Engaging Volunteers

New Webinar Series: Social Media and Volunteer Engagement

Robert Rosenthal — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:52:10 +0000

With Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter beginning to challenge search engines as the primary source of information for many people, it’s clear we’re moving into a new era for the Internet. In the future, many volunteers will discover your opportunities through their social network — not Google.com.

At the same time, social networking tools provide volunteer coordinators with effective new means to communicate with volunteers — especially after disasters.

What do you need to know about social media as a volunteer program manager? How can you use sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to promote your volunteer opportunities and recruit volunteers? What organizatons are using these tools effectively to promote their volunteer programs and coordinate supporters?

Join VolunteerMatch’s Victoria Pacchiana on March 23 for a new live VolunteerMatch Web training that will offer an introduction to social media and some of the most popular sites. You’ll also learn about the social media tools available in your VolunteerMatch account that help you promote your volunteer opportunity on other social networking sites. Victoria is our Online Communications Manager, and coordinator of our own social media networks. (Twitter: @vmconnect)

New Webinar: Social Media and Volunteer Engagement
Tuesday, 3/23, 2010
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PT
Cost: Free!
Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/365372585

Don’t forget: VolunteerMatch has more than a dozen other great Webinars for volunteer coordinators and nonprofit professionals. Click here for the entire list.

New Partnership: TakePart, American Express and Volunteering

Robert Rosenthal — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:56:08 +0000

Members Project from American Express

If you watched the Oscars this year, you may have noticed something else besides the glitz and glamor – a big focus on giving back!

During the ceremonies, two commercials aired about a program that VolunteerMatch is involved in called Members Project, from American Express® and TakePart. This program encourages everyone, whether an American Express Cardmember or not, to do their part by providing numerous ways to get involved, including sharing their passion for worthy causes.

Whether it’s volunteering for a local organization, making a donation, or voting for a charity to receive additional funding from American Express, Members Project will provide the tools and resources to support the diverse causes people care about most and help empower everyone to be successful at making a difference.

Much of this activity will take place on a new Web page for Members Project at www.takepart.com/membersproject. Through our API, you can search a fresh feed of volunteer opportunities from VolunteerMatch, and over time, our cause marketing tools will allow American Express and TakePart to track the impact that participants are making in communities across the country.

We’re proud to help TakePart, American Express and its members make a difference with local nonprofits.

National Volunteer Week Ideas: A Book Is A Great Way to Say Thanks

Robert Rosenthal — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:24:59 +0000

Volunteers should be recognized and celebrated, and with National Volunteer Week right around the corner, the gift of a customized book is the perfect way to show appreciation.

The Book Company has put together a cool package for nonprofits that want to communicate in a meaningful way — with a personal messages on the inside page of inspirational books.

The promotional technique, which is called a Promo-Page Insert, allows you to select books (prices range from $5 -$15 each) that are actually likely to be read, shared, displayed and treasured for years to come.

You send the message. The company handles all the printing. You can see examples of this here.

Examples of book titles that would work well for National Volunteer Week include:

Heart of a Volunteer
Chicken Soup for the Volunteer’s Soul
1: How many people does it take to make a difference?
Because of You

You can learn more at www.mybookco.com.

What do you think? Would your volunteers appreciate an inspiring book with a personal message? What other gifts might make an impact on National Volunteer Week? Share below and let us know.

Engaging Pro Bono Tech: Interview with Jonathan Feinstein, imc²

Robert Rosenthal — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:53:39 +0000

Jonathan Feinstein, imc2

Our first application for mobile devices, VolunteerMatch for iPhone, is now available in the App Store and at iTunes. For the first time, individuals are able to find and sign up for your VolunteerMatch opportunities on the go.

We’re especially pleased to have produced our latest release with the pro bono contribution of imc², a brand engagement agency. With their help and assistance, VolunteerMatch was able to significantly expand our capacity to perform our mission of strengthening communities by making it easier for good people and good causes to connect.

