Weekly Volunteer Management News

Jan- June 2006 (Current News)

23 June: For the third year, the Sunkist company is calling all American children, 7 to 12 years of age, to "Take a Stand" for their favorite charity, selling lemonade and donating the proceeds to a charity of their choice. It's “a rewarding way to squeeze some fun into summer and give back to the community.” To learn more, go to http://www.sunkist.com/takeastand/.

Last year, kids from across the nation applied for free "Take a Stand" lemonade stands and the supply of 2,000 stands quickly disappeared. So, this year Sunkist is giving away even more. In a June 21 press release to celebrate the official first day of summer, Sunkist announced that it has extended its "Take a Stand" program

…doubling its distribution to now give away 10,000 free lemonade stands for kids to raise money for a charity of their choice. With more than 5,000 "Take a Stand" pledges already submitted by kids from every state in the country, Sunkist was inspired to double its efforts and give even more kids the opportunity to take some time from their summer vacations to help their local communities.

To receive a complimentary lemonade stand, parents and their young philanthropists must submit their "Take a Stand" pledges online at http://www.sunkist.com/takeastand. With their parent's or legal guardian's permission, kids ages 7-12 are eligible to receive a stand after they submit their brief, 100-word pledge describing how they plan to operate their stand to benefit a charity. The additional stands will be released throughout the summer, while supplies last.

The program gives parents a great tool to teach their kids the importance of philanthropy and volunteerism. At the same time, the kids are given an opportunity to learn how to run a business and feel great about helping to raise money for a charity that is of interest to them.

18 June: Volunteer Energy (http://www.volunteerenergy.ca/), a new national nonprofit in Canada, has been formed to integrate technological, promotional, and procedural systems for volunteer recruitment and management within the Canadian volunteer sector. It has acquired the management and distribution rights within Canada, of Volunteer2’s volunteer management software Volunteer Impact, the volunteer recruitment system Community Hub and the volunteer’s portal website MyVolunteerPage.com The new Web site explains the name “Volunteer Energy” like this:

The energy of volunteers should not be wasted. As a precious resource, it should be used as efficiently and effectively as possible. Our name, Volunteer Energy, stands for what we cherish and seek to see generate.

Volunteer Energy provides an array of resources and services for:

Volunteer Opportunities Database for Volunteer Centres
Community Based Virtual Volunteer Centres
Software to Help Manage Volunteers
Systems to Track Student Volunteer Efforts
Resources for Employer Supported Volunteerism

Canadian volunteer centers are being invited to run Community Hub locally in their community and Volunteer Energy will run volunteer operated virtual volunteer centers in communities that are too small to financially support a traditional volunteer center as well as in communities large enough to support complementary services.

Volunteer Energy will be working with strategic partners and sponsors of all sizes to make volunteer recruitment and management resources available to nonprofits across Canada. Sponsor funds will be used to provide nonprofits with free use of a community based website of volunteer opportunities and to help organizations pay for their own volunteer management software. Rather than each organization having to go through the process of soliciting grants or sponsorships, Volunteer Energy secures sponsorships for multiple licenses and then makes them available to nonprofits without an application process. Funders are welcome to put restrictions on the types of organization that can benefit from their financial support.

Early strategic partners include CanadaHelps.org, an e-donations portal that provides free service to all charities in Canada. Volunteer Energy and CanadaHelps.org are working together by linking opportunities to volunteer into the charity’s profile in CanadaHelps.org and opportunities to donate to the charity through its profile in MyVolunteerPage.com.

Volunteer Energy is also seeking volunteers for its new Advisory Committee:

We are looking for big-picture thinkers who can contribute to our strategic planning. In order to address challenges in the volunteer sector, we are seeking individuals with a desire to combine the success of their past experiences with creative new approaches. Experience in volunteer management and/or recruitment is an obvious asset. If you would like to help us shape a new frontier in the volunteer sector, please please get in touch with us.

11 June: VolunteerMatch (www.volunteermatch.org) has partnered with MINI USA to create "MINI Motoring Hearts," a brand-new national initiative designed to encourage current and prospective MINI owners to give back to their communities by volunteering time to nonprofit organizations. See the campaign at www.MINIMOTORINGHEARTS.com (you’ll need to enable pop-ups).

