Planning for a Volunteer Center
By Susan J. Ellis
From Volunteer Centers: Gearing Up for the 1990s
(Download
the free electronic book)
[The following has a United Way slant, but the questions
are relevant for any type of community organization considering
the formation of a local Volunteer Center.]
Current Resource Assessment
The very first step in planning
for a Volunteer Center is to identify current volunteerism resources
in your community-who is doing what now? There may very well
be groups who are providing leadership in volunteerism and who
might be concerned if the United Way plunges into forming a
Volunteer Center without recognizing what already exists. These
are the very groups a United Way Volunteer Center would need
as a supportive network on a daily basis. The goal, of course,
is to fill a gap in community services, not to duplicate the
efforts of others.
Here is a checklist you can use to assess your local volunteer
resources:
1. How many agencies are you aware of that have some
sort of formal volunteer program and/or a salaried Director
of Volunteers? What kind of agencies are these? How many of
them receive funds from United Way?
2. How far away is the nearest Volunteer Center? Does
it currently handle any requests from your community?
3. Are there any specialized volunteer recruitment
and placement programs operating in your community? Examples
would be: Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP); Service
Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) (for small business consultation);
Accountants for the Public Interest; Volunteer Lawyers for
the Arts or Business Volunteers for the Arts.
4. Does the United Way Information and Referral service
presently collect any information related to volunteers or
volunteer opportunities?
5. How has your United Way handled volunteer-related
questions in the past?
6. Are any workshops or courses in volunteer management
or leadership offered in your area? Are they offered by:
- An area college?
- A community college or junior college?
- Large volunteer-using agencies such as Red Cross?
- All-volunteer groups such as the junior League or Kiwanis?
- State government?
- Regional clusters of national groups such as the Association
for Volunteer Administration (AVA)?
- A community-leadership training group?
- Private consultants?
- United Way itself?
7. Is there a "State Office of Volunteerism"
in your state?
A State Office is a coordinating body generally operating
out of the Governor's Office or in a State Department. It
serves as a support mechanism for the activities of volunteer
projects in a state. Approximately 30 states have such an
office (which may have a different name, such as the "Governor's
Office for Volunteer Services" or some other variation
on the theme). If you are in one of the states that has such
an office, you will find this to be an important group with
which to touch base early on.
8. Is there a "State Association" for Volunteerism
or for Volunteer Administrators in your state?
This is a membership organization of individuals and groups
who share a common concern for volunteer activities. Often,
such state associations will sponsor training events and other
types of self-help programs. There may be a state association,
whether there is a State Office of Volunteerism or not. Again,
such groups go by many different names.
9. Does your Mayor's Office have anyone who is responsible
for volunteers on a citywide basis?
There may even be a Mayor's "Office for Voluntary Action."
Such an office coordinates volunteers specifically for work
on behalf of local government services but may also refer
people to various community agencies.
10. Is there a "DOVIA" in your community?
A DOVIA is an organization of Directors of Volunteers in
Agencies who meet regularly to share experiences and obtain
training in volunteer management. (DOVIA is a generic name
and the group in your area may use another title.) A DOVIA
is an important resource to tap if one exists.
11. Does your community have a "Corporate Volunteer
Council"(CVC)?
A CVC is a membership group made up of people from corporations
who are responsible for running their companies' employee
volunteer programs.
12. Is there an affiliate of the American Society
of Directors of Volunteer Services (ASDVS) of the American
Hospital Association in your state? Is there a chapter in
your geographic area?
ASDVS is the professional association for Directors of Volunteers
in hospitals.
13. Is there some sort of "President's Council"
in your community?
This would be an umbrella association of the leaders of all-volunteer
membership groups, particularly civic associations.
14. Is there a "Church Council" or some
type of ecumenical church/synagogue leadership organization?
15. Given your responses to the preceding questions,
is there any indication that any of the above collaborate
on projects or are coordinated in any way?
After answering these questions, you can rate your community
as to its existing volunteerism services: whether there is a
lack of services, a moderate number of services, or a large
number of services; and whether or not these are coordinated.
Your assessment is a critical first step in defining the type
of Volunteer Center you want.
Once you have identified existing resources, it is probably
also helpful to consider which of these groups, if any, might
oppose the United Way moving into a prominent position in the
coordination of volunteer effort. By identifying any organization
that might see a United Way Volunteer Center as threatening,
you will be able to anticipate and alleviate possible concerns
from the very beginning. You can expect many community agencies
to be pleased to take part in the planning process if asked.
They can provide valuable input based on their prior experience
in handling some of the work that the Volunteer Center might
now do.
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________
Permission is granted for organizations to download and reprint this article. Reprints must provide full acknowledgment of source, as provided:
- Excerpted from Volunteer
Centers: Gearing Up for the 1990s, by Susan J. Ellis, c 1989,
United Way of America.
Found in the Energize website library at: http://www.energizeinc.com/art.html
