A Matter of Thanksgiving

We recently found a list of 100 different ways to thank volunteers. The list seems pretty extensive and thoughtful, and many of the suggestions seem manageable and budget friendly. The challenge with the list – as it is with so many other generic giving suggestions – is that the list provides no meaningful context. Like many other volunteer driven organizations we were left asking – what do volunteers really, really want? 

Volunteer Canada recently asked nearly 380 volunteers across Canada how they want to be recognized for their volunteer contributions. The newly released 2103 Volunteer Recognition Study explored the preferences around volunteer recognition to identify links between the volunteers’ motivation and their preferred recognition practices. The results suggest a divergence between what the majority of volunteers prefer and what the majority of organizations think they need to provide. 

The top two ways volunteers want to be recognized:

  • 80% stated that they would like to be recognized or thanked by the organization they volunteer for by hearing about how their work has made a difference.
  • Close to 70% stated they would like to be recognized by being thanked in person on an ongoing, informal basis. 

But, when Volunteer Canada asked organizations about the perceived barriers to volunteer recognition:

  • Over 80% of organizations indicated that the most common barrier they encounter around volunteer recognition is that they do not have enough money in the budget to do what they want to do. Yet 80% of volunteers would like to be recognized by hearing the impact of their contributions. 

Now, without passing doubt or judgement on the effectiveness of your existing volunteer recognition strategies, Volunteer Canada suggests that you expand your organization’s concept of volunteer recognition to include the following:

  •  take the time to learn about your volunteers’ motivations and preferences. This can be achieved by building in questionnaires to accompany the documentation you are already requesting for screening and administration. This information can be referenced for ongoing recognition throughout the year
  • redefine your perception of volunteer recognition – away from a once a year events [or token gifts] towards a holistic, year round practice that acknowledges volunteers for their individual contributions 
  • learn about the kind of skills volunteers’ would like to apply or develop and ensure that this is being fulfilled in their volunteer roles
  • create events that embed training or networking opportunities with celebrations around volunteer recognition

Thanks Volunteer Canada for sharing your learning and helping us all be more thankful!

 

Parliament Buildings, Victoria, BC


New Directions

Have you ever wondered who we are? Not as individuals or even as organizations, but who we are as the ‘non-profit sector in BC .’

There is no question that collectively the 161,000 non profit organizations in Canada make huge economic and social contributions. Imagine Canada reports that each year the non-profit sector contributes 7.8% of Canada’s GDP, generates $112 Billion in revenues, and employs 2 million people. Our sector is larger than the automotive or manufacturing sectors in Canada.

Of course not-all Canadian non profits work on a scope and scale where they are large enough to be compared to a single for profit entity. But even when we remove the 1% of Canada’s non profit organizations that collect 60% of the revenues (that’s roughly 1,600 agencies earning $67 billion) the remaining agencies still contribute more than $47 billion a year to the economy – and that is significant.  

So, if non profits contribute to the economy, meet the needs of our clients and stakeholders, and help solve some of the most complex issues in communities, why is it that we are not more powerful as a community of practice?

It has been suggested that the non profit community has not sung our own praises, nor are we proactive at lobbying government for our own benefit. Few organizations spend 10% of their annual budgets allowed by CRA on advocacy. In fact many organizations report no eligible expenses spent on advocacy activities. 

Others suggest that we cannot advocate for our sector until we know more about ourselves.

SparcBC, VOCBC, and Vancity are working together on a project called New Directions – an exploration of the strengths and values that contribute to the non-profit and voluntary sector. It is their hope that we can collectively build a shared story and understanding of the role and contributions of the non profit sector in BC. 

Join the conversation on November 28th at a free event hosted by Volunteer Victoria. For more information and to register click here.


What a Difference

When it comes to office space planning and use, we must admit that Volunteer Victoria has sat very comfortably in the ‘Do Nothing’ category for more than a decade. Like most non-profits time and resources are very limited and we simply use what we have and rarely think about our office layout or our furnishings’ quality, style, or comfort.

Several volunteers have validly argued that our decorating style might even have ‘Devolved’ as we ever so slowly filled our bright, wonderful heritage office space with mismatched furniture, broken chairs, and bits of things that no one even recognizes never mind wants or needs. Now you may be thinking, who cares? What difference does it make if there is a little chipped paint, faded chairs, plastic bags/12 banker boxes/three dead plants, and a symphony of faux-wood tones?

We learned that volunteers were left with a first impression that impacted how they perceived us and the quality of our services – our space didn’t match our preferred place in their memory.

This June, thanks to the amazing folks at Agenda Office Furnishings Volunteer Victoria began a space usage and furnishings revolution. Agenda will be recycling furniture, revamping our layout, and revitalizing our offices so that our space works for our staff, volunteers, and clients. We have also built a great new space to host meetings and workshops starting this September.  