The initiative is a call to action for MINI owners or anyone who wishes to channel their passion and energy towards making a real and lasting contribution to the community, but may not know where or how to start. In addition to participating in charity events held by local MINI dealers, the connection with VolunteerMatch links people with over 37,000 charitable organizations that support activities from literacy to the environment based on the individual's personal interests and ZIP code.

True to the MINI brand, owners can “customize” their volunteer experience on the site according to their personal preferences, similar to the way that they can personalize their MINIs. The campaign has clearly received the attention from the car-maker’s marketing department, with some fun and catchy slogans including:

Let’s be a bunch of good-for-somethings.
Let’s do community service without the 18 month’s probation.

When participants complete their first volunteer session with a registered charity of their choice, MINI USA will recognize the participant's good-will effort and send them an exclusive Motoring Hearts Car Badge as a thank-you for getting out and doing good.

4 June: A bipartisan list of notable Americans has signed on to support the formation of a “U.S. Public Service Academy” – a national university designed to develop a “steady flow of passionate young leaders dedicated to public service” and to be a civilian counterpart to the military service academies. The stated mission is:

The United States Public Service Academy is dedicated to creating a corps of passionate and patriotic civilian leaders willing to devote themselves to the pursuit of academic excellence, civic engagement, and leadership through public service. The Academy seeks to develop students who pursue the highest ideals of human character and the American values of freedom, democracy, and equal opportunity; strive for individual excellence yet feel a personal responsibility to achieve the common good; and appreciate their rights and uphold their responsibilities as citizens of the United States.

As an academic institution, the Academy is committed to free and open inquiry, free expression of ideas, and the pursuit of truth. As a public institution, the Academy strives to connect the classroom and community through a consistent commitment not only to creating knowledge but also to sharing and applying that knowledge to serve the American public and world at large.

As a national institution, the Academy endeavors to build a corps of civilian leaders willing and able to confront the challenges that face this country in the future.

Quite set of goals! Read the full proposal online or download a PDF at http://www.uspublicserviceacademy.org.

Funding would follow the pattern of the military academies, including tuition-free education for the students, followed by a commitment of five years of public service. The Web site’s FAQs comprehensively answers a range of key questions about the idea (http://www.uspublicserviceacademy.org/page5.html).

28 May: Two major British organizations dedicated to expanding opportunities with and for people with disabilities have just published a free 72-page guide, Can Do! Volunteering: A Guide to Including Young Disabled People as Volunteers. It can be downloaded as a complete PDF or in sections at http://www.can-do-volunteering.org.
One of the contributing groups is Scope (http://www.scope.org.uk), a disability organization in England and Wales whose focus is people with cerebral palsy. Their aim is: ”that disabled people achieve equality: a society in which they are as valued and have the same human and civil rights as everyone else.”

The second group is Leonard Cheshire (http://www.leonard-cheshire.org/), the UK's leading provider of disability support services. Leonard Cheshire “exists to change attitudes to disability and to serve disabled people around the world. It has been supporting disabled people for almost 60 years and is active in 55 countries.”

21 May: Jayne Cravens, known to many as the guru of virtual volunteering/online service, has long had a personal Web site of resources and services for mission-based organizations, with an emphasis on technology issues: Coyote Communications, www.coyotecommunications.com.

For some time she has been collecting information on all the software available for volunteer program management in order to serve the volunteer community with a free list – not advertising. To see the most current list (as of this week), go to http://www.coyotecommunications.com/tech/volmanage.html. Jayne also offers practical and clear suggestions for choosing a database and other technical issues.
You can also subscribe to Tech4Impact, Coyote Communication's free monthly e-mail newsletter to help nonprofits/NGOs/civil society learn how to get the most out of computer and Internet technology. Send a BLANK e-mail to: tech4impact-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit the Tech4impact YahooGroup.

14 May: Nonprofit Online News (http://news.gilbert.org/) is one of the most respected sources of news, information, and opinion for the online nonprofit community. It has been in continuous publication since April 1997 and is a project of The Gilbert Center , an incubator, research institute, consulting firm, and publishing house working to support and empower the people and organizations who are changing the world for the better. Nonprofit Online News follows the weblog model of short, readable items delivered on a regular basis. While not focused on volunteer issues, this is a great way to keep current with knowledge-building technologies online and other subjects not covered in other places.