This week I caught up with Jonathan Feinstein from imc²to talk about the agency’s commitment to Positive Impact as a for-profit, how skilled volunteering fits into its portfolio of social investments, and what the company looks for in a nonprofit partner. imc² is based in Dallas, Texas, with offices in Philadelphia and New York City.

Q: What does imc² do?

Jonathan: Our agency essentially helps brands and marketers build more sustainable relationships with people. That’s why we describe ourselves as a brand engagement agency – it speaks to our purpose, the role we want to play with clients, and the direction we’d like to move the industry. Our roots are digital, but we have a broad range of skills and expertise across platforms. More importantly, we want to be in a position to help marketers think strategically about their relationships with people.

Q: What is the background of imc²’s social impact work?

Jonathan: The story of our social impact work really begins with our founder/CEO Doug Levy and his evolution as a business leader. On one level, he realized that having a philosophical starting point – a clear understanding of our purpose and intention – would give the business an advantage in an industry that is constantly changing. On another level, he started to think differently about what was possible through business – that it’s possible to make a profit and make a positive impact. So, one of our guiding principles became: “Be a force for good.”

I came along in 2007, first to help us get a baseline understanding of what our current impact was. Since then, we’ve developed measurable targets, reporting protocol, and programming around volunteering, giving, as well as environmental impact. One of the programs that we piloted last year was something we call Weekend of Love. It promotes skills-based volunteering by allowing our people to be champions for the nonprofits they are passionate about. With some help from the Taproot Foundation, we created an application, distributed it to our people, and encouraged them to champion a nonprofit to receive pro bono marketing services. From the application, we then get familiar with the marketing needs of the nonprofit, narrow down to a specific project, and then recruit the folks internally to make it happen.

Q: Where did the focus on pro bono/skilled volunteering come from?

Jonathan: I think the process is still unfolding, but we’ve tried to look for ways to engage our own people in volunteer work that is beneficial to them professionally as well as personally. For example, Weekend of Love is a compressed, intense process where we bring nonprofit staff onsite to produce quality work in a limited time frame. While this looked different in our different offices, the experience inspired our team, built chemistry, and created personal relationships with folks on the nonprofit side.

On another level, skills-based volunteering adds insight into the paid work we do for clients in the private sector and opens up some really exciting opportunities for partnerships down the road between these organizations and for-profits.

Q: What kinds of work does the company do pro bono? How does it vary from fee-based work?

Jonathan: I wouldn’t say that the work necessarily differs at all. One thing that hopefully VolunteerMatch discovered is that our people embrace pro bono work with the same passion, commitment, and professionalism as they do with paid client work. We certainly don’t approach it with reduced expectations. In fact, given the time constraints, the pro bono work sometimes pushes us to find creative solutions that provide even more value.

Q: What has been the impact to the company culture and recruiting as a result of the social impact programs?

Jonathan: It has been a difficult economy the last few years. We’ve experienced the same kinds of challenges and difficult choices as other companies. Despite the downturn, though, overall employee satisfaction is on its way up. And one question in particular that has had a good response on employee satisfaction surveys has to do with Positive Impact initiatives providing worthwhile opportunities to be a force for good.

Q: What kinds of pro bono partnerships does imc² look for?

Jonathan: Organizations that are innovative and tech-savvy are typically good matches for our talent. Just as important can be an organization’s willingness to engage around its larger purpose and commitment to communicate authentically. Regardless, we want to partner with organizations on a level where the work we create is going to live on – that’s really important for our volunteers and often determines the impact of the work.

Q: How did the company select VolunteerMatch as a possible partner?

Jonathan: We had recently developed a branded iPhone app for Pizza Hut that received a lot of well-deserved media attention. I was thinking about how we could really use our professional talent and expertise to make a difference for the volunteer movement more broadly. I was aware of VolunteerMatch, and I knew you were the go-to database for volunteer opportunities across the country. I thought, “What if we worked with VolunteerMatch to provide opportunities to people on the go?”

While I was on VolunteerMatch.org one day, I sent a customer service email and Torrey Lippincott (VolunteerMatch’s Director of Product Development) responded. And because you were able to intake that idea and put it into the right channels, it was a relatively smooth process.

