The national administration has recommended budget includes the elimination of the Corporation for National and Community Service. This would impact many of our peers and organizations. CNCS administers AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund. These programs provide service and support (including many, many first time community organizers and volunteer managers) around economic development, education, health, and environment, with additional focus on veterans.
 
"A study by economists at Columbia University found that for every dollar invested in National Service programs, there is a $3.95 return to society in terms of higher earnings, increased output and other community-wide benefits." (Target Point, 2016)
 
I suggest you take a look at this website, take action, and let your peers know...
https://voicesforservice.org/take-action/
 
All my best,
Jason
 

Welcome to our newest AL!VE members!

Anna Parker-McDonald
Isabella County, Michigan
Join Date: 02/03/2017

Judith Trepeck
Michigan Association of CPAs
Join Date: 02/06/2017

Ann Greenfield
University of Oregon
Join Date: 02/10/2017

Amanda Hope, CVA
Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration
Join Date: 02/20/2017

Sarah Brownstein
Compassion & Choices
Join Date: 03/01/2017

Gerald (Jerry) Pannozzo, CVA
Join Date: 03/01/2017

Nicole Miles
Make A Wish Connecticut
Join Date: 03/07/2017

Michael Fliess
Join Date: 03/10/2017

Sara Curtis
Join Date: 03/12/2017

Karen Zimolzak
NapaLearns
Join Date: 03/14/2017
 

Listed below are upcoming recognized days of service within the next couple of months.  This may be a great opportunity for your organization to host service projects.

Earth Day
April 22, 2017
Earth Day had reached into its current status as the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year, and a day of action that changes human behavior and provokes policy changes.

Join Hands Day
May 6, 2017
Join Hands Day is about uniting the older generation with the younger generation in a day of volunteering.  Instead of pointing out differences in each other, this day is intended to bring to everyone’s awareness, the realization of how beneficial aiding each other can be.

Senior Corps Week
May 15-19, 2017
Each year during Senior Corps Week, we recognize the extraordinary impact Senior Corps volunteers make across our nation every day.

Volunteer Pro: Teamwork makes the dream work: how to lead volunteers and reduce your stress
04/12/2017
Noon Pacific, 3PM Eastern
This is a webinar sponsored by Volunteer Pro.

Volunteer Match: Understanding Soft Risk in Volunteer Engagement
04/18/2017
11AM Pacific, 2PM Eastern
This webinar is presented by Volunteer Match.

AL!VE Academy: Advocacy for You and the Profession: Exploring the options
04/19/2017
10AM Pacific, 1PM Eastern
Free for AL!VE members, $10 for non members
Eligible for CVA Credit - 1 hour

Volunteer Match: Engaging Pro-Bono and Skills Based Volunteers
04/20/2017
11AM Pacific, 2PM Eastern
This webinar is presented by Volunteer Match. 

Volunteer Pro: Multi Channel Volunteer Recruitment -How to cultivate a consistent pipeline of interest
04/20/2017
10AM Pacific, 1PM Eastern
This is a webinar sponsored by Volunteer Pro.

Volunteer Match: Re-energize your volunteer program by designing mission driven opportunities
04/25/2017
11AM Pacific, 2PM Eastern
This webinar is presented by Volunteer Match.

AL!VE Member Webinar, Thursday, May 4, 9AM Pacific, Noon Eastern
05/04/2017
9AM Pacific, Noon Eastern
New to AL!VE or just want to check in?  Find out what's happening or get a quick fix of networking with your peers.

Volunteer Pro: Project Management 101 for Volunteer Coordinators and Teams: Working Smarter Not Harder
05/09/2017
Noon Pacific, 3PM Eastern
This is a webinar sponsored by Volunteer Pro.

AL!VE Academy: Writing for the Profession
05/16/2017
10AM Pacific, 1PM Eastern
Registration coming soon.