For the fourth year in a row, they have published a free compendium of the best resources from the preceding year - 98 pages this time. The Best of Nonprofit Online News 2005 is available now on its Free PDFs page. It contains 127 resources, organized into 44 categories including Evaluation, Strategy, Leadership, Communication & PR, Software, Community Building , Knowledge & Learning, Collaboration, Planning, and a good number of cross-cutting issues.

Go to: http://news.gilbert.org/clickthru/redir/6031/8196/rms. You'll be asked to complete a form, but the material is free.

7 May: At GoodStorm.com (www.GoodStorm.com), progressive organizations and individuals can launch online stores selling digitally printed T-shirts and other products featuring their own designs. GoodStorm handles inventory management, shipping, logistics, and billing, so sellers have more time to create designs and build and nurture communities of people who share their values. As they explain in their FAQs:

Nonprofits and other good people often have limited resources available to help them produce and market merchandise. We want to change that. Through our marketplace, we help you get your message out there and earn money. With GoodStorm handling the hassles of product marketing, you get more time to focus on your mission.

Nonprofits, political advocacy groups, and even independent artists simply need to provide a design and GoodStorm builds an online store, then manufactures and ships your merchandise as soon as customers order it. Sellers incur no costs for opening or running a GoodStorm storefront because the e-store tools are free and the shirts are printed and shipped on-demand. Best of all, store-owners keep 70% of the net profit generated from sales — instead of the 20% to 30% offered by other e-Commerce enablers.

      Every designer wants a bigger audience. And every non-profit is looking
          for new ways to raise funds. And they all need to do it on limited
          resources. So welcome to the world of GoodStorm.

Also, GoodStorm and Working Assets (WorkingAssets.com), a wireless, long distance, credit card and publishing company that donates a portion of its revenue to progressive nonprofits, have teamed up to launch GoodsForChange.com, an e-commerce store where $2 of every purchase is donated to progressive organizations. The sale of T-shirts and other products at the GoodsForChange.com store will benefit organizations like Planned Parenthood, Doctors without Borders and Greenpeace.

30 Apr: In a press release, the England Volunteering Development Council has announced the launch of the first independent “Commission on the Future of Volunteering” to develop a long term vision for volunteering in England as a legacy of the Year of the Volunteer 2005. They have also opened a new Web site at: http://www.volcomm.org.uk/.

This impressive initiative holds great potential for the UK and for the international volunteer community, particularly if it can meet the goals it has set for itself. For example, here is part of what they have announced as their scope:

The Commission will consider:

Volunteering in all sectors (not just focusing on the voluntary and community sector) and include both formal and informal volunteering within its remit
Specific issues relating to volunteering by hard to reach groups; by and within faith groups and black and minority communities; and in rural communities
The current volunteering landscape
Existing materials, listening to the opinion and experience of volunteers, academics, experts, and practitioners

The Commission will:

Publish its thinking as it develops, in order to inform and encourage wider debate
Develop its thinking on the future by consulting widely
Produce a final report that describes the state of volunteering in England as it is and as it should be ten years on; making recommendations about what is needed to make these aspirations come true, including proposals for delivering on any recommendations that are made

The final report is to be published in June 2007 and, it is hoped, that “the results of the commission's activity will be seen to be clearly independent of government, the corporate sector or any one agency in the voluntary and community sector, whilst retaining the confidence of all.”

23 April: We wish our North American colleagues a very happy National Volunteer Week (April 23-30)!

The Points of Light Foundation is the official sponsor of National Volunteer Week in the United States. This is a good time to remember the various year-round recognition options they coordinate (see http://www.pointsoflight.org/programs/seasons/nvw/recognize.cfm), such as the Daily Points of Light Award and the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Volunteer Canada is the official sponsor of National Volunteer Week in that country. Along with offering how-to materials for planning recognition (http://www.volunteer.ca/volcan/eng/content/nvw/welcome.php), they encourage organizations to register their celebratory events. To see the long list and marvel at the variety of organizations represented, click here.

As mentioned in this space three weeks ago, “The 501c3Cast” is a new podcast for nonprofits – like a radio show that can be listened to via an iPod or other MP3 player, or streamed directly from your computer speakers. Susan Ellis was recently interviewed by volunteer reporter Corey Pudhorodsky, and the program will air in two parts beginning at midnight tonight (Monday, 24 April), timed to coincide with National Volunteer Week. Go to http://www.501c3cast.com/shownotes.asp for details.

