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! New members will get a brief overview of our mission, benefits, activities and committees.  Existing members can get a refresher, check in and ask questions. We'll share upcoming announcements, activities, calendar events and trainings.

Webinars will be approximately 30 minutes with an additional 30 minutes allocated for networking or discussion.  

Register for an upcoming webinar:
Wednesday, February 26th (1 pm EST)
Monday, March 6 (3:30 pm EST)
 

YouTube:
AL!VE Past President Dana Litwin presents "Priceless Advice with Leaders of Volunteers" new web series and YouTube channel.
Dana's Priceless Advice for Leaders of Volunteers

Podcasts:
1. Meridian Swift, the author of the weekly Volunteer Plain Talk blog.
2. Time + Talent podcast from Tobi Johnson and Jennifer Bennett. 

All podcasts can be found on Spotify and Apple podcasts and a few other platforms.​

AL!VE will NOT be sending an Annual Appeal to our members this year, and instead invite you to give to AL!VE via Amazon Smile or Ebay.  It's easy, and consider bookmarking the sites so you can shop and donate!

To learn more, visit our 'Donate' page on our website.  Thank you!

CCVA Information Sessions for 2020 CVA Candidates
02/14/2020

AL!VE Communities of Practice - Rural Communities Feb 18, 2 PM Eastern
02/18/2020

VolunteerMatch: Re-Energize your Volunteer Program by Designing Mission-Driven Opportunties
02/18/2020

VolunteerMatch: Managing an Aging Volunteer Corps
02/19/2020

AL!VE Academy Feb 21, 2020: Advocacy and Volunteer Engagement: Who, What, Why, and How 1 PM E, 10 AM P
02/21/2020

AL!VE Member Welcome Webinar 1 PM Eastern
02/26/2020

VolunteerMatch: Playing by the Rules: Creating an Effective Volunteer Handbook
03/10/2020

VolunteerMatch: Telling the Story of Volunteer Impact
03/11/2020

Sterling Volunteers: Measuring and Communicating Volunteer Impact
03/12/2020

Liz Johnson
Join Date: 12/17/2019

Rosland Powell
Join Date: 12/17/2019

Christopher Woods
Join Date: 12/17/2019

Kelli Crawford
Join Date: 12/23/2019

Keji Kujjo
Join Date: 01/02/2020

Michele Epifani
Join Date: 01/03/2020

Jaime Denniston-Merced NYAVA
Join Date: 01/06/2020

Monique Stewart
Join Date: 01/06/2020

Barbara Chapman
Join Date: 01/07/2020

Gina Edwards
Join Date: 01/08/2020

Melinda Messenger
Join Date: 01/09/2020

Peter Masonis
Join Date: 01/14/2020

Genesis Rombola
Join Date: 01/18/2020

Sabrina Clark
Join Date: 01/22/2020

Lace Garland, CVA
Join Date: 01/22/2020

Kim Kelly
Join Date: 01/24/2020

Karin Lamb
Join Date: 01/26/2020

Paul Brown
Join Date: 01/27/2020

Melissa Strovers
Join Date: 01/28/2020

Bridget McPike
Join Date: 02/07/2020
 

We are here for you! Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@volunteeralive.org, or visit our website at www.volunteeralive.org.  While you are there, you can also:
 

• Read the latest news about the profession
• 
  Submit a calendar or news item
• 
  Check out the resources page
• 
  Find volunteer opportunities

...and more!

Facebook: @Volunteeralive
Twitter: @VolunteerALIVE​
Instagram: @Volunteeralive
LinkendIn: View profile here

The Impact Award Recipients received their awards in October, and we've been following up to see how they are doing.  They're all doing GREAT!  Gretchen Jordan, the AL!VE Association Manager, was lucky enough to catch up with two of them in January.

Corina Sadler from Plano, TX, is using her award money to attend the Points of Light Conference this year.  She is involved with DADV (Dallas Association of Directors of Volunteers) and organizes quarterly meetings with the Dallas area of NAVPLG (National Association of Volunteer Programs in Local Government) AND on the team planning the Texas Volunteer Management Conference.

