2009 Weekly Volunteer Management News

22 November: StoryCorps (www.storycorps.org) is a nonprofit with the mission to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening. Since 2003, more than 50,000 Americans have interviewed family and friends through StoryCorps, making it one of the largest oral history projects of its kind (you may have heard some of the stories on National Public Radio). Last year, they inaugurated the National Day of Listening (www.nationaldayoflistening.org) to be scheduled annually on the day after Thanksgiving:

…set aside one hour to record a conversation with someone important to you. You can interview anyone you choose: an older relative, a friend, a teacher, or someone from the neighborhood…

Make a yearly tradition of listening to and preserving a loved one’s story. The stories you collect will become treasured keepsakes that grow more valuable with each passing generation.

The Web site provides all sorts of tips and resources, with recommendations for simply audio recording of the interviews. You can download a Community Service Toolkit and get ideas for holding a community-wide event for the National Day of Listening.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is partnering with StoryCorps to add a further service twist to the Day:

We are inviting the public to interview everyday service heroes who help to shape the future of communities across the country—from volunteer firefighters to youth mentors to veterans returning from active duty—as part of the National Day of Listening. Woven together, these stories will help illustrate how volunteering can answer national challenges and trumpet the extraordinary acts of service that make a difference in the lives of so many Americans.

This could be a great opportunity to interview volunteers in your organization and end up with audio clips for recruitment, training, and recognition. And, while the effort is directed at Americans, isn’t it also a great idea no matter what country you’re in?

15 November: Timed for Veterans Day, November 11th, Civic Enterprises has released a new report, All Volunteer Force: From Military to Civilian Service. It examines the challenges facing veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on returning home, with emphasis on the potential of volunteering in that transition. The full report and further information can be found at http://www.civicenterprises.net/allvolunteerforce/.

The Serve America Act contains a provision for a Veterans Service Corps and this report lays the foundation for that effort. But its long-term value is in recognizing the role volunteering in helping veterans and in opening a new volunteer talent pool to communities.

The central message of this report is that a new generation of veterans is returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan without sufficient connections to communities, is enthusiastic to serve again, and points the way forward for how our nation can better integrate them into civilian life. Although the 1.8 million veterans are from every corner of our nation, they are strongly united in their perspectives regarding civic responsibilities and opportunities as they return home. What's more, the findings show that OIF/OEF veterans are underutilized assets in our communities, and their continued service is likely to improve their transition home. We believe there is significant potential to increase volunteering and civic engagement among this generation of veterans.

The report is thoughtfully presented and raises both philosophical and practical points. The advice to consciously consider returning vets as potential community volunteers is worthwhile and may spark more outreach by volunteer project leaders.

8 November: Tony Goodrow of Volunteer² has just opened a brand new Web site called OurSharedResources.org that promises to be a real contribution to the volunteer field. This is a free service where those who work in the field of volunteer management will be able to add useful resources and others in the field will be able to access them. As the homepage says, “With many people contributing a little we avoid re-inventing the wheel time and time again.” Resources can be:

Downloadable, real-world examples of forms, manuals or position descriptions
Templates and tools for creating resources
Tips, ideas and how-to articles

Everyone always wants to see examples of real-life materials that colleagues have worked hard to develop and already proven useful (energizeinc.com will link to this new site because it collects material we do not). But OurSharedResources.org will only work if you post to it as well as take from it!

1 November: A collective of civic and corporate leaders have just issued the next generation of their report on “Reimagining Service,” following up their work on this subject last year. This is an important document that deserves attention – and response! There are some wonderful things in it and also some potentially disturbing points. See what you think. Go to ReimaginingService.org and click on the full report. Then become part of the discussion.

To whet your appetite, here are the 5 core ideas the report proposes.