16 April: Global Youth Service Day (GYSD, www.gysd.net) is an annual global event organized by Youth Service America and the Global Youth Action Network, together with a consortium of 32 international organizations and well over 100 national coordinating committees. This year the dates are April 21-23. Their Web site describes their vision this way:

On Global Youth Service Day, millions of young people in countries everywhere will highlight and carry out thousands of community improvement projects. This day will be a way for local, national, and international organizations to:

BUILD the capacity of an international network of organizations that promotes youth participation, service, and learning;
EDUCATE the public, the media, and policy-makers about the year-round contributions of young people as community leaders around the world;
MOBILIZE youth and adults to meet the needs of their communities through volunteering; and
LEARN and share effective practices in youth service, youth voice, and civic engagement in the world today.

Global Youth Service Day was created by Youth Service America (www.ysa.org) a resource center and network of 200+ organizations working to engage more young people in quality volunteer opportunities. Youth Service America first began a National Youth Service Day in the United States on the Friday before National Volunteer Week. After fifteen years, this event continues to involve an estimated three million young people in community service projects each April.

The GYSD Web site provides practical resources for anyone organizing a project (see http://www.gysd.net/involve/) and details about the event in all participating countries.

9 April: High school students have until May 7th to join the next class of the NetAid Global Citizen Corps and rally their peers in the fight against global poverty. Get more information at: http://www.netaid.org/global_citizen_corps/.

NetAid (www.netaid.org) is dedicated to educating, inspiring and empowering new generations of young people to get more involved in addressing global challenges like HIV/AIDS, hunger, and access to education. A non-profit organization based in New York, NetAid accomplishes this through a series of complementary programs that teach high school students about global poverty and connect them to real opportunities to make a difference.

The NetAid Global Citizen Corps (GCC) is national network of high school student leaders working to educate and mobilize their peers in efforts to end global poverty.
Each year, NetAid selects a diverse group of passionate and committed students to become GCC Leaders. Following an intensive training, either in person or online, GCC Leaders network with each other and receive tools, resources and support through an innovative Online Action Center. Turning their learning into action, GCC Leaders implement a series of Global Action Days in their schools and local communities which raise awareness about global poverty, generate media attention to spread the word, and mobilize their peers in effective campaigns.

A list of FAQs is at http://www.netaid.org/global_citizen_corps/faq.html.

3 April: Podcasting comes to nonprofits. The 501c3Cast (www.501c3cast.com), which started in July 2005, is a free, independent, weekly podcast produced:

…by a few people who care about helping nonprofit professionals, not-for-profit volunteers, and other “do-gooders” in the philanthropic world. Our weekly podcast focuses on issues that nonprofits face and shares proven solutions that individuals have created. Above all, the 501c3Cast is dedicated to helping people who work with nonprofit organizations to cooperate rather than compete.

You can subscribe to get the weekly podcasts which are like an Internet radio show and which can be loaded onto any MP3 player or listened to on any computer. Sample any of the archived programs at http://www.501c3cast.com/shownotes.asp. Most are between 30 and 40 minutes in length. Topics offered are wide-ranging, including volunteer-related themes such as Baby Boomer volunteers and interviews with people who work extensively with volunteers, such as Hilary Roberts of Project Linus NJ, Inc. There are also additional Web links and notes supporting each show. Susan Ellis will be interviewed for a program that will air in late April/early May (details will be announced here).

The 501c3Cast offers a promo skit, just over 2 minutes long, that features some entertaining sound bites from a 1942 Superman cartoon found on Archive.org. Click here and it will automatically open on whatever music player you have installed on your computer: 501c3CastPromo.

(If you have any trouble accessing the files, ask anyone with an iPod for help…or any thirteen-year-old passing by!)

