University Students With Federal Opportunities.”

Part of the trick, the campaign’s Web site suggests, is identifying “cool internships” and “hot jobs.” —Sara Lipka