Bring the best human resources management practices to the service sector to attract, acquire, inspire and retain volunteer talent.
Support the development of the service movement by investing critical dollars in the building of volunteer management infrastructure.
Establish a network of powerful leaders across sectors that value the role of service and can use their positions of influence to promote a broad-based understanding that volunteers are a valuable resource in addressing community problems.
Develop tools that raise the quality and efficiency of placing and managing volunteers.
Develop common metrics that assess and communicate the outcomes of effective volunteer programs.

It will take a bit of time to reply to the report, but the form provided on the site lets you add comments to each section.

24 October: Henry Stewart Talks (www.hstalks.com) is known throughout the UK for publishing various series of audio-visual presentations by world leading experts. Every online streaming talk has been specially commissioned with informative visuals and synchronized narration. Their newest set of programs is on Latest Thinking in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing

Designed and developed by Dr. Walter Wymer of University of Lethbridge, Canada this series of briefings has 10 lectures, all specially commissioned from academics and practitioners from the UK and the US. Not-for-profit marketing is essential for everyone who needs to attract support, funding, and volunteers for their organization.

Energize president Susan Ellis was invited to present one of the lectures, Strategic Volunteer Involvement: Engaging the Community in Your Mission, in which she has the opportunity to show how volunteer engagement connects to community relations, marketing, advocacy, client development and other key organization goals.

To view extracts from the series go to: http://hstalks.com/r/nonprofmktg. Available on a three-year licence – online and accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
.

18 October: The media blitz has arrived. As we reported, in June, the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) announced a commitment to incorporate volunteering and service into both news programming and ongoing fictional television series beginning the week of October 19. EIF has branded this effort as “iParticipate” and opened a Web site at www.iparticipate.org. There you can learn about the initiative, keep up with a blog about it, and view video clips of celebrities answering the question, “how do you serve?” (some replies are great and some snarky).

Over 50 shows, including TV’s biggest hits such as NCIS, The Office, The Big Bang Theory, and Project Runway are participating during the next two weeks, either by starting a volunteering story line, devoting an episode or a segment to community service, or running a “tag,” which USA Today defines as “announcement or promotion using graphics and voice-over during the show.” See the entire list, though morning shows, soap operas, and late-night talk shows are also expected to feature volunteers throughout the period.

The October 19-25 issue of TV Guide quotes EIF President Lisa Paulsen as commenting: “We believe using the power of television can really help make volunteerism a part of everyday life.” The magazine gives a sneak peek at some of what will air:

The neighbors on Desperate Housewives form a neighborhood watch.
A character on The Mentalist talks about spending her free time at a soup kitchen.
A character on 30 Rock rescues all the dogs at a shelter.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy – which provides an article describing iParticipate –is giving us a chance to participate more actively in two ways through its VolunTV Challenge Web site:

Act fast and you can still enter the contest to win both media attention for your organization and as much as $5,000 – deadline is October 26. The contest asks entrants to: “Think of ways your favorite TV show could develop plots or themes that feature volunteers for your favorite charity and send us your story pitches — either in writing or on video.” Read more. [Full disclosure: Energize President, Susan Ellis, is one of the judges.]

The Chronicle also plans to blog as the shows air and welcomes all comments:

Since we can't plop down on your couch, we'd like to share the experience with you virtually.

Beginning Monday, The Chronicle will play host to live chats on our "Give & Take" blog (http://philanthropy.com/giveandtake). We'll follow the shows as they are aired, hear your thoughts about what's on the air, and gather public reaction.

Finally – although the information was only disseminated on October 16 – Serve.gov and the media blitz partners have a range of suggestions for organizations wishing to capitalize on the visibility on behalf of their volunteers. Their material is attached, with links to further resources.

11 October: Universally, people recognize the contribution of volunteers, but volunteering does not succeed in a vacuum. IVMD Logo Behind this army of volunteers lies an equally dedicated group of individuals and agencies who are responsible for the coordination, support, training, administration and recruitment of the world's volunteers – skilled professionals who are adept at taking singular passion and turning it into effective action.