Q: Once the engagement began, what things did VolunteerMatch do to make it easier or harder for imc² to support the project?

Jonathan: Frankly, if there wasn’t as much tech savvy on VolunteerMatch’s side, the project probably wouldn’t have worked. On top of that, the VolunteerMatch team was open-minded, able to take feedback and push back from us. Our software engineer on the project, Vincent Guerin, said flat-out, “I’d work with them any day.”

Both of those qualities make such a difference. For example, during the Weekend of Love, we worked with another nonprofit, The Jesse Tree, a regional organization in Galveston, Texas. They don’t have a big paid staff, but they know what they need and they’ve recruited skilled volunteers – people who can actively support the management of the organization.

Even just getting a Web redesign done can be a massive undertaking for small nonprofits. But there’s a way to prioritize and really pursue important pro bono projects. Start with individuals within your existing volunteer network – or expand that network if you need to – and identify who can lend their professional skills to your organization. Corporations and many individuals want to work on projects that can be sustained and maintained for the long term.

Q: Do you have any advice for other creative agencies that are considering taking a stronger approach to pro bono as part of their social impact work?

Jonathan: We’re still very much in the beginning stages, but one thing I’ve seen is that the true volunteer spirit of our pro bono work is directly related to how rewarding and impactful the work is at the end of the day. It’s just a question of patience and persistence.

What Does Patrick Corvington Need to Know?

Robert Rosenthal — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:03:47 +0000

America has a new top promoter for volunteering, and his name is Patrick Corvington.

On February 18, Corvington was sworn in as the new CEO for the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that is the nation’s largest grantmaker for service and volunteering. He takes over from interim chief Nicola Goren, who helped bridge the pre-Serve America Act and post-Serve America Act periods for the Corporation.

What is Corvington getting into? According to the press release, he joins the agency in a time of “unprecedented social need and support for national service.”

We couldn’t agree more about the need, with social service budgets being slashed across the country, massive layoffs, record foreclosures, and gridlock on Capitol Hill.

As for support, the money is certainly there. While nonprofits across the nation shrinking their operations, the Serve America Act’s bipartisan backing has meant a $260 million-plus increase in funds for federal programs like AmeriCorps, SeniorCorps, and Learn and Serve America. And more people are talking about volunteering that seemingly ever before, even if the needle has not yet substantially moved on involvement.

Impact Uncertain

And yet, as things stand today, the impact of the Corporation for National and Community Service has not been felt across the sector.

Most nonprofits aren’t tuned into the Corporation or how national service could help their operations.

Most volunteers have little sense for who is behind national promotions like MLK Day, much less an interest in signing up for national service programs, stipended or not. (It doesn’t help that some aspects of the Corporation’s communications haven’t been updated in an eternity — this page appears to date back to 2004.)

Meanwhile, a few whispers are being heard that the Serve America Act may have it all wrong.

Some say the already limited funding for social innovators and volunteer referral programs has too many strings attached or that key funds have already been unfairly earmarked as pork for state commissions.

Paula Bergin and Susan Ellis, influential voices on volunteer management, even expressed their fears that putting lightly trained AmeriCorps members in a management capacity for a limited time could actually destroy many volunteer programs.

New Focus on Capacity Building

But the new hire could mean the Corporation has turned the corner — especially with regard to a renewed focus on increasing the ability of organizations to effectively recruit and manage volunteers. Corvington got the job in large part because his background aligns with the Corporation’s renewed focus on “capacity building” from the Serve America Act.

At the Annie E. Casey Foundation he helped guide the foundation’s grantees on issues related to leadership development, next generation leadership, and capacity building. Before that he led the Innovation Network, a nonprofit agency whose mission is to build nonprofit capacity, and conducted policy research in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Center at The Urban Institute, the think-tank that was responsible for one of the most important studies on the sector over the last decade.

With Corvington running the agency and money about to start flowing out of the funded coffers, the time appears right for your organization to plug into programs that could make a huge difference.