If your need an office evolution and have just a couple of hours and a dolly here are some TOP TIPS we learned from Agenda:

1. Layout really matters. Keep access points free of visual and actual clutter, create open space and flow between furnishings, and make first impression areas count
2. Put matching furnishings together. Regardless of age or condition, space looks and feels better when the tone of furnishings is the same
3. A broken item needs to fixed or removed from your space. If you can’t use an item it has no useful purpose and therefore no value.
4. Repurpose items -trade, recycle, and refit. And, if you know something does not have a purpose remove it from your office so others can use it
5. Ask people to try a new office layout for several weeks before passing judgment
6. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from office furnishings experts. They truly can make a difference! 


Gone Fishin’

If you have looked around your office and realized that no one else is there – you are not alone! It is the time of the year when staff, board members, and volunteers take vacations, stay-cations, and even the occasional fishing trip. 

We went fishing this month too – to catch a glimpse of the local non-profit community and to see what trends are emerging.

Now, you should know that this wasn’t a big, complex research study. This quick little survey resulted in a 15% response rate where nearly 60% of respondents have operational budgets between $100,000 and $500,000. The results are not statistically relevant or accurate but they did confirm what many of us already believe – that there are complex funding challenges ahead, non-profit leaders remain resilient but are pulled in many directions, and that many organizations have significant milestones to celebrate in 2014.

Here’s what we learned from survey respondents:
40% reported a 10% or greater drop in revenues from fundraising events
26% experienced a more than 10% reduction or a 100% loss of Government Contracts for Services. One organization articulated the seriousness of their loss, “Our organization is on the brink of serious layoffs, termination of staff and program cuts due to decreases in government funding.”
20% report that it is likely or very likely that they will reduce paid staff. More than 48% are planning to increase wages
78% plan on recruiting student interns to help and 92% are looking for volunteers to help
25% report a 10% or greater reduction in grant funding and 33% report a 10% or greater reduction in corporate donations
60% of respondents report that it is likely or very likely that they will increase grant funding and 45% think it likely that they will increase cash sponsorships in the coming year
Municipal funding is shifting – 23% reported more than a 10% reduction and 23% reported a more than 10% increase in funding
11% reported 1st time funding from Gaming
85% of organizations with non government contracts for services expect revenues to stay the same
United Way funding was the only funding source where 100% of respondents reported no change in revenues 
46% reported that they earned more self-generated revenues. 70% report that it is likely or very likely that they will  increase self-generated revenues in the coming year
89% expect individual monthly giving to stay the same or increase
62% are actively trying to reduce expenses and 70% are looking for partners to share costs and leverage resources
90% are looking for new program partners
38% of agencies report that it is challenging or very challenging to meet their mission and strategic goals
80% shared reasons for celebration – many organizations are celebrating anniversaries in 2014 – one 50 year and eight 25, 30, and 40 year anniversaries –  other celebrations include increased client outcomes, new partnerships, funders, and services, increased client registration in programs, and dedicated staff and volunteers


Book Review: The Abundant Non Profit

Volunteering trends vary greatly across the world and what may be true for most other nations is not always true in Canada; like the idea that there is a shortage of volunteers. Canada has the 2nd largest voluntary sector in the world – after the Netherlands – and with more than 12 million volunteers across the country we do not have a shortage of willing participants.

Vantage Point (Vancouver’s Volunteer Centre) has long advocated for the fact that in this continued environment of resource scarcity non profits have to think and behave differently. They believe so strongly in the idea that non profits need to shift our primary focus from allocating financial assets to developing human assets that staff members Colleen Kelly and Lynda Gerty put pen to paper (sorry, fingers to the keyboard) to write their book “The Abundant Non Profit.”  

The book is scattered with wise words and good ideas but if reading non profit management books is not top of your summer ‘to-do’ list, then here are some of the paraphrased highlights.  

  • Non profits cannot always wait for funding to start or finish key projects. Vantage Point believes we must expand our circle of experienced volunteers who can help by breaking down projects into bite sized chunks and getting the work done.
  • While all volunteers are created equal in terms of their value to an organization, some volunteer work is valued at a higher rate of return than others. For example: the value difference between using volunteers to copy newsletters or to build a new website.
  • All volunteers need to have work that meets their learning and engagement needs. Create project options with varying levels of complexity.
  • Create an annual plan for volunteer led and managed projects (and connect them to your strategic goals.) 
  • Integrate volunteers into every level of the organization
  • Turn project and program managers into people managers. One manager can only complete a limited number of projects or program objectives, but a people manager with 40 to 60 volunteers can increase their productivity exponentially.

You can purchase “The Abundant Non Profit” directly through the Vantage Point website or member agencies can sign the book out of the Volunteer Victoria library.