  
Nominations for the 2020 award open in August of 2020.  Learn more about the Impact Award from our website. 

Special thanks to our sponsor Better Impact for providing the cash prizes and awards.

A Community of Practice is a group of volunteer engagement professionals that meets virtually to share issues, strategies and best practices, get and receive colleagues' support, make connections, and provide an opportunity to share information, experiences, and resources specific to the industry/structure or community they serve.

New! Transportation Program Communities of Practice
For any questions about this, please contact Cathy Thoma, COP facilitator.

Multi-Site Communities of Practice
For any questions about this, please contact Allyson Drinnon, COP Facilitator​. 

Rural Communities of Practice - 2020 Dates Set!

• February 18, 2 pm E
• May 19, 2 pm 
• August 18, 2 pm E
• October 20, 2 pm E

For any questions about this, please contact Rebeccah Verhoff-Kiss, COP facilitator.

The Leadership Team convened in January for two very productive days of planning and work during which we:

• Reviewed the research our consultants gathered from stakeholders, which was very helpful and informed all of our discussions and work over the two days. Thanks to all who contributed!
• Clarified the focus of the Alliance and articulated our intended impact – which is:
  • Mission-driven entities prioritize volunteer engagement as a key strategy.
• Began drafting and prioritizing the specific action steps the Alliance will take to achieve those impacts.
• Explored the structures that will be easiest and most productive for individuals and communities to engage with us to achieve this impact.
• We will be sharing the focus, theory of change, and draft plan very soon and welcoming involvement in all the next steps.
• We appreciate everyone’s patience as we pull together the notes and next steps in a clear communication. So please stay tuned. We will be sharing much more with all our stakeholders in March.

www.allianceforengagement.org

To keep a local association going can be a challenge! Budgets, succession plans, social media, education, advocacy, and more, can become a handful. Guess what? We are here to help!

AL!VE provides programs and support for Local Associations of Volunteer Engagement Professionals across the country. Here are some of the resources available for AL!VE Local Association members.

• Local association handbook. Whether your local association is well established or just beginning, this handbook is a great resource. Send an email to manager@volunteeralive.org to get your copy. There are lots of useful forms and documents in the handbook.
• Mentorship for local associations. AL!VE kicked off this mentorship program in 2019 and currently has five associations receiving mentorship from seasoned professionals. Local Association members can get up to a 12-month plan with calls and emails, an action plan, quarterly discussion sessions and more. To learn more about being a mentor or a mentee, please click on this link.
• Interactive development session specifically targeted for local associations - stay tuned for more information. There will be lots of useful information, and a Q&A session too!
• You can promote all our educational programs to your members – we do the work and your members benefit! National trainers and quality sessions.
• Promote your local conference on our calendar - simply fill out the form below the calendar on our home page.
• A National Directory. We’ve been working hard to compile as many of the local associations across the country as we can find into one database and will release that list in April.

If you are a local association and not a member, you can see there are plenty of reasons to join. Check out our membership page here, and if you have questions, please email manager@volunteeralive.org

We welcome NYAVA, (New York NY)  GRAVA, (Richmond, VA)  DAVA (Delaware), GAVA (Georgia) and MCVDS (Maryland) as recent new members.

Save the Date October 20 & 21, 2020!  "Managing Risk" is the 2020 topic.
How will you manage risk in your career, your program, and with volunteers?

2020 Timeline:

• Call for presenters:  mid February 
• Remote site registrations open:  April - September 
• Remote training for remote sites and site facilitators:  July -September 
• Managing Risk Livestream Event -
  • October 20 (Pacific & Mountain)
  • October 21 (Central and Eastern)

Registration discounts will be given for AL!VE Local Association members and returning locations.  

Sign up to learn more about our sixth annual Volunteer Management Hybrid Conference via informational webinars.  Regular updates will begin in February.