So what do you think, volunteer managers? Are you ready for real capacity building support? More importantly, what does Patrick Corvington need to know about your program as he prepares to try to help you? Share your advice for America’s top volunteer promoter below.

(Photo: CNCS)

Exceptions to the Rule, Part 1: You Don’t Have to Be a 501c to Use VolunteerMatch

Kevin Johnson — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:07:19 +0000

When it comes to the safety and privacy of the volunteers, we don’t joke around. That’s why our policies on who can use VolunteerMatch.org are some of the strictest in the business.

Today our Web service is used by some 75,000 participating organizations. And while 9 in 10 of our member organizations are official 501(c)s, not all are. In fact, not only are some not tax-exempt, some of our organizations are actually for profit! With this post, I thought readers would appreciate an overview on the exceptions.

The Process In Place

Unlike some volunteer recruiting services and billboards, not just anyone can create a VolunteerMatch account and then immediately start posting “Help wanted” ads on VolunteerMatch. Not only would this create a situation ripe for fraud, it could lead to instances where volunteers are taken advantage of.

To review these applications, we have a state-of-the-art system which we call myself, my co-worker Dee, and our team of volunteeers.

Each week, around 200 organizations join the VolunteerMatch network, and our crew of Community Support folks are responsible for making sure the organizations are who they say they are, that they have a mission that benefits the community, and that they are not involved in shady business that could hurt our community of volunteers.

If we can say so ourselves, not only are we thorough in our jobs, but we are insanely committed to working quickly. Typically our turnaround time for an organization to be approved (or asked for more info) is less than 48 hours. It’s not fool-proof — no screening system could be — but it helps our network of volunteers, companies, and other business partners all breathe easier knowing that systems are in place to ensure a strong and healthy community.

Exceptions to the Rule

After more than decade in business, VolunteerMatch has added some important exceptions to our policies, and lots of organizations might benefit from knowing more about this.

There are three types of organizations which we broadly speaking allow in as exceptions.

Certain organizations without 501(c) status
Certain for-profit organizations
Government agencies & schools

In coming posts, I’ll take a look at each of these exceptions to help clarify how and why we accept certain organizations that don’t fit the standard definition of “nonprofit.” First, however, let’s look at how and why certain organizations without 501(c) status can use VolunteerMatch.

Exception #1: Organizations That Aren’t 501(c)

As our policy states, there are three instances where we’ll allow organizations without 501(c) status to use VolunteerMatch.

If your 501(c) status is pending.

If you applied and you’re still waiting to hear back from the IRS, we’ll take all your verifying documents for now, and then request you follow up with your official 501(c) papers later on. Simply put, some organizations, particularly new ones, are on a knife edge financially — they may not last long without the help of great volunteers. We don’t want to penalize organizations that have a pressing recruitment need but who are waiting for the IRS to get back to them.

If you’re operating under the fiscal umbrella of a sponsoring organization.

If another 501(c) has officially taken your organization or program on as a fiscally sponsored organisation, you can submit paperwork from them attesting to their support and begin using VolunteerMatch. While this requires a bit more paperwork to process, we recognize that fiscal sponsorship is an increasingly popular way for mission-based folks to save money while making a difference.

If your organization is a for-profit company that is collaborating with a nonprofit.

Lots of organizations work closely with for-profit partners and vendors to accomplish goals — especially in special event management and production. If a company is involved in a specific volunteer event or opportunity such as an AIDS ride, fun run, or conference, and they can submit the valid EIN of the partner nonprofit, we will approve their use of VolunteerMatch.

One final note…. not surprisingly, in each of these exceptions, we actually require more paperwork and documentation to approve the organization than otherwise. If you want to be an exception to the rule, we’ll gladly help you get into our network… but we’re keeping an eye on you for everyone’s sake.

Coming up next week, I’ll take a look at how and why certain for-profits can use VolunteerMatch to recruit volunteers. In the meantime, if you have any questions about who can use VolunteerMatch and how, please don’t hesitate to let us know at support@volunteermatch.org.