Volunteer Pro: Corporate Volunteer Sponsorships: How to Negotiate Win-Win Partnerships Like a Pro
05/24/2017
Noon Pacific, 3PM Eastern
This is a webinar sponsored by Volunteer Pro.

AL!VE Group Member Roundtable - June 6, 1 PM Eastern or 10 AM Pacific- Financial Management & Fundraising
06/06/2017
10AM Pacific, 1PM Eastern
This event is open to AL!VE Group Members who represent their local volunteer managers' local professional association.

AL!VE Academy: Earning Your CVA & Recertifying, too!
06/08/2017
11AM Pacific, 2PM Eastern
Registration coming soon

AL!VE Member Webinar, Wednesday, June 14, Noon Pacific, 3pm Eastern
06/14/2017
Noon Pacific, 3PM Eastern
New to AL!VE or just want to check in?  Find out what's happening or get a quick fix of networking with your peers.

National Volunteer Week, brought to you by Points of Light, is an opportunity to recognize and thank volunteers who lend their time, talent, voice and support to causes they care about in their community. Their stories can serve to inspire others to find ways to take action that creates change.

Service Unites, the theme for National Volunteer Week, captures the power of changemakers to come together to build stronger, more vibrant communities through service.

Are you ready to celebrate your volunteers?

Check out Points of Light website for ideas and marketing materials.

Only 2 Spots Left!
 

AL!VE Academy:
Advocacy for You and the Profession: Exploring the Options

Wednesday, April 19  - 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT
Cost: Free for AL!VE members, $10 for non members

Join Emilie Bromet-Bauer, CVA as she discusses the chapter she wrote for the Council on Certification for Volunteer Administration (CCVA) about advocacy. 

A successful volunteer manager is an effective advocate. Advocating for volunteer involvement is the crux of our work, but this requires credibility in our position as volunteer managers and leaders. And that means we need to advocate for the profession of volunteer management. In this webinar we will present some basics of advocacy as a platform upon which to discuss how we can advocate for our role and profession in our organizations and community.

Eligible for CVA Credit - 1 hour

To learn more or register, click here.

New to AL!VE or just want to check in?  Find out what's happening or get a quick fix of networking with your peers.  The first 30 minutes include a short presentation about AL!VE, your membership benefits, and how-to's.  The next 30 minutes are an open discussion about any topic relating to managing volunteers or programs!

Join us on May 4th at 9am PST/ Noon EST. Register here.

NOW ANNOUNCING BETTER IMPACT & ALIVE'S
VIRTUAL HYBRID CONFERENCE

October 24 (Pacific & Mountain)
or
October 25 (Atlantic & Central)

Hosted by Dana Cory Litwin, CVA

Session Topics
Overcoming the Challenges in Change  |  Change in Society
Change in Organizations  |  Change in Your Professional Career

A hybrid conference means a local group (e.g., DOVIA, Volunteer Association) live streams our presenters to their participants.  AL!VE arranges for the speakers, handouts and content.  The group pays a connection fee, arranges for the meeting space, meals, etc., and determines the local cost per person.  

Broadcasting will be Eastern/Central one day, and Mountain/Pacific the other day (same content occurs both days).
 

Would you like to host a local event?
Local AVAs, DOVIAs, Volunteer Centers are all invited to a local version of this hybrid conference. The basic requirements for hosting include:

• Register on the AL!VE website and pay the conference hosting fee ($550 or $500 for AL!VE members)

• Securing a venue that can support the audio/visual and internet requirements

• Organizing refreshments an option for lunch (yes, it can be brown bag if your venue allows it)

• Running your own registration process (the fees you charge are your own)

• Providing a host for the day who be trained in advance to interact with the local participants

For more information, visit http://www.betterimpact.com/taketheleap/

Questions?  Contact Gretchen Jordan, AL!VE Association Manager

AL!VE is dedicated to keeping membership fees low and exercising various funding avenues to enrich our membership offerings.  Here are ways to help AL!VE continue its great services to our profession:

Double Your Donation to AL!VE.  Many companies offer matching gift programs to encourage employees to contribute to charitable organizations. Most of these programs match contributions dollar for dollar, and some will even double or triple the amount of your gift!  Check with your employer or Human Resources Department to see if you qualify.

