Digital Arts Service Corps - volunteer

6 Volunteer Management Presentations

Kelli Williams — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:03:59 +0000

These are some of the resources I present to donors and to agencies. They are rough and they require extra explanation in many places. But, since I haven't trademarked them, unfortunately, I am sharing them with you. Feel free to email me with any questions...I also have a list of websites and reading that supplement this. I'll get it on the wiki sometime soon hopfully.

Volunteer for Beer

Kelli Williams — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 14:28:26 +0000

At least that was what we were going to entitle our volunteer alert. Thought better of it at second glance. The Director of Teaming for Technology and I attended the John Mayer concert on Tue. night at our area's big amphitheatre to work a concession/vendor stand as a fundraising project. There was quite a process to be invitied, to host a stand, get certified to sell alcohol, etc. etc.--it took the better part of a month. We showed up excited and left dejected. It was chaos and we ended up not only not making money but losing it. We will not be going back for round 2! However, a very positive aspect of the adventure was the public recognition our project received. It was a great networking opportunity and we were right in front of our core market that we need/want to reach. And since we were holding beer they wanted we had their undivided attention. We had people come back all night long to buy from us because we had made a connection with them about where their money was going. So, from a marketing/community outreach project it was a slam dunk. Money, not so much.

On the home front, I am struggling to find the happy medium between two bosses. One, my immediate supervisor, understands that this is a "people" business and relationship building and face time are of the highest importance when you're getting ready to ask somebody for something. Her superior, while very nice and very understanding, does not seem to grasp this aspect of the non-profit sector. Having spent 30 years in the for-profit world might have something to do with the disconnect. We use Volunteer Solutions as a volunteer agency/opportunity management tool here. It is essentially a dead tool--is not being used and has not been used for close to 2 years. It is my assignment to revitalize the volunteer outreach that Triangle United Way does directed through Volunteer Solutions. I delivered my first synopsis of work last week at a staff meeting, on the day that marked my completed first month of service, and had quite a bit to report. My comments were that while I thought Volunteer Solutions was entirely capable of doing what was being asked of it, since it had not been used in so long I was going to have to be essentially doing its job for at least 6 months. I relayed the information and reactions I had received in my recent site visits to our member organizations in the last few weeks--all of which had been negative. The highlights from my meetings were that the TUW is "big brother" and has very little understanding of its agencies. I had to report that, from what I saw, those perceptions were true and it was going to take a lot of 'bridge building' on my part to the program directors and volunteers to get them back in the habit/mindset of turning to TUW and Volunteer Solutions for their needs. It's an uphill march, but I stressed that it is one that I think is not only worthwile and capable of being reached--it is essential for the namesake of Triangle United Way. So, I have a big job but I am encouraged by the support of my superiors (my colleagues will get there eventually) and the people I've met at our agencies. This is apparently an issue that has been tossed around for a few years without a solution, so, to quote one of my bosses "we went and got you." It's ok to be both flattered and scared by that comment, right?

3 External Resources for Volunteer Management

Kevin Palmer — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 14:37:28 +0000

Listed below are a variety of external links related to Volunteer Management:

Management Help's Extensive Volunteer Management Resource

Volunteer Today's Volunteer Resource Clearinghouse

Idealist Nonprofit HR Center

Helpful websites on best practices, volunteerism, and more!

Laura Hanley — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 19:14:11 +0000

Hey all,

Here are some resources that I hope you find useful! The first site is more comprehensive, while the last three focus on volunteerism. I have more resources related to other topics, but I'll save those for another day. :)

ETR Associates Epicenter www.nationalserviceresources.org - This site, developed by the Corporation for National and Community Service, lists best practices for a variety of topics. AmeriCorps members submit what worked for them, so their experiences are easy to relate to. If you click on the AmeriCorps logo, you can search by topic area, such as Education, Human Needs, Program Management, and Volunteer Management to name a few. I found it to be useful during my previous VISTA term when I wasn't sure where to start on a certain task.

Point of Light Foundation www.pointsoflight.org - Under the "Resources" tab, there are a variety of publications, examples, and tool kits for those managing volunteers. The downside is that there's no easy way to search for something specific; the best way to find something is to sort the list alphabetically and hope to find what you're looking for that way if you don't have time to look through everything. Lots of good resources, however.

Volunteer Today www.volunteertoday.com - Pretty much a one time visit to the website to subscribe, Volunteer Today is an electronic newsletter for people who manage volunteers. Although generally not really indepth, it can be useful for those new to the task.

VolunteerMatch www.volunteermatch.org - This is an awesome website, used to find volunteer opportunities and volunteers. It really speaks for itself, so if you're looking for volunteer opportunities in your community or are trying to recruit volunteers, check it out!

(Hopefully) Useful info about recruiting volunteers

Laura Hanley — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 23:20:29 +0000

Good afternoon, all!

So....even though volunteer recruitment has nothing to do with what I will be doing during my VISTA term, I'd still like to blog about it because it's something I'm really interested in overall. During my first VISTA term (yup, this is year two of AmeriCorps for me), I found this to be quite useful since volunteer recruitment and management was one of my tasks. The information comes from the following website where you can find lots more information on volunteering: http://www.drcharity.com/voluntee.html

15 Places to Recruit Volunteers

1. Corporate newsletters

2. Schools and colleges

3. Retiree programs

4. Senior citizen centers

5. Corporate outplacement programs

6. Corporate volunteer programs

7. Churches, synagogues, and other places of worship

8. Internship programs

9. Career counseling services

10. Civic clubs, fraternal societies, sororities

11. Newspapers, radio, cable television

12. Governmental organizations

13. Court system

14. Volunteer recruitment fairs

15. Other nonprofit organizations

I have plenty of more information on volunteers that I will share in the future, but here's at least somewhere to start! In case you're wondering where I got this information, I received a whole binder of information at my first PSO for my last VISTA position. Who knows, maybe this whole binder will be up by the end of this year since I felt that the contents were helpful in getting me through my last year!

Hope everyone's doing well!

In service,

Laura

Volunteer Management

danielle martin — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 15:01:05 +0000

Here's the beginning of some discussion around how to recruit and retain volunteers!

Straight Bloggin'

AJ McGuire — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:27:59 +0000

Yeah, so I'm blogging. Week 3 at the job. Trying to figure out that delicate balance between direct service and capacity building. Trying to get some people even crazier than me to do the direct service bit on a volunteer/intern basis. Anyone out there have any leads for getting volunteers? Specifically, in the Boston area? Been hitting colleges and posting on Craigslist and such.