Saluting All Volunteers

Have you every heard that old saying about the weather in March? “In like a lion, out like a lamb.”  Sadly for our neighbours across Northern and Southern Alberta last week  June came “in like a lamb but went out like a lion.” 

While the cost of the flood damage will be calculated in terms of lives lost and impacted, the value of property damage, and confidence shaken, there are also many stories emerging this week that help illuminate, quantify, and qualify the generosity of humans and the resilience of people and communities, the power of volunteers to make a difference, and the need to have volunteer services and infrastructure in place – so that when a call to action is issued volunteers know where to go and how to help.

Municipalities across Greater Victoria have robust emergency response programs that operate quietly behind the scenes year round – making sure that they are ready to respond to any and all types of small and large scale emergencies, to provide training to community members and businesses, and to recruit and train volunteers. Volunteer Victoria and the City of Victoria have a formal plan in place should a volunteer centre be needed in the case of a large scale local emergency. 

In many emergencies, however, the scope of need grows beyond those vital services provided by first responders. Once lives and essential services are safely secured in those early hours and days after an emergency, volunteers are often called upon long-term to help rebuild public spaces and assets. In Calgary more than 2,500 volunteers will be needed over the next two weeks to help revitalize the Calgary Stampede grounds. In Fort McMurray dozens of volunteers worked this last weekend to salvage 1000’s of paper documents and artifacts from their flooded Heritage Park.

In the weeks after an emergency volunteers are often recruited to feed and house families and animals, remove debris, help replant parks and public gardens, support those who have suffered loss, and help rebuild lives and gathering spaces, community and civic centres, and those places that are vital to our culture, our memory making, our economy, and our wellness.

Volunteer Victoria salutes all first responder and community building volunteers this week. Thank you for stepping up to help your neighbours.

If you want to learn more about emergency planning or volunteer opportunities, please contact your local municipal emergency response program. 


All On-Board

For many families June ushers in the end of the school year. For many non-profits June signals the beginning of a new year as we  wrap up last fiscal year’s audits and annual reports and ask our membership to approve our new slate of board members at our annual general meetings. In fact, June is one of the busiest AGM month’s of the year, and is probably the month when the greatest number of non profits are literally bringing people on-board.

Volunteer Victoria knows a lot about the process of recruiting and appointing board members. We have tons of tools and resources to help member agencies learn more about board governance and board members roles and responsibilities. And, each year, we help individual organizations address governance challenges or explore ways to recruit, engage, or train new/existing board members. As a whole, the local board community is strong, committed, and tremendously impactful. 

This being said, we know that recruiting new board members with all the skills you need to help your organization move forward is not always simple or fast and it can sometimes feel like a challenge. The statistics support the point. In 2012, 6% of all volunteer positions posted through Volunteer Victoria were board positions. These positions were viewed by potential volunteers just 4% of the time – suggesting that the local demand for board members may be greater than the the number of people willing to consider applying for the positions.

Board recruitment challenges may also intensify in the coming years as a larger number of board members reach retirement stage – the point at which individual board members wish to stop volunteering in board roles (regardless of their age) or choose to reduce their volume of board work. An informal survey of board members at a recent workshop revealed that close to 40% of attendees sit on more than 2 boards. Trends also suggest that the younger demographic of volunteers – while very capable, educated, and committed – favour volunteer positions with shorter durations.  

To help identify potential areas of risk, consider the following: 
How many of your current board members sit on more than 1 board? What strategies can you implement to help board members with multiple board commitments? 
How many current board members have reached retirement stage or are within 2 years of retirement? How will you proactively address these challenges? 
Which board positions in your organization are hardest to recruit for? What can you do to increase your pool of volunteers for this position? 
How can you diversify your board?  
How can you enhance board member engagement and satisfaction and make the most of the time you spend with board members?


Stand Up for our Profession

Susan Ellis is one of only a handful of internationally recognized speakers in the field of volunteer management. And, thanks to AVRBC, she was in Victoria last week to help inspire administrators of volunteer resources from across the province.  

As you might expect from an expert practitioner, author, researcher, and advocate with more than 30 years experience in the voluntary sector Ellis’s presentation was crammed with nuggets of wisdom and skilled intention. Her straight to the point messages about the importance and power of volunteerism hit the proverbial nails on the head.

Ellis’s presentation was not, however, a gentle walk down memory lane. She challenges all coordinators, managers, and advocates of volunteers to revisit our personal and organizational assumptions about how we articulate and recognize the value of volunteerism and asks us to address any complacency that weakens the impact of our profession and collective work. Her point is that if volunteer management professionals don’t determine the future of our sector, who will?