Find AL!VE as a charitable option when you sell or shop on eBay or purchase your next items on Amazon!

For eBay for Charity, click here for instructions on how to donate or have a percentage of what you sell on eBay go directly to AL!VE.

For Amazon Smile, add AL!VE to your account so when you purchase certain items, a percentage of that purchase can go directly to ALIVE. To learn more about the program, click here. To select AL!VE as your charitable organization:

1. Sign in to smile.amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone browser.
2. From your desktop, go to Your Account from the navigation at the top of any page, and then select the option to Change your Charity. Or, from your mobile browser, select Change your Charity from the options at the bottom of the page.
3. Select a AL!VE as your charity to support

For any questions about these programs, contact us at info@volunteeralive.org.

In collaboration with Samaritan Technologies and Cabot Cheese, AL!VE presents an exclusive AL!VE Member benefit!  If you are an AL!VE individual member and meet the qualifications, your agency can be granted access to Samaritan's #1 Rated Volunteer Management Software from which they can post opportunities to their page on VolunteerNow.com.  Opportunities are also cross-posted on AllForGood.org as well as custom sites powered by Samaritan for their customers.

Volunteers can return to any page on the Samaritan network to check their schedules, report hours and take surveys. Hours recorded on VolunteerNow.com can be automatically shared with RewardVolunteers.coop, a no-obligation recognition portal operated by the Cabot Creamery Cooperative.  To learn more and see if your organization qualifies for this generous free software offer exclusively for AL!VE members, visit our webpage.

Congratulations, Energize, Inc.!

 
We celebrate a milestone this year with the 40^th anniversary of Susan Ellis’s Energize, Inc. (www.energizeinc.com), which has been and will continue to be a reliable resource for the volunteer profession. Thank you, Susan and everyone who has had a part in making Energize, Inc. a go-to institution for our profession. Congratulations!

We're pleased to have representatives of AL!VE attend at the events listed below.  If you are attending one of these, look for us!  We're happy to connect with you.

America's Service Commission Regional Conference
Cleveland, OH, May 8-10

Volunteer Management Association of West Michigan (VMAWM)
Grand Rapids, MI May 12

America's Service Commission Regional Conference
Baltimore, MD June 4-7

National Conference on Volunteering and Service (NCVS)
Seattle, WA  June 19-21

National Summit of Volunteer Engagement Leadership (MAVA)
St Paul, MN  July 26-28

Going to the National Conference on Volunteering & Service?

Check out these presentations from our AL!VE Board Members:

Session #186: The 3 C's of Happy Volunteers: Comfort, Convenience, Connection
Presented by Dana Cory Litwin, CVA

Keep and attract the best talent to your volunteer pool by understanding "The 3 C's". This fun and interactive session offers practical, scalable solutions for any sized organization to improve volunteer engagement and retention. The full workshop delves deeper into the "The 3 C's", introduced in one of the most well-received mini-keynote presentations of NCVS 2016.

Session #230: Inspiring Staff Engagement and Readiness in Working with Volunteers
Presented by Karmit Bulman

The scope of volunteer involvement within an organization hinges on the excitement of staff at all levels, an assessment of what volunteers can contribute, as well as an organization's readiness to support and partner with volunteers. A groundbreaking Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration survey pinpointed key staff  concerns about working with volunteers. Staff concerns included time needed for supervision, client confidentiality and availability of volunteers with needed skills. How can you address these capacity issues at your organization?

To learn more about this conference taking place June 19th - 21st, visit www.volunteeringandservice.org.

We are here for you!  If you have a question, recommendation or concern, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@volunteeralive.org. 

Or visit our website at www.volunteeralive.org.