26 March: HealthCare Volunteer (www.healthcarevolunteer.com) was started in January 1, 2006 by an American dental and medical student, in recognition of the need for a free portal to connect health professionals to volunteering opportunities around the world. The site explains:

The need for global health care has skyrocketed. This site aims to allow physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, podiatrists, veterinarians and other health care professionals to provide volunteer health care anywhere in the world. Due to resource constraints, several national health care organizations rightfully chose not to undertake such a drastic project, and so the opportunity to unite health care volunteers globally remained. It was clear that an independent, 3rd party, non-partisan, non-governmental organization (NGO) unaffiliated with any country or entity needed to be formed to promote health care volunteering in a rapidly globalizing world.

HealthCare Volunteer wants to assure that volunteers can efficiently search for opportunities more without endless Web surfing to hundreds of sites. “Through this undertaking it became known that there is no shortage of health care volunteers and definitely no shortage of patients who could use health care treatment. Now, there will be no shortage of health care volunteering activity.”

The site offers services to a wide range of health care professionals:

General physicians, specialty physicians, surgeons, nurses, veterinarians, dental hygenists, pharmacists, general dentists, specialty dentists, podiatrists, chiropractors, healthcare social workers, optometrists, physical therapists, imaging technicians and even other caring people may volunteer health care services anywhere in the world. In fact, we've seen everybody from Peace Corps workers to the layperson volunteer health care services all over the world.

Organizations may also post opportunities to recruit health care volunteers. See the instructions at http://healthcarevolunteer.com/organizations/. The site has also started a “HealthCare Cal Global Volunteering Calendar” and a discussion forum.

19 March: The Centre for Voluntary Action Research at Aston Business School in the UK has just released a 40-page report, The Impact of Investing in Volunteers, by Ben Cairns and Romayne Hutchison, with contributions from Pradip Gajjar. It is available at no charge at http://www.investinginvolunteers.org.uk/Impact_Benefits_report_2006.pdf.

The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with Volunteer Managers, senior staff and volunteers from nine organizations pursuing Investing in Volunteers, senior staff from the four national (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) volunteering infrastructure bodies, and three Investing in Volunteers assessors. Findings are presented under ten main headings:

The background to organisations’ decisions to work towards Investing in Volunteers
Anticipated benefits
The challenges of working towards Investing in Volunteers
Support for the Investing in Volunteers process
Changes made as a result of working towards Investing in Volunteers
Volunteers’ reactions to the adoption and use of Investing in Volunteers
Benefits gained
Critical success factors
Reflections on the Investing in Volunteers process
The wider impact of Investing in Volunteers.

12 March : Kanti Kumar, the Web Editor for United Nations Volunteers in Bonn, Germany has announced that World Volunteer Web (www.worldvolunteerweb.org) is celebrating International Women’s Day -- March 8 – by highlighting the role of women volunteers, especially in their work towards gender equality and women's empowerment.

Goal 3 of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals – "promote gender equality and empowerment of women" - is an affirmation of women's rights. Although we now have women presidents, prime ministers, Nobel Prize winners, parliamentarians, and community leaders, serious challenges persist – “cultural attitudes that debase women, gender violence, laws that favour men, and limited access to healthcare, to name a few.”

Historically, volunteering has been a key way that women have influenced their cultures and societies, and this continues today. World Volunteer Web has compiled resources about the role of women volunteers in empowering other women and the challenges they face in promoting gender equality and volunteering:

A special section with stories and resources on this topic: http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/browse/sectors/gender.html

A newly-created slideshow: http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/resources/photo-gallery/international-womens-day.html

A section on MDG 3: Gender equality & women's empowerment: http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/mdgs/mdg-stories/mdg-3-gender-equality.html

5 March: The Corporation for National and Community Service has announced the availability of a new online tool in its Resource Center (http://nationalserviceresources.org/): My Improvement Plan. It was designed for the many programs receiving funding from NCCS, but is free to any organization involving volunteers.

My Improvement Plan is a self-guiding instrument that helps identify the resources you most need to improve your service or volunteer program. More details and how to register at no cost can be found at http://my.nationalservice.org/outstart_db/. This new way of connecting your program to training and technical assistance was developed with input from experts in the field of volunteerism. Check out the list and descriptions of “Building Blocks,” the key components of well-managed and effective service and volunteer programs

The Resource Center also offers online courses in financial management, prisoner re-entry, and mentoring/tutoring, with more courses promised soon.

The Resource Center contains a wealth of information. Somewhat confusing to navigate at first, it’s worth your while to spend time learning what is offered.

