President's Message
AL!VE Board President, Michelle Raymer, CVA  Happy early International Volunteer Mangers Day (November 5)! You are amazing, inspiring, skilled professionals and leaders, and I’m grateful to work alongside you. In case you don’t hear it from others, thank you for all you do to create opportunities for people to make a difference in their communities.
A strong profession is bolstered by a strong association, bringing leaders together to advance the field. Starting in January 2023, AL!VE is proposing increasing our membership dues. Since its founding 13 years ago, AL!VE has not raised its membership rates, even with greatly expanding offerings. During the shutdowns of the pandemic, we held off on increasing dues, and provided grace periods and extended deadlines for paying membership dues. We are committed to remaining affordable for our members (our new rate is still 50% less than similar professional organizations) while also providing quality professional development opportunities and leadership to the field. We also want to practice what we preach, ensuring that staff and contractors we hire are compensated fairly for the high level of expertise they bring. We hope that by providing advance notice you have time to reach out with questions, and budget for costs. At the annual meeting you’ll be invited to vote on the proposed increase. I hope you’ll consider this an investment not just in AL!VE, but in yourselves and the profession.
If you have questions or concerns, please reach out and let us know, we’d love to have a conversation with you.
Michelle
AL!VE Service Enterprise Initiative Underway
As was shared in a special message to members in July, another exciting step for AL!VE is taking on administration of the Service Enterprise Initiative (SEI) from Points of Light, starting October 1st.
A Service Enterprise is an organization that fundamentally leverages volunteers and their skills to meet their social missions. Research shows that organizations operating at  this level are better led, managed, and have the same results as their peers at half the median budget. This makes organizations attractive to volunteers who know they’ll have a good experience, and to funders who know their dollars will be well spent and go further. The Service Enterprise Initiative includes an assessment, training, and coaching to help organizations in the change management process to achieve that level of operation.
AL!VE and SEI make a great pairing. SEI will further AL!VE’s mission by advancing the field of volunteer engagement and the profession, provide opportunities for members to go through the SEI process, and allow for additional professional development and capacity building opportunities. AL!VE will be able to enhance Service Enterprise by leveraging our strengths as a national network of leaders who understand what a tremendous asset volunteers are, and our experience providing professional development and support to that national network.
In the coming months AL!VE members, SEI “hubs”, and SEI certified organizations likely won’t notice much of a change as we keep operations consistent during the transition. However, in the coming year, we hope to gather input from stakeholders to enhance and expand offerings for all audiences. A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was recently released to secure proposals for a contractor or contractors to coordinate the Service Enterprise work. Service Enterprise will be funded initially through a grant from Points of Light, and long-term through hub licenses and fees, grants, and sponsorships. Membership dues will continue to be invested in programming and offerings for members. We look forward to this next chapter in AL!VE’s work, and the opportunity it has for the sector! If you have questions or feedback please reach out at serviceenterprise@volunteeralive.org.
Join an Upcoming Community of Practice!
Upcoming COP Dates: (all times listed in EST)
10/17, 2 pm, Literacy
10/18, 2 pm, Rural Programs
10/24, 2:30 pm, National Networks
10/26, 1 pm, Animal Welfare
10/27, 2 pm, Emergency Response
10/27, 3pm, Museums
11/1, 3 pm, Food Banks
11/2, 1 pm, Transportation
11/10, 12 pm, Healthcare
11/15, 2 pm, Rural Programs
Learn more about Communities of Practice and sign up via the AL!VE calendar.
BIG thank you to the COP Facilitators who work hard to manage the logistics, resources, and content for each COP and make sure each conversation is meaningful and helpful for participants. Thank you for your service!
We would like to add a Community of Practice for faith based organizations. If you are interested in facilitating this COP quarterly, please contact Rebeccah,
Volunteer Managers Hybrid Conference: Hundreds Participate Internationally
This event is produced
and sponsored in conjunction with Better Impact. As this newsletter is released, nearly 50 host sites in the US and Canada will host nearly 1,000 attendees. This year's Volunteer Management Hybrid Conference will focus on equipping leaders of volunteers with skills to determine what data is useful and how to tell impactful stories using different tools and technologies.
Watch for follow up information and a save the date for our 2023 conference in the November Newsletter!
