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Recognition Idea
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Personal Note from Board
Our Board of Directors has a Volunteer Services Committee. These members write a personal, handwritten note to each volunteer who donates anything over four hours during a year. The committee members are given enough information to let them know what work the volunteer has done. We have recently added a printed note to all our one-time volunteers with the personal signature of the committee chair. This wonderful tradition wasn't started by me, but I am happy to be part of an agency with such caring board members. -Submitted by Marty Atherton
Share Your Recognition Idea
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Volunteerism Quote |
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because
he could do only a little.
- Edmond Burke Submitted by Jackie Bowers, Central Territory, Illinois, US Share Your Quote
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Energize Volunteer Management Update September 2009
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September Hot Topic:
Making Ongoing Volunteering Valued and Visible
How can we integrate discussion of
everyone's own volunteering into daily life in a natural, even "taken for
granted" way? In the face of hoopla about single days of service, how do
we shine a light on ongoing service that is already so pervasive, yet invisible
to many?
Read this Month's Hot Topic You
can subscribe to the Hot Topic as a podcast or
RSS text feed --
or listen to the audio online.
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Looking Ahead
In the Northern Hemisphere,
September is traditionally the start of what feels like a new year. Children go
back to school, new television shows start, and professional associations come
back to life after a summer hiatus. So what's ahead this season (no matter
which hemisphere you're in)? Here are a few things we're watching for you at
Energize and will continue to update on our site and in our communiqués as more
details emerge:
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September 11th will be the first
officially-designated National Day of Service and Remembrance in the United
States, with all sorts of special
projects planned.
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Europe is
preparing for the European Year of Volunteering 2011, and we'll soon learn the results of the
just-closed competition to select a logo and slogan for the event.
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The Entertainment Industry Foundation will be
launching its promised industry-wide support of volunteering next month, with the inclusion of voluntary
service plot lines in all sorts of television and film stories.
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And Energize is working on a fresh look for our Web
site, with a redesigned home page and new ways to navigate to the wealth of
information our site offers to leaders of volunteer efforts. We're excited and looking forward to unveiling it to you.
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The Corporate Track - New Enrollment Option for Everyone Ready®
Calling all
for-profit corporations! In its 5th
year of serving nonprofit and government organizations, the Everyone Ready online volunteer management training program is now pilot testing a new Corporate Track tailored to the special
needs of workplace volunteer program (WVP) managers who lead a company's
community service and corporate citizenship initiatives. For companies with workplace volunteer
programs, success demands people who know how to lead volunteers, even when it
isn't their "real" job. So this innovative
Everyone Ready program will provide
quality information and bite-sized learning resources designed specifically for
the business volunteer.
Director
and dean of faculty of The Corporate Track is David Warshaw of Vistas
Volunteer Management Solutions, who led
General Electric Company's award-winning global workplace volunteer effort that
enlisted more than 60,000 employee and retiree volunteers in more than 30
countries.
We are currently enrolling Charter members in The Corporate Track. This select group will participate in shaping this unique
service to the needs of their and other companies. Click here for more information and to request a personal "tour" of the proposed
services.
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Susan's Tip of the Month: Defining Committees for Success
Committees are ubiquitous -- they pop up everywhere for anything. And most people grimace when they are asked
to serve on one. Why? Because rarely is any time spent on defining both the work of the committee
at that point in time and on the responsibilities of all the members. We jump right into the work at hand. I
recommend spending a bit of time at the start of a committee's life, or
annually for standing committees, to discuss and answer the following
questions.
First, for THE COMMITTEE AS A WHOLE:
- What is the purpose/mission of this committee?
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What, specifically will the committee do this year?
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What has it done in the past that will be continued
or be dropped? Why?
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What is the ideal size and make-up of the committee?
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How often will it need to meet? Are there peak busy
times?
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Can any of the work be done online?
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What resources are available to the committee?
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How does the committee fit into the organization's
overall structure?
Then, for ANY COMMITTEE MEMBER:
- Every member must understand and be committed to the
decisions above.
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What is the minimum attendance standard for meetings?
Are substitute representatives acceptable? Will there be e-mail discussions in
which to participate?
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What is the minimum expectation for work to be done
in between meetings?
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What are reporting expectations -- and are reports
due even if the member is not in attendance?
- What skills and resources will members be expected
to share with the committee?
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What's the term of office and under what circumstances may a member be asked to resign?
Only then, for THE CHAIRPERSON:
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The chair must understand and be committed to the
decisions above.
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What special responsibilities accrue to the chair,
above and beyond regular committee membership?
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What is the chair's role prior to each meeting?
- At each meeting?
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In-between meetings?
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As a representative of the committee to the rest of
the organization?
and for OTHER LEADERSHIP POSITIONS,
follow the same sequence as above.
Finally, it is critical to also define the
role of THE LIAISON PAID STAFF MEMBER, in terms of this specific committee (it
will change for each committee and each employee, depending on the situation):
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What is the interrelationship of the committee's
work to the work of the employee?
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How will the chair and employee work together?
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Who sets the agenda for meetings?
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What is the reporting procedure...two-way?
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What is the employee's role during meetings? Is the
paid staff person a voting member of the committee?
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Who will do the clerical support work?
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What organizational resources will be made available
to the committee, through the employee?
Successful committees practice good volunteer management, since most
often the people on such a team are there voluntarily -- whether paid or
volunteer in other roles.
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About Us Energize empowers and inspires leaders of volunteers worldwide. Our specialty is creating and selecting the most relevant, innovative resources in volunteer management. We're advocates for the power of
volunteers and for the recognition of the leaders who unleash it.
Energize, Inc. 5450 Wissahickon Ave. C-13 Philadelphia PA 19144 Phone: 215-438-8342 Fax: 215-438-0434 info@energizeinc.com
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Pass It On! Pass on this update to interested
news groups and others who work with volunteers.
Material may be re-posted or
printed without additional permission, provided credit is given to Energize,
Inc., and our Web site address is included: http://www.energizeinc.com/.
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