26 February: The Association for Volunteer Administration (AVA), the professional society for volunteer program managers regardless of setting, has announced that it will dissolve as of March 1st. While the organization had been attempting to increase its international membership in the past decade, AVA remained largely North American, with the majority of its members from the United States. The formal announcement of the board’s decision to close its doors came last week through an e-mail to members from current president Ellen Didimamoff:

I am truly saddened to inform you that AVA is in the process of closing its doors on March 1, 2006 because there are no funds to continue operating. Starting in June 2005 the board persistently asked about the financial status of the organization. The board never really was given a true picture of AVA's financial situation until January 2006 when it learned that AVA was $300,000 in debt. Our auditors informed the Executive Committee that too much money was spent on salaries and Executive Director travel and that ICVA expenses were unusually high. The board also learned that assets were mismanaged, and signatures on AVA's money market and checking accounts were changed without the board's knowledge. Large sums of money were transferred from AVA's money market account to its checking account in December, and then the money was spent. Unauthorized contracts for future conferences were made. Delving deeper, AVA found other signs of mismanagement, misappropriation of restricted funds and abusive, unauthorized spending. The Executive Committee voted to terminate three employees on January 10, including the Executive Director and Office Manager. The Henrico County Police Department is investigating possible criminal charges.

The decision of course also cancels the 2006 International Conference on Volunteer Administration, scheduled for September in Minneapolis. However, efforts are underway to give AVA’s professional credentialing program (CVA) and its publication, The Journal of Volunteer Administration, temporary homes “where their credibility and integrity will be preserved.” This is further complicated by the untimely death of Mary Merrill, journal editor, last week.

Many colleagues are extremely concerned at this unfortunate situation and are attempting to encourage the development of something new to rise from the ashes. As Didimamoff further said:

AVA has been a cornerstone of volunteer resources management at its best. Collectively, we can bring together the talent of individuals like you to create a similar association to take its rightful place in the volunteer arena in the not-too-distant future.

The following will be clarified in the next few weeks:

A meeting to discuss possible reorganization options will be held at the upcoming National Volunteering and Community Service Conference in Seattle, June 18-21. Points of Light is generously offering time and space for this.

A Web page will be posted at what is now the AVA Web site (www.avaintl.org) to announce all developments and direct colleagues to where and how they can participate in reorganization discussions.

A listserv dedicated specifically to being a forum for a free exchange of ideas about reorganization will be started. Note: All discussions will be open to any colleague, whether or not that individual was a member of AVA – this is a new effort.

Watch this site for more news as it materializes. This crisis is also an opportunity, and it is up to all of us to make use of it to evolve the best professional network possible – learning from the mistakes of the past and creatively moving forward.

22 February 2006: Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Volunteer Administration and international trainer/consultant in volunteer program management, Mary V. Merrill, died suddenly on February 19th from a heart attack. She was 61. We at Energize are saddened by this news and appreciate the warm tribute to Mary posted on the Charity Channel Web site.

Further, Eli J. Segal, appointed by President Clinton as the first head of the Corporation for National and Community Service, died on February 20th of a rare form of cancer at age 63.

19 February 2006: Youth Service America is pleased to offer free materials to help you plan your service project for the 18th Annual National & Global Youth Service Day (N & GYSD), April 21-23, 2006.

Planning Tool Kits, Service-Learning Curriculum Guides, and Classroom
Posters are now available in print and on-line (in English and Spanish). Download these materials or order free printed copies at http://www.ysa.org/nysd/resource/nysd_resources_parent.cfm.

The Planning Tool Kit is a comprehensive guide to help project
planners identify their projects, recruit volunteers, generate media
attention, raise funds, and more.

The Service-Learning Curriculum Guide contains eight lessons to
develop students' project management skills while planning projects for N &
GYSD. The Curriculum Guide is appropriate for educators and community
leaders.

Classroom Posters are a colorful tool to recruit volunteers, plan
projects, and decorate project sites. The back contains project planning
activity sheets for teachers and students that you can photocopy and
disseminate.

Use these materials to plan your service project for N & GYSD and all your
service projects throughout the year. To learn more about N & GYSD and
access other resources to help you plan your project - including project
grants, tip sheets, effective practices, and more - visit http://www.YSA.org/nysd.