21 Ways Volunteers Can Help with Your Web Site

Robert Rosenthal — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:42:33 +0000

Guest post by Monique Cuvelier, CEO, Talance, Inc.

Reprinted with permission from Talance, Inc.

As any charitable organization knows, volunteers are superstars. They give love and expertise and don’t ask for a dime in return. They can be especially helpful if your organization has a website.

Bearing in mind that an entire Web development project is long-term and requires dedicated knowledge and commitment that you’re better off hiring someone to do (upshot: it’s easier to fire someone whose work you’re not happy with), there are still plenty of other tasks you can assign out to people who want to help.

Here are a few:

Social networking cheerleader
Add comments to blogs
Contribute blog entries
Participate in discussion on bulletin boards
Data entry (i.e., cutting and pasting info into a new site)
Web site promotion
Adding your Web site to directories
Writing news updates about events
Website literacy workshops
Checking for dead links
Updating old content
Convert press releases for Web sites
Usability testing (i.e., make sure everything works in a logical way).
Bug reporting (i.e., look for and report errors or problems)
Identify requirements for new development
Browser testing
Taking pictures for the Web site
Formatting and uploading pictures
Making videos for the site
Uploading videos onto a service like YouTube or Vimeo, and adding them to site
Help manage wiki

Anything we missed? Add your ideas below.

Monique Cuvelier is the CEO of Talance, a Boston, MA-based interactive design agency that plans and launches Web sites for nonprofits. She launched her first Web site in 1994. Today she is a frequent presenter and has written professionally on technology for more than 17 years.

[Photo: AVP Volunteer 2 by yuan2003, on Flickr]

Earn Your Mark of Excellence: CVA Registration Open Until March 1

Robert Rosenthal — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:14:08 +0000

Volunteer Managers: There’s still time to make this the year you become Certified in Volunteer Administration.

March 1 is the deadline to join with other leaders in the field and take the next step in your career with a “Certified in Volunteer Administration” (CVA) credential.

Not only will having a CVA credential give you more confidence in your ability to professionally manage a volunteer program, your organization will love being able to showcase its commitment to having great staff members. It’s a win-win!

The CVA program was originally developed by the Association for Volunteer Administration. Today, the program is administered by the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration, an independent group dedicated to promoting and certifying excellence in volunteer administration.

(At VolunteerMatch, our own volunteer manager, Jennifer Bennett, recently obtained her certification. You can read about her journey here.)

To qualify for the CVA program, you must have at least three years of professional volunteer management experience. The deadline for registration is March 1, 2010.

Visit www.cvacert.org to print a copy of the 2010 Candidate Handbook containing details and the registration form. You can also listen to a brief podcast about the CVA program

Questions? Contact Katie Campbell, Executive Director at 804-794-8689 or ccva@comcast.net.

(Photo: Habitat for Humanity Global Village/Dave Bezaire)

Updated Opportunity Listing Form Can Help Your Organization Recruit More Skilled Volunteers

Jennifer Bennett — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:29:47 +0000

If you’ve added or edited a volunteer opportunity on VolunteerMatch in the past few days, you’ve likely seen some changes to the opportunity listing form.

The Required Skills field has now been divided into two sections: a Skills Title and Description field, and a Requirements field. This gives you the opportunity to highlight up to three distinct skills, and let prospective volunteers know about any additional requirements for participating.

For example, a Skill Title might be “Accounting” and the Skill Description could be “A working knowledge of bookkeeping and QuickBooks.” In the Requirements field, you can put information on anything additional such as required orientations or background checks, and qualities that aren’t technically skills, such as “great with kids” or “enjoys giving back.”

We’ve also added a Keywords field, which allows you to associate other words with your listings to make them easier to find. And, if you have volunteer projects that would be great for groups, you can now specify what size group your opportunities can accommodate.

Why the changes?

We made these changes to make it easier for organizations to find volunteers with certain expertise and experience, and they are the first of several steps we’re taking to help volunteers find opportunities that utilize specific skills.

