VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER
March 2016
Save the Date for AJFCA's Next Volunteer Community of Practice Call 

Join fellow Volunteer Professionals for AJFCA's next COP call Wednesday, April 13 at 2 pm EDT. In February AJFCA conducted a scan of our network to find a healthy list of topics to tackle during 2016 COP calls.  Mark your calendar and keep an eye out for detailed information & a link to registration in a future email.
Don't Miss the AJFCA Annual Conference May 15-17, 2016
The Volunteer/Young Adult Engagement track will focus on real life experiences and lessons learned from agencies who have pursued meaningful volunteer and/or young adult engagement strategies; you don't want to miss this incredible professional development opportunity!

Confirmed sessions include:
  • Attracting & Retaining Baby Boomer & Highly Skilled Volunteer Talent
  • Making the Case for Jewish Service Learning
  • Connect with Next Gen Leaders through Philanthropy, Service, and Leadership Development
  • Service Enterprise: How to Integrate Volunteer Engagement into Your Agency's  Strategic Plan & Use Service to Better Deliver on Your Social Mission
The following topics are being woven into other sessions:
  • Using a Scavenger Hunt to Engage the Community in Your Food Pantry
  • How to Maximize Volunteer Opportunities in the Food Pantry Setting
Feel free to call Jennie (410-843-7449) if you have questions about attending the conference and visit AJFCA's website to learn more.
Join AJFCA in Detroit for Service Unites

The 2016 Points of Light National Conference on Volunteering and Service will take place in Detroit, MI June 27-29, 2016. 

Jennie Gates Beckman will be presenting with Sheryl Parker from UJA-Federation New York on How to Seed Volunteerism as a Core Strategy for Community Engagement.  At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
  • Integrate volunteer engagement into your agency's  strategic plan & use service to better deliver on your social mission
  • Move the needle on deepening the volunteer experience
  • Inspire buy-in from staff & leaders while building momentum for change in complex networks 
Please reach out to Jennie if you think you might attend; AJFCA plans to convene any network members present for additional networking.
AJFCA Launches Volunteer Professional Summit this Year in Denver

Building on the success of other gatherings for professionals around key issue areas for our network, AJFCA plans to hold a Volunteer Professional Summit in partnership with JFS Colorado's Director of Volunteer Services, Nancy Benyamin. The summit will take place in Denver on a Monday in late summer/early fall 2016. Nancy and Jennie are soliciting the input of network professionals to ensure this summit is addressing the interests of all. Interested in attending and have a great topic you'd like to learn more about? Feel great about a component of your work and would like to present? Want to help AJFCA plan this incredible gathering?
Join AJFCA's Volunteer Professional Facebook Group Today! 

Join your AJFCA member agency colleagues for vibrant discussion and the exchange of information on Facebook! As a closed group, only members will be able to view the contents of participant posts. The group also features a section for photos and files, to which anyone can upload resources to share.  There is a search function which allows easy access to all information accumulated. To join the Volunteer Professionals group, use this link. More groups have been launched for other areas of focus; please reach out to Jennie if there is a specific group you'd like to see created.
What Does It Take To Be A Great Volunteer Program? 

Spend some time today to learn how to effectively involve volunteers in the important work of your organization. VolunteerMatch provides free webinars divided into three sections: 

1) Introductory Approaches, presenting tool, basic ideas or theories, 
2) Core Components, which delve deeply into some common building blocks in a volunteer engagement program, and 
3) Advanced Practices, which approach topics in volunteer engagement from a wider perspective to help you think more holistically about your volunteer engagement program.

Survey Results Share Trends in Field of Volunteer Management

  • Wondering how your salary compares with your peers at similar organizations?
  • Curious how your volunteer engagement practices compare with other professionals?
  • Wonder what the top challenges are for the field of volunteerism?
Find answers to questions like these and more in the first Annual Volunteer Management Progress Report; a project of Tobi Johnson & Associates | VolunteerPro, in partnership with Knowledge Advisory Group.  

The report reflects the results of a volunteer management "state of the industry" survey. 944 volunteer management professionals completed the survey top to bottom. The resulting 39-page report paints a picture of their job structure, salary, satisfaction, and volunteer administration tactics.
 
Resources from Verified Volunteers 
Verified Volunteers is the only background check platform tailored to the specific needs of the service sector and the first online community to mobilize repeat, vetted volunteers. We believe this platform has the potential to dramatically transform volunteer screening for the better for AJFCA member agencies throughout the United States and Canada.
 
7 Things You Need to Know About Volunteer Background Checks in 2016
Volunteer screening is not a "one and done" type of activity; it needs to be revisited all the time - at least annually - to ensure you are on top of the latest trends and legislation. Read this blog post summarizing a recent webinar on the subject, including a link to the webinar recording if you'd like to learn more.
When a Volunteer Falls Off the Radar 

What do you do when a volunteer drops the ball - either fails to fulfill their responsibilities or just plain falls off the radar? It's a scenario that causes plenty of heartburn for supervisors who are then placed in the uncomfortable position of holding a difficult conversation. 

Creating and Maintaining Your IT Strategy
Most of us probably have Facebook and other web sites and are most likely using email distribution lists, but does your organization have an actual IT outreach strategy to actively engage, retain, and recruit new volunteers?
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Partner with Repair the World & HIAS this April 
This Passover, Repair the World & HIAS present #SupportforRefugees, a campaign that focuses on the global refugee crisis and its connection to the complex narrative of Passover liberation. At a time when many voices across the country argue that welcoming refugees is not our responsibility and that supporting refugees in our country will deplete our nation's resources, how can we counter that narrative through service? The Passover story challenges us to remember - and even relive - a time when Jews found liberation through creating abundance out of scarcity together. Let's challenge ourselves to see that we can continue to find liberation through sharing our resources with others. Click here to learn more.
There are two ways Repair would love to partner with your agency:
  • Share your volunteer opportunities with us: As a part of this campaign we are inspiring young adults to volunteer with organizations that provide essential services (eg. access to food, education, housing, job training, English language tutoring, after school care, resettlement). When we volunteer, we strengthen the systems that benefit everyone in our communities, including refugees, those who are most vulnerable. Please email any one-time or ongoing opportunities you have happening this April to Amy so she can add them to the campaign website.
  • Host a Turn the Tables Dinner: We believe that meaningful discussion, can be the catalyst that leads to action. We would love for you to join us in hosting a  Turn the Tables dinner - a project of Repair the World - to hold these important conversations about the refugee crisis.
Questions? Be in touch with Amy at amy.goldsmith@werepair.org
newsletter archive


If this is your first time receiving this newsletter - check out our Volunteer Engagement homepage for an archive of past Volunteer E-Newsletters. Please reach out to AJFCA's Director of Volunteer Strategy, Jennie Gates Beckman at 410-843-7449 or jbeckman@ajfca.org for additional support.