12 February 2006: Amid the spectacle of the opening ceremonies and first sport competitions, most Olympics watchers are well aware of the thousands of volunteers from all over the world who form the support team for the athletes, visitors, and employees. In fact, it's been great to see increased visibility of this army of unpaid workers from one Olympics to the next in the past two decades. The Summer Games in Los Angeles, USA and those in Sydney, Australia especially took pains to shine a light on volunteers. And Beijing - despite its inexperience with private nonprofit organizations - is already hard at work recruiting for its turn in 2008. Plus, the Paralympic Games that immediately follow the Olympics each time, involve just as many volunteers.

The Internet, of course, has increased the ability of Olympics volunteers to communicate with each other in formal and informal ways. There are already a variety of personal blogs online, but one of the most interesting is a full discussion board, "Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games Volunteers Forum." Check it out at http://www.torino2006volunteers.com/ .

In writing this news item, we found a range of articles about volunteers in Turin , such as "Enter the Volunteers, The Soul of the Games" at

http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/OlympicGames/news/news_ita128976.html . There is also a concurrent project called The Ethical Village , described in an article as "the Social Face of the Olympic Winter Games" :

Until February 26, hosted in marquees along via Verdi, Ethical Village . is presented as a place for welcoming and promoting the values expressed by the Five Circles and the nonprofit world, represented by boards and associations of the tertiary sector, as well as by events that local institutions have dedicate to volunteer work. All in function of key concepts such as person, participation, well- being and good habits.

This is a project that the promoters. had already been thinking about, in view of the .moral legacy that the Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Winter Games will yield. One of these aspects without doubt involves volunteer work, due to the great tradition that our region can boast in this sector and considering also the extraordinary enthusiasm of the over 40,000 people that have applied to become volunteers for the Olympic Winter Games; The Ethical Village, therefore, wants to become a real meeting point for all those who, with different tasks, will be involved in solidarity.

There's a special Web site for Ethical Village, written in Italian: http://www.ethicalvillage.it/volontariato.php . Try translating it through Babel Fish at

http://babelfish.altavista.com/ to get a flavor of what the project is all about.

5 February 2006: The NonProfit Times (www.nptimes.com), the popular American journal published in printed form since 1986, has just added a digital edition of the paper with a very futuristic look. Check out the prototype sample provided at http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/npt/npt1205/index.php and see how you can "turn" the pages and even hear the paper swish! Apart from the cool look and feel of this software, this new version gives readers total flexibility to read it on screen or off, and to pay a lower subscription cost while saving the trees of North America. In the February 1, 2006 edition, editor-in-chief Paul Clolery says:

Most important is the fact that we will be able to put a complete issue in the hands of tens of thousands more nonprofit managers. Our mission has always been to educate with news, commentary, and how-to articles. The more executives we reach, the more we fulfill that mission.

In the interests of full disclosure, Energize president Susan Ellis has been a contributing editor to The NonProfit Times since 1990, writing the "On Volunteers" column every other month. She's excited that her column appears in this February issue launching the new electronic service.

Nonprofit executives can qualify for a free subscription, so if you don't already get this publication, check out the subscription offers at http://www.nptimes.com/main/subscribe.html. The NonProfit Times is published 24 times a year, and a free weekly e-newsletter and other specialized titles are available as well.

29 January 2006: Have you been wondering exactly what “blogging” means, or are you already deep into posting your own blog? The January 11th “Volunteer Management Review” from Charity Channel was entitled “Blogging. A Primer for Volunteer Program Managers." In it, Joan Perry, CAVS, from Roper St. Francis Healthcare, does a great job of defining the vocabulary of blogs and directing everyone to sites useful to the volunteer field. For example, she writes:

Interested in what is being discussed relating to volunteerism this very minute? Try typing “Volunteer” in Technorati, a search engine that tracks the blogosphere. Searching 23.9 million blogs it can come up with as many as 250,000 posts to review.

After you’ve learned about blogging, check out “Volunteer Management Review” editor Nan Hawthorne’s newest Web project. Yes, it’s a blog…called “Volunteer Management Resources Clearinghouse,” at http://vrmclearinghouse.wordpress.com/.

22 January 2006: According to research published this month by the Chartered Management Institute and the international volunteer agency VSO, individuals who volunteer internationally develop expertise that addresses skills gaps in the UK . Although employers are quick to recognize the value of volunteering, individuals do not always market themselves sufficiently when they return home.