THANK YOU for taking the survey. Some highlights from the 48 responses were:

Membership Value

• 83.3& are likely to recommend AL!VE to a friend/colleague
• 81% are likely to renew membership
• 81.5% believe the value of membership matches the membership fee

Involvement 

• 32.6% would be interested in volunteering with an AL!VE Committee

Communication

• 74.4% believe AL!VE's official communication channels keeps them well informed
• 81.4% read the newsletter
• 74.4% visit the AL!VE website at least once a month (11.6% visit weekly)

Comments:

• Add more e-blasts or a monthly email news update
• Reminders on benefits, perks, etc.

Advocacy is one of the most important functions of volunteer management and engagement, but it often gets overlooked or undervalued. As the professional association for the field of volunteer engagement managers and leaders, AL!VE is responsible for supporting volunteer engagement professionals in their advocacy efforts as well as representing its members and the profession by advocating for issues and trends that are important to the field. 
 
This year the AL!VE Programs and Advocacy committee is launching an Advocacy initiative to develop these functions. If you are interested in getting involved, please come join us on the Programs & Advocacy Committee. We're also looking for a volunteer, unpaid intern, or capstone student to work with us as an Advocacy Researcher. For more information about these opportunities, check out the Advocacy Researcher position description on the AL!VE website.
 
The new initiative includes quarterly advocacy-focused AL!VE Academy webinars. Have you ever wondered how to get started with advocacy work? Join us Friday, February 21, to attend Advocacy and Volunteer Engagement: Who, What, Why, and How, presented by Emilie Bromet-Bauer and Kelli Crawford. Click here to register now for Advocacy: Who, What, Why and How! Are you wondering how you can help advocate to advance the profession of volunteer engagement? Register now to attend the second quarterly webinar on May 6, presented by Meridian Swift: Advocacy to Elevate the Profession.
 
Another important way to elevate the field of volunteer engagement is through your own professional development. We'll be starting a CVA (Certification in Volunteer Administration) study group for AL!VE members in the Fall. Check the AL!VE website, including the extended calendar, for CVA and CCVA related events, and for further details about AL!VE's CVA study group. 
 
The P &A Committee can support and educate our members by sharing important information about trends and legislation that impacts volunteer engagement.  Currently the US Administration's proposed 2021 budget includes an eliminating the budget for the Corporation for National Community Service and its programs, like AmeriCorps. If you are interested in this issue and want to learn more about it, including how you and your volunteers can be advocates for CNCS, you can visit States for Service Coalition, the advocacy arm of the America's Service Commissions, or go to this site to take immediate action: https://p2a.co/oQqGba3. 
 
We are all advocates for our volunteers, volunteer engagement, the profession, and our organization's causes. AL!VE is here to support you and your volunteers in becoming effective advocates. If you have any questions or suggestions about how AL!VE can support you in this important function, please contact Emilie at brometbauer@yahoo.com.

In addition, these AL!VE Academy topics are now open for registration:
 
March AL!VE Academy:  March 18, 2 PM E:  The Accidental Trainer:  Developing Immersive Learning as Part of Your Volunteer Engagement Strategy, Presented by Barry Altland.  Register here.

April AL!VE Academy:  April 29, 2 PM E:  Partnering with Volunteers Motivated by Faith Presented by Faiza Venzant, Brittni Coe, and Jordanya Reeves. Register here.

Canada in June.  Yes!!! Come join your Canadian colleagues in volunteer management at the National Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada Conference from June 8-10, 2020 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  Early Bird Registration is now open. Get more information at Annual VMPC Conference and register at early bird rates  here .  There will be six deep dive sessions so come prepared to roll up your sleeves for these ones, nine breakout sessions  on trends, research, experiences and case studies, and four plenary session by amazing thought leaders along with an opening session and experience that is sure to amaze. There will be plenty of time for you to network and build relationships through good quality dialogue with colleagues, and guided mindfulness walks or morning runs each day. This is a great event, jam-packed professional development for Volunteer Management Professionals and persons who may hold volunteer development and management responsibilities as part of their overall accountability, either as a staff person or volunteer.
 
 This event is co-hosted by Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada (VMPC) and Administrators of Volunteer Resources - Saskatchewan (AVR-SK), early bird registration will be available at a discounted rate until March 30th, 2020.  Come join us!! Check it out at Annual VMPC Conference and register at early bird rates  here .