Over the last year, we’ve been keeping an eye on the type of information that organizations were including in the Required Skills field. Some were using it to identify the skills needed in volunteers, such as “graphic design”, while others were including prerequisites such as “must complete background check” and other information.

The changes now let your organization highlight both skills and additional requirements, and help volunteers better understand what opportunities are right for them.

We also know that the popularity of volunteer opportunities for groups is on the rise, and that there’s a big difference between accommodating a group of five friends and successfully engaging 25 employees. We hope the new group size menu will help you better find the volunteers you need.

Want to learn more? Join VolunteerMatch for a free online Webinar to go over the changes and how to use the updated form effectively:

Thursday, February 11
9am – 10am PST
Register

Wednesday, February 17
11am – 12pm PST
Register

Tuesday, February 23
11am – 12pm PST
Register

Ready to get started with the new form? Log in to your account.

CMI Green Traveler Study: Voluntourism All Fueled Up, Yet to Take Off

Robert Rosenthal — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:32:57 +0000

The global recession hasn’t dampened enthusiam for volunteer travel. But while the idea of volunteer related travel (”Voluntourism”) is trendy these days, not much is known about who these volunteers are, how big a chunk of the travel business they represent, or what impact they are making in local communities.

While U.S.-based travelers represent a large part of the market of volunteer abroad experiences, much less is known about the interest in domestic travel-related volunteering. Here at VolunteerMatch, we’ve been advocating for years about the benefits of adding volunteering to your next trip here in the U.S., but we don’t yet have tools for tracking or reporting on the popularity of this option.

With the release of a new study this week on green travel habits, at least the volunteer abroad picture is becoming clearer.

Last year, VolunteerMatch collaborated with the market research experts at Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI) to add some critical questions about volunteering to their landmark study on “green” trends for consumers. The “Green Traveler Study,” based on responses from 1,800 self-described “extremely” or “very” eco-conscious travlers, sought to create a profile of today’s green travelers.

Some of the broader goals of the questions were to find out:

How do they travel, how much and where?
What does “sustainable” or “green” travel mean to them?
What drives their interest in green travel options and destinations?
Will they pay a premium for sustainable choices?
Is there a gap between their intentions and their behavior?
How deep is their commitment to green travel, and how far will they take it?

Here are some of the key findings from the Green Traveler Study related to volunteering:

25.6% of respondents reported that they have volunteered while traveling.
59.1% said they are interested in volunteering during a future trip.
37.6% of respondents indicated that the availability of volunteer opportunities would be a factor in selecting a vacation destination.
One in eight said they include volunteering as a part of what it means to be a green traveler.
5.1% of respondents reporting “volunteer trip” as one of the purposes for travel over the last year.
3.1% said they hoped to “leave the destination better” off than they’d found it.
For cruise passengers, 12.2% said shore-based volunteer excursions were among the top five most important environmental initiatives they sought.
Of those who have volunteered, 58% said they have continued to stay involved with the volunteer project since they returned.

According to CMI, the report is a mixed bag for advocates of volunteer travel. Right now, “there is more interest and expectation than participation.” And yet travelers who know about it are intrigued by the idea, and those who take part are engaged.

Looking ahead, volunteerism has a lot of potential to align the interest of local communities, NGOs, the travel industry, and travelers who want to make a difference.

Click here to download the entire report.

SearchLite Widget Helps Travel Groups Add Volunteering to Their Sites

Travel companies and organizations that are trying to encourage volunteer travel can use our SearchLite widget to add VolunteerMatch search results on your Web sites.

It’s a free and powerful way to connect your visitors to listings from VolunteerMatch member organizations like Cross-Cultural Solutions, Peace Corps, A Broader View Volunteers, Volunteer Expeditions, Greenheart Travel, and Adoption Advocates International, among many others.

RezHub.com is one example of a travel service using SearchLite well. Visitors can choose discount travel, green travel, or volunteer travel options.

Learn more about SearchLite here.

(Photo: Flickr)