Elections Open Soon for Our 2023 Board of Directors
Watch your inbox for your opportunity to vote for the 2023-2026 Board of Directors and Officers to service in 2023. We've received strong nominations and will be excited to present the slate  to you soon. All members holding a full membership with AL!VE are eligible and encouraged to vote. Here is our timetable for board elections:
- Slate Announced: October 27, 2022
- Voting Opens: October 27, 2022
- Voting Closes: November 11, 2022
- New Board and Officers Notified of Results: November 15-29, 2022
- Election Results Announced at AL!VE Annual Meeting: November 30, 2022 2 PM E. Register here.
- New Board Orientation: TBD December 2022
- Board Term Begins: Monday, January 1, 2023
SAVE THE DATE: AL!VE Annual Meeting
A L!VE’s annual meeting will be held November 30, at 2 PM Eastern. Per our bylaws, the membership shall be notified at least 45 days in advance. Mark your calendars! Registration is now open, here.
Coming in 2023: Presenter Boot Camp!
AL!VE’s Presenter Bootcamp: Launching our first cohort February 2023!
Are you a volunteer engagement professional seeking to elevate your virtual presentations? Do you have an idea for a topic or lived/professional experience but you don’t know how to turn it into a compelling narrative for a training? Do you freeze when tapped to lead educational content, or need to translate in-person training into engaging virtual experiences?
Member Survey Follow Up
Thanks for Making Your Voice Heard! 
Thank you to those who completed our survey.
We will share the results with you at our annual meeting, in our annual report and on the members only side of the website later this year.
We will be drawing two names for those who completed the survey for the new book, Transforming Disruption to Impact, being released November 1! We will contact you via email by the end of October.
Expand your Professional Development - Volunteer with AL!VE
We Want YOU!
Time commitment usually entails one meeting a month, with 1-2 hours working independently on a project or with a team. Volunteering with AL!VE looks great on a resume!
Welcome to Ashley Rieser, Amanda Schmierer, Beckah Aisenbrey, Brandy Tolbert & Katelyn Noble who have recently joined committees!
These Committees are seeking AL!VE members to join:
- AL!VE Academy co-leaders: Join the AL!VE Program and Advocacy Committee by co-leading the AL!VE Academies. Network with industry thought leaders and fellow volunteer engagement professionals to engage them to speak at one of our monthly academies. Time commitment includes 1 hour at our monthly Program and Advocacy Committee meeting and 1-2 hours a month reaching out to speakers, signing MOUs and updating the host notes/slides each month. (Speakers provide their own slides)
- Membership: Membership Committee members have a 3-5 hourly commitment per month; meet monthly and work on projects independently. Tasks Include: new member calls, developing member benefits, local association mentoring & handbook/development, developing member materials, and presenting member webinars.
Visit our volunteer page to apply and get started!
New Hours Tracking for AL!VE Volunteers
If you are an AL!VE Volunteer, you can now log your hours using this new link & procedure. Thanks to our partner Better Impact who has donated volunteer management software to assist with tracking and recognizing AL!VE volunteer impact ! Learn more here.
Proposed New Member Fees
The AL!VE membership committee has proposed a new membership fee structure that will be voted on at our Annual Meeting November 30.
We are streamlining the member categories from seven to two categories for NEW AL!VE members as of January 1, 2023. Renewing members will read more...
AL!VE Member Welcome Webinars
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.
Register to attend an upcoming webinar from our calendar:
November 2, 3 PM Eastern
December 8, Noon Eastern read more...
Things May Look A Little Different
We're nearly done with our website upgrades. The home page has our calendar and Service Enterprise in new navigation buttons, and quick links to some of our member benefits & programs at the bottom of the page. When you log into the members' only side of the website, your member info rmation and tabs will now be at the top of the page. If you need assistance to log in or have questions, please contact us. More updates to come to our website in the next few months! Thank you to Marketing Committee members Sarah Short, Audrey Kidwell, Chris Woods, Beckah Aisenbrey, Adrienne Polombo, Rose Morgan, Meagan Patterson, and Yvonne Dunphee for their efforts to bring our new site to life!
*How did you like our new newsletter format! Feedback welcome.
AL!VE Standards for Organizational Volunteer Engagement
 Looking for a subject matter topic for your upcoming DOVIA meeting?