That is why we celebrate International Volunteer Managers Day every year on November 5!

Learn more at www.volunteermanagersday.org.

The IVMDay coordinating committee has just launched a new initiative:

Here's how YOU can support International Volunteer Managers Day

In an effort to allow more Volunteer Managers to throw their support behind the promotion of International Volunteer Managers Day (IVMDay), the international committee overseeing the celebration have announced a new 'affiliate' category of membership.

IVMDay is supported globally by a network of significant volunteer agencies who help to spread the word about the day to their members. This 'International Supporters Group' has now been extended to include individual volunteer programs - in hospitals, animal shelters, sporting clubs or wherever volunteers are effectively led.

This new 'affiliate' level of membership is free and you will see your program listed on the official IVMDay website as an affiliate member.

For further details please contact the Committee Chair, Andy Fryar, at andy@ozvpm.com.

The IVMDay site gives you ideas and resources for celebrating the day, reports of IVMD activities in past years, and the graphics you need to show your support for IVMD
by carrying the logo.

Energize, Inc. has been an International Supporter of IVMD from the beginning. Join us on November 5.

4 October: The Disney Company has just announced a year’s promotion starting in January through which one million Americans can give a day of volunteering and get free admission for a day at Walt Disney World® or Disneyland®. The official “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.” site introduces the program, which will replace this year’s promotion of free park admission on your birthday:

BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2010, when you sign up here to volunteer a day of service with a participating organization and your service is completed and verified) you'll get one day admission to a Walt Disney World® or Disneyland®
theme park, FREE! We want to inspire one million people to volunteer a day of service.

Few details are available yet, but at least they have a plan for validating the service.

It implies that the number of free tickets is capped at one million, but that’s a value of US$72-79 for each adult recipient – certainly higher than 8 hours at the current American minimum wage. So this is more than a “token” of appreciation.

The other winner in this is HandsOn Network, which gets a ton of free publicity and maybe – hopefully – new volunteers who may stick it out after they visit the Magic Kingdom! They describe their role at http://www.handsonnetwork.org/disney.

The media attention (all largely quoting from the same single press release) started last week and has been enormous. Here are a few links as examples:

The tone of the reporting and of responses from the various sites’ visitors seems universally positive. Colleagues in volunteerism, however, wonder about the ultimate impact and implications of this sort of campaign

The first of what promises to be many television ads about the deal have begun to air. Unfortunately, these lead off with excited people saying: “Did you know there’s a way to get a free ticket to a Disney park just for volunteering?” From our perspective, this certainly emphasizes the wrong point. But stay tuned. Sign up for the e-mail updates Disney is offering, just to see how it all evolves.

At learning about this offer, one Energize staffer reacted by saying: “It sounds Goofy!” – and then realized the pun. J

27 September: The Points of Light Institute has just announced a free webinar series sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service and focused on helping agencies to prepare for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service on January 18, 2010. Learn how to “Make It a Day on and Not a Day off" and, along the way, how to manage group events.

Title: The Art of Developing and Managing Large Scale Projects
Date: September 29, 2009
Time: 2:00 - 3:30 pm ET

Title: Engaging Youth and Families in Meaningful Service on MLK Day
and Beyond
Date: October 6, 2009
Time: 2:00 - 3:30 pm ET

Title: Using Volunteer Leaders and Skill Based Volunteers to Support MLK Day
Date: October 20, 2009
Time: 2:00 - 3:30 pm ET

Title: Engaging Low Income Communities in MLK Day of Service: The Neighboring Model
Date: November 3, 2009
Time: 2:00 - 3:30 pm ET

For full details on the content and presenters of each seminar, click here and enter the search word MLK.

Registration is required for these free webinars at: https://pointsoflight.webex.com/mw0306l/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=pointsoflight&service=7
You will enter the Points of Light Webex website. Click on the "Upcoming" tab and then click on the session title to register for the webinar. Registration is required but you do not need a password to register. After registering, you will receive an e-mail with log-in information for the session. (If you don't receive an email, please check your Spam folder.) If you have any questions, please email training@handsonnetwork.org.