Here are just a few Ellis inspired questions to contemplate:

– How do we inspire more emerging professionals to choose volunteer management as an intentional career path?
– There are very few accredited Volunteer Management Training programs in Canada and trends suggest that established programs across the world are closing. How do we sustain and share research about volunteer management related issues and advocate for volunteer management training as a priority for our sector?
– How do we ensure that volunteerism is identified as an essential service  (like IT or HR) across the entire organization and is not viewed as just an isolated program function?
– What steps will we personally take to ensure that volunteer managers have the tools and resources we need to respond to emerging trends and increasing demands for volunteer services from both the non-profit and public sector?
– How will we share best practices and learnings with each other?

The questions may be simple, but the solutions are complex and far reaching.

Volunteer Victoria, and our colleagues and peers at AVRBC, Volunteer BC, and Volunteer Canada welcome you to share your ideas and experiences in volunteer management. Visit our websites to find out how you can get connected and thanks for choosing this profession!


Louise Has Left the Building

We would like to ask your indulgence as we depart from our usual practice of sharing news about non-profits. This week we are highlighting the work of hundreds of unsung heroes in our non-profit community – our administrative peers and colleagues.

We take it for granted that there will always be toner in the photocopier. Sometimes the toner is low, and we huff and puff about the injustice of having to install the new toner cartridge ourselves. But, how many of us really know what type of toner it is, how the toner is ordered, or who brings it to our office? Same goes for envelopes, paper, and office supplies, and even dish soap, coffee, and cutlery. Don’t even get us started on who knows how to update the phone tree or get light bulbs changed.

Last week someone cleaned our storage space. You can see the entire floor (a goal that generations of staff have aspired to since our building opened in 1911.)  The same office magicians who make logical order out of the strange collection of goods that we acquire (1 punch bowl, dozens of banker boxes, numerous brochures, banners, and signs, 30+ photo albums, 1 child size wellington boot, 1 30-cup coffee urn etc.) can also mail merge using every version of Office since Windows 98 and tell us why our fields do not align with our data sheets. They know ‘who’ is ‘where’ and ‘when’ ‘they’ will return, and they always find a way to get a message to ‘someone’ who can’t easily be found.

Administrative  staff stay calm during the seas of chaos, make proverbial silk purses out of sow’s ears, update and make current a torrent of programs, systems, and services, act as office advocates, counsellors, and confidants, and make people feel like they matter whether it be in person, on the phone, and via e-mail. Administrative staff take care of the small and large details that make a meaningful difference and we wanted to say we notice their work and appreciate their efforts. 

The story is inspired by Louise Keith, a kind and wonderful colleague who has spent the past 12 years wrangling staff and volunteers, and creating order and welcome at Volunteer Victoria. Louise –  despite our loud protests and denial –  is retiring at the end of May, 2013. While we wish Louise well and congratulate her wholeheartedly on her retirement, we know that our office lives will not be the same without her.  Thanks Louise. We will miss you!


Is Sponsorship an Option?

Corporate giving is a huge part of philanthropy in Canada and a cornerstone of many non profit development plans.

While corporations remain generous – even through periods of sustained economic stress – the narrowing of program focus, the introduction of competitive granting processes, and a shift to funding programs that serve high risk and underrepresented target groups means that some non profits are receiving fewer or smaller corporate grants compared to previous years. To exasperate challenges even further there is also in increase in the amount of competition for funding. Corporations have experienced a tremendous growth in the number of organizations asking for grants and an upswing in requests for support for large-scale capital projects to replace aging infrastructure (i.e. hospitals, schools, and recreation and arts centres.) 

So, with this in mind where can organizations look for new funds?

The Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study (CSLS) is an annual study (now in it’s 7th year) “providing Canadians with the most comprehensive information on the scope, scale and trends of the nation’s sponsorship industry, and in turn, enabled deeper understanding of its strategic use.” 

Sposnsorship agreements (which are programs assigned to the marketing department budget and not to the philanthropy branch of a corporation) have risen steadily as a percentage of corporate marketing budgets – moving from 16% in 2009 to nearly 30% in 2011. Industry spending on sponsorships have also risen a massive 43% since 2006, now reaching an estimated value of more than $1.5 billion.

But, before rushing into sponsorship discussions with corporations, you might wish to consider a few things:

– Sponsorship is a reciprocal agreement where each party has something of value to share  and a preferred target market to connect with,
– Each party in a sponsorship agreement receives a benefit and for this reason tax receipts cannot be issued to the corporation for the value of the sponsorship,
– Sponsorship agreements  are legally binding,
– What do you have that has marketing and/or placement value  (this could be a product, program, or audience) and what do you think the product is worth in sponsorship value,
– What is the opportunity cost of a sponsorship with a corporation (are you providing exclusive rights to a program or service and how long with exclusivity last?)
– What conditions/policies/practices have to be in place for a sponsorship agreement to be successful?

For more information on sponsorship trends in Canada visit www.sponsorshiplandscape.ca