The research, entitled "Valuing Volunteering," questioned 516 managers, revealed that the majority of managers (78 per cent) are involved in voluntary activity. Altruism and the desire to help others was the top reason for volunteering both 'at home' (79 per cent) and internationally (65 per cent). However, the findings point to a missed opportunity as few considered the impact volunteer work could have on their career. Only 23 per cent saw it as a chance to build networks, just 16 per cent cited the prospect of learning new skills and 12 percent said professional development was a motivating factor.

Yet the research, which also probed 100 former VSO volunteers through detailed interviews, demonstrated how international experience has a significant impact on skills development.

The report indicates broad support from employers for those who have undertaken overseas volunteer activity, with 94 per cent agreeing or strongly agreeing that it increases skills and 48 per cent believing it increases employability. Many also accept that domestic (60 per cent) and long-term international (39 per cent) work can be an effective method of skills development. Key findings were:

• 88 per cent of managers said they would not be averse to employing someone who had recently returned from volunteering overseas;

• Of those who had employed a volunteer, 67 per cent agreed that they brought different skills and experience to the organization in comparison to other employees;

• 58 per cent of former volunteers said they had received a positive response from potential employers and just 5 per cent had difficulty in finding work

Download the free report from the Chartered Management Institute site and read a brief summary on World Volunteer Web.

15 January 2006: The Harvard School of Public Health and MENTOR created the National Mentoring Month campaign in 2001, and are leading the NMM 2006 effort in collaboration with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and other nonprofit groups. In cities and states across the country, nonprofit and government organizations will provide local telephone numbers for prospective mentors to call, and will handle the referral of volunteers. The national campaign is funded by MetLife Foundation and MCJ Foundation.

The centerpiece of NMM 2006 is the third annual Thank Your Mentor DayT, which will be celebrated on Wednesday, January 25. On that day, many Americans will reach out to thank or honor those individuals who encouraged and guided them, and who had a lasting impact on their lives. The theme for Thank Your Mentor Day is "Who mentored you? Thank them.and pass it on!" The idea behind "Who mentored you?" is to help people connect to the importance of mentoring by encouraging them to think about individuals in their lives during their formative years - family members, teachers, coaches, neighbors, employers, friends-who encouraged them, showed them the ropes, and helped them become who they are today. The campaign's message is that, today, too many young people do not get enough of that kind of support; mentoring programs can help fill the gap but need more volunteers.

Thank Your Mentor Day promotes "Three Ways to Honor your Mentor ":

Contact your mentor directly to express your appreciation;
"Pass it on" by becoming a mentor to a young person in your community;
Write a tribute to your mentor for posting on the campaign's web site.

To support Thank Your Mentor Day, the campaign's web site, www.WhoMentoredYou.org, presents video clips and written essays contributed by prominent individuals from various fields sharing recollections about important mentors from their childhood and young adult years.

8 January 2006: The Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA) has been awarded $125,000 to develop training and related tools for those who lead volunteer programs in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. The grants include $50,000 from IMPACT: A Fund for Change Through Volunteerism, based in Washington, DC, and $75,000 from the Otto Bremer Foundation, based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The three-year initiative, which will be supported with an additional $125,000 that MAVA is raising, will include developing a curriculum for those who lead volunteers, establishing a core team of trainers, using web seminars and weekly "Best Practice Alerts," and other elements designed to strengthen the ability of communities and organizations to recruit, retain and lead volunteers.

Carol Thompson, immediate past president and spokesperson for MAVA, said:

Our nation increasingly depends on volunteers to provide services - from disaster relief, mentoring programs, outreach to seniors, cleaning up parks and rivers, and countless other initiatives impacting communities large and small. Because of this, recruiting, training, leading and maintaining volunteer programs has taken on increased significance across the country. Our goal is to develop a model that provides affordable, accessible training for those who lead volunteers, and that can be easily replicated nationwide.

MAVA will implement the three-year initiative in collaboration with the Volunteer Centers of Minnesota, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, the Girl Scouts-Land of Lakes Council, ServeMinnesota and the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota.

For information on participating in or supporting this effort, contact Carol Thompson at (952) 237-0015 or at cthompson999@gmail.com.

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