20 September: Colleague Carol Weisman is renouned for her very funny style and her newest book lives up to that reputation. Laugh-out-loud funny, Fundraising Superheroes (http://www.fundraisingsuperheroes.com/) is an equally serious how-to guide for boaard members and other volunteers to become successful in raising money. Aqnd right now Carol is offering a complete copy of the electronic edition for free. Note the “warning label”:

Warning: When book is being read, light bulbs might be seen over your board members’ heads. Could cause glare! Once board members became more fully engaged in the fundraising process, superhero logos have been known to appear on undergarments.

Click here and read the instructions for obtaining your free copy. For more books by Carol, check out her list in the Energize Online Bookstore.

13 September: The 2009 Serve America Act designated September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance for the United States, which meant an official launch last Friday. It should be noted that this designation simply formalized an ongoing attempt to commemorate that terrifying day with a more positive approach to human nature – highlighting how Americans joined together in the aftermath of the destruction. Volunteering on September 11th was the goal of an organization founded by relatives of some of the victims, MyGoodDeed (www.mygooddeed.org). So this idea has been active for seven years already. You can read the official press release to see how the day was described last Tuesday.

What happened in your community regarding September 11th and volunteering last week? In some places, the effort to urge service was totally invisible. In other areas, a top government official or media celebrity spearheaded a service project and therefore received publicity. And in still other communities, the day was actually condemned as an attempt by the Obama Administration to dilute the meaning of the 2001 attacks and instead extol “government-funded” projects. A classic eye-of-the-beholder situation.

Rather than select sites for our visitors to click to, we recommend that you type “National Day of Service and Remembrance” into your Web search engine and read the variety of articles that appeared in all the major news sources on Friday. It seems important for us to recognize the wide spectrum of feelings about this new service day. Where do you stand? Is that what your community feels, too? What does all this controversy mean for next year?

30 August: Despite the upward trend in youth volunteering, young adults with no college experience are half as likely to volunteer as their collegiate counterparts, according to a new report examining the relationship between youth volunteering and college experience. Roughly 43 percent of the 20-to-29-year-old American population has not attended college.

Using data from the Census Current Population Survey (CPS) and other research, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE, www.civicyouth.org) at Tufts University’s Tisch College and the National Conference on Citizenship (www.ncoc.net) have just released a report in the form of a fact sheet They found that 25 percent of young adults who have attended college volunteered in 2007 while only 11 percent of those with no college experience volunteered. This gap has remained constant since 2002.

Peter Levine, director of CIRCLE, said young people without college experience are underutilized and underestimated:

Studies show all young people want to get involved in their communities, and lack of college experience should not be the deciding factor…Schools, communities and government need to create more opportunities for all young people, not just the ones with a college education. Volunteering and participation in civic life is an important part of society, and no one should be excluded from an opportunity to do so.

The report further found that young people who used new media tools such as e-mail, social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace) and text messaging were more likely to volunteer. College and non-college youth use new media at similar rates. However, online forms of civic engagement (such as commenting on a blog for civic purposes) are less common among young people without college experience. These findings should be interpreted with caution because more research is needed on this topic.

The 10-page fact sheet, press release, and other information at http://www.civicyouth.org/?p=350 provide many conversation starters. We at Energize would add one more: Is it possible that fewer non-college-educated people of any age volunteer because they are asked less frequently?

23 August: Youth Service America (YSA, www.ysa.org), with its mission of “improving communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles,” is the official youth partner of the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance. They note how much time has passed since 2001:

As we approach the 8th-year anniversary of 9/11, we are challenged to explain the significance of the event to America's young people – most of whom have no first-hand memory of the occasion.