The new AL!VE Standards for Organizational Volunteer Engagement are a great conversation starter and are sure to get your members brainstorming. The standards are designed to be applicable to volunteer engagement professionals at any level of experience and are adaptable enough to be used across different industries.
You’ve already achieved Standard #2 (Professional Volunteer Management and Professional Development) by being an AL!VE member and keeping up-to-date on best practices in the field. Go you! Check out more of the Standards and action steps here.
Want to request a speaker from AL!VE to present a more in-depth look at the standards virtually at your next DOVIA meeting? Let us know.
Member Benefit: Portfolio Manager
Add Another Email Address to Your Member Profile
You can now add a second email to your member file, so if you are registered for an event you can also get the confirmation/invitation to your alternate address.
SPAM Folder Alert!!
Anyone that receives legitimate messages in SPAM/Junk folders should add the sending contact email address to their Contact/Address Book (in this case: *@viethconsulting.com & *@volunteeralive.org , * represents a wildcard for any account such as info@ or manager@). This trains most email clients to deliver email from known contacts into the Inbox.
If the person has access to DNS/Firewall settings, they can also whitelist the IP addresses: 67.227.157.221 & 67.225.182.242
AL!VE Impact Awards Announced Soon
We'll be announcing the recipients of this year's Impact Award at the Hybrid Conference and then will  be posting on our website shortly after. Thank you to all those who nominated a peer or nominated yourself! To quote one of our award reviewers, Kathryn Hampton (an Impact Award Recipient from last year) " Thank you for the opportunity to read and judge these amazing nominations. Wow, what an incredible group of folks we have in our profession. Seeing all these nominations makes me even more proud of my 2021 win as an Exemplary Leader."
November AL!VE Academy
November AL!VE Academy, November 16 from 1:30-2:30 Eastern
Volunteer Revelations from an Older Adult
Our presenter, Paul, worked in the aging field for most of his career with a long track record of
volunteering for senior service agencies. Then came the pandemic and his volunteer
assignments were eliminated. He created new volunteer roles for himself, some continuing to
this day. As someone who just turned 60, he’s been in a good position to observe demographic
shifts, an increasing dependence on technology, and how the pandemic is changing community
engagement for older adults. Paul will share his recent observations with a look to the future.
Learning Objectives:
- Demonstrate how older adults are gaining social connectivity and new skills via virtual platforms
- Review approaches to assist older adults with limited technology skills and/or financial resources
- Share or Identify at least two hands-on practices to help build our age-friendly volunteer management tool box
Bio:
 Paul Iarrobino is a community activist, speaker, and documentarian with over three decades of gerontology experience. For the past few years, he developed a virtual framework for community members to safely connect during the pandemic.
Paul added “author” to his storytelling wheelhouse with the release of his first book, COVIDOLOGY: Sharing Life Lessons from Behind the Mask. The vision for this anthology was sparked by these weekly virtual social support calls. He was inspired to create a new body of work that featured everyday first-time storytellers navigating the pandemic and learning about themselves and each other during an ever-changing landscape.
You can follow his work at https://www.ourboldvoices.com.
Register here.
Fill Your Calendar With These Incredible Offerings!
Annual Survey for the Profession Coming Soon!
As a friend of VolunteerPro, AL!VE is pleased to partner to share information about their annual state-of-the-industry survey, now in its eighth year! It continues to be both a labor of love and a valued asset for longitudinal trends and advocacy across our global sector.
By completing this survey, you will help build a breadth of data that describes the experiences of leaders of volunteers and volunteer-involving organizations. It's been a rough few years for everyone, and we want to continue to ensure that the voices of these important professionals continue to be heard and understood. This year, the survey will be exploring many topics including salary, key benchmarks, current volunteer capacity, and more.
The survey link won't be available until after this newsletter is released, but will open soon and close in early November. Watch for a separate email from us when it is ready. If you complete the survey, you'll be invited to an early results webinar in January.
MAVA Provides Race Equity in Volunteerism Resources
In 2017 MAVA (Minnesota Allliance for Volunteer Advancement) launched their Inclusive Volunteerism Initiative, a program focused on researching, identifying and dismantling the systemic inequities faced by BIPOC individuals when volunteering on a formal basis with a nonprofit or government organization.
Please click here to learn more about free or paid resources and how MAVA can work with you. |