To assist organizations and schools in engaging children and teens in the September 11th commemoration, YSA is offering “Eight for 9/11,” with suggestions for eight lessons about the event and related ideas for volunteering and service-learning projects on these themes:

People came together, to rebuild community.
We became more aware of difference, and more committed to understanding diversity.
We grew to understand anew the importance of meeting basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter
The event generated a renewed patriotism and commitment to democracy.
We were linked to and embraced by a global community.
People supported one another with random acts of kindness and goodwill.
We emerged with a new fervor for and focus on a better future.
Everyday acts of service can be heroic.

The site provides activity ideas and links to more resources.

16 August: The social networking site BlackPlanet.com has just launched “BlackPlanet Rising” (www.blackplanetrising.com) to encourage and assist its members to: “Champion a Cause. Change Your Community.”

BlackPlanet Rising aims to mobilize the BlackPlanet community by introducing and encouraging acts of service and social change. By connecting members to various philanthropic opportunities and like-minded individuals, we empower individuals to champion a cause they believe in to make a positive change in their community. By serving as a meeting point for social and civic engagement, we are dedicated to providing tools and resources that inform, inspire, and motivate action.

As part of our mission, we deliver many ways for motivated individuals to get involved AND be personally fulfilled in the process. We encourage you to identify the causes you are passionate about and to leverage BlackPlanet Rising as a vehicle for supporting those initiatives. Giving is a personal experience that is unique to your individual resources and attributes, which allows you to give back in your own way. The key is to always demonstrate unwavering commitment to what you've chosen to advocate. So, join the movement, spread the word and rise up!

The site is partnering with VolunteerMatch.org on referring members to volunteer opportunities, and with DonorsChoose.org for information on where to give money.

9 August: Here’s an idea whose time has come. With the growing popularity of YouTube and the increasing ease of posting streaming video to Web sites, more nonprofits are discovering the benefits of getting their message out with moving pictures. But it still takes expertise and creativity to produce a memorable, effective video clip.

To the rescue comes the new YouTube Video Volunteers (www.youtube.com/videovolunteers) project, with a simple and effect service to match video-skilled volunteers with nonprofits wanted to develop a video message. It’s a two-step process:

Organizations are told to post their video volunteer opportunity on any one of these three sites: VolunteerMatch.org, Idealist.org, or Serve.gov. The key is to make sure the words “Video Volunteer” appear in the posting, which allows the All for Good aggregator to find them.
Prospective volunteers go to YouTube Video Volunteers site where they can view alll the opportunities posted by the agencies on the other sites. They sort through and contact the organization directly to learn more and offer their services.

Check out the site and watch the clever video introduction

2 August: Last week, the Corporation for National and Community Service released the 2009 "Volunteering in America" report and updated Web site, which includes the most comprehensive set of data regarding civic engagement in the United States.

This report, available at www.VolunteeringinAmerica.gov has detailed multi-year information on volunteering trends and demographics in all 50 states, U.S. regions, and several cities and it ranks states and large and mid-size cities on volunteer rates. A summary of the findings can be found in the 6-page PDF, Volunteering in America Research Highlights. A few are:

Volunteers serving nationwide in 2008: 61.8 million
National volunteer rate in 2008: 26.4%
National hours volunteered in 2008: 8 billion
#1 region for volunteer rate (2006-2008 data): Midwest (31.1 %)
#1 state for volunteer rate (2006-2008 data): Utah (43.5 %)
#1 large city for volunteer rate (2006-2008 data): Minneapolis-St Paul, MN (38.4 %)
#1 mid-size city for volunteer rate (2005-2008 data): Provo, UT

Over 20 other Research Papers available for free download on the site include:

Volunteering Can Make You Healthier
Volunteers Watch about an Hour Less of Television a Day
Shorter Commutes Leave Time for Service
Volunteers and the Economic Downtown

Something for everyone!

26 July: While it’s important for volunteer management practitioners to see themselves as part of the entire volunteerism field – regardless of setting or location – at times there is great value in networking with colleagues who work in the same type of organization. Energize maintains a list of such affinity/special setting associations and welcomes learning about new ones. So we’re pleased to announce the recent launch of the Administrators of Volunteer Programs in Performing Arts (AVPPA) discussion group.

AVPPA connects administrators of volunteer programs in the performing arts and provides a forum for the discussion of the unique challenges of performing arts volunteerism and the promotion of effective volunteer management practices globally. Members debate the topic of the moment, share resources, get answers to volunteer management questions in the performing arts, and find a community of support for challenges and triumphs unique to the performing arts setting.

Here is part of their message to prospective members:

Over the years, we knew that we depended on each other to provide answers and support about the unique challenges of managing and working with volunteers in the performing arts. But, we also knew there was a much bigger audience “out there” who had the same challenges. So, we created AVPPA to provide a forum for all of us to talk!

To join the free AVPPA online discussion group, click on this link – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AVPPA/ – or cut and paste it into your browser. If you already have a Yahoo account, you’ll be able to add this discussion group to your list immediately. If you don’t already have a Yahoo account, it’s free and easy to get one (just follow the instructions on screen). Using your Yahoo ID (which can be associated with whatever e-mail address you choose), you’ll be able to access the full AVPPA site and take advantage of all files, photos, and polls.

Please note that the list is moderated and a member of the steering committee must approve your request to join (mainly to monitor that all members are in performing arts settings), which usually happens quickly. If you encounter any problems send an email to: AVPPA-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

19 July: Sage Hospitality is supporting volunteering with its “Give A Day, Get A Night” promotional offer that started on July 1.

Complete 8 hours of volunteer service to a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization between July 1, 2009 and December 18, 2009 to qualify to receive 50% off the published room rate – or even a complimentary night (limited availability). All 53 Sage hotels in the US are participating.

The Web site provides more details, though it is unclear whether there are any further criteria for the kind of agency served, whether someone who volunteers in another country is eligible, or how the guest “proves” that the volunteering took place. But an incentive is an incentive, so take a look.

The offer is good through December 20, 2009.

`12 July: Colleague Andy Fryar, in his monthly e-mailing from his Australasian Web site, OzVPM (www.ozvpm.com), shared the new release of two very illuminating studies of volunteering in his country:

The Economic Value of Volunteering in Western Australia
Commissioned by the Department of Communities in Western Australia, this report gives some very interesting and specific data on the level and economic impact of volunteering in that state. For example, it reports that the value of volunteering to the WA community is around $6.6 billion per annum!

2009 Volunteering in South Australia Report
In 2003, the South Australia Government co-signed a compact with the SA volunteering community. Each year since then, the SA Minister for Volunteers releases a report based on the commitment made in the compact and measuring the success of volunteering in that state against the SA government’s Strategic Plan. This is the 2009 report.

5 July:Crisis, the national UK charity for single homeless people (www.crisis.org.uk), is dedicated to “ending homelessness by delivering life-changing services and campaigning for change.” They just completed a one-year project funded by v (UK’s National Youth Volunteering Programme) to provide volunteering opportunities to 52 homeless young people in London and Newcastle.

Crisis produced The Good Practice Guide: Engaging Young Homeless People in Volunteering to enable other organizations to follow a similar process. It is available for free download at: http://www.crisis.org.uk/page.builder/good_practice_guide.html

Dr. Angela Ellis Paine, Director of the Institute of Volunteering Research, describes the guide as:

…a welcome and timely addition to the growing body of literature on how to involve ‘hard to reach’ groups in volunteering. Rather than providing (more) ‘good practice’ advice and guidance in the traditional sense however, this report tells it as it is, or at least how it was for one organisation.

Archived News: Current | 2009 June-Jan | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 Dec - July | 2006 June - Jan | 2005 Dec - July | 2005 June - Jan | 2004 Dec - July | 2004 June - Jan | 2003 Dec - Aug | 2003 July - Jan

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