President's Message
AL!VE Board President, Michelle Raymer, CVA  Happy Global Volunteer Month!
Thank you to the many volunteers who make what we offer at AL!VE possible. Continuing to highlight your Executive Board Members, a special thanks this month to Chris Woods!
Chris joined the board and immediately stepped into a leadership position as the VP of Marketing. Under his direction the committee continues to review and improve the website, increase engagement on our social media, and put out this fantastic newsletter. With our ever-growing offerings and resources, Chris helps ensure that all of you know about the exciting opportunities coming up. I’m thrilled to share Chris’ team has also developed our first annual report, checking off another goal from our strategic plan! I encourage you to review the report, which outlines the many accomplishments from 2022, and celebrate what you have helped create as AL!VE members!
Michelle
P.S. If you haven’t already, please take the time to complete our Career Pathways Survey and share it with colleagues in your network. Your responses will help us outline the career progression for our field to help you better advocate for your role within your organization. Thanks!
Announcing This Year's Hybrid Conference Theme....
We are excited to announce this year’s facilitator is Rob Jackson!
Rob Jackson is Director of Rob Jackson Consulting Ltd, a consultancy and training company that helps engage and inspire people to bring about change. Rob has almost 30 years experience working in the voluntary and community sector, holding a variety of strategic development and senior management roles that have focused on leading and engaging volunteers.
Rob has run his company since 2011 working with a wide range of clients in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the USA and Canada. Rob is co-author of The Complete Volunteer Management Handbook (DSC, 2012 and2019) and From The Top Down - UK Edition (Energize Inc., 2015).
Additional Speakers will be announced in May!
Dates are confirmed for October 17 (Pacific & Mountain times) and October 18 (Central, Eastern, & Atlantic times)
Registration opens late May 2023. Click here to join the mailing list for updates and registration info!
May AL!VE Academy
Tips & Tricks for Recruiting Volunteers Online
Monday, May 22, 2-3pm
Register here
Presented by Jennifer R. Bennett, CVA, Director, Education & Training, VolunteerMatch
Recruiting volunteers online is different from recruiting in other ways. Learn how to make your volunteer opportunities stand out by using best practices when creating your opportunity listings. This webinar will cover the eight simple things you can do to help your opportunities stand out. We'll share what works best on VolunteerMatch, and how you can apply these tips and tricks anywhere you recruit online. Examples of great opportunities and opportunities that could use a little work will be reviewed.
Learning Objectives
- Recognize the role that online recruitment plays in their larger volunteer recruitment strategy.
- Evaluate their current online recruitment practices and messaging.
- Apply best practices to update their online volunteer recruitment messaging.
About our presenter:
 Jennifer R. Bennett, CVA - Director, Education & Training, VolunteerMatch
Jennifer joined VolunteerMatch to formalize and manage the organization’s volunteer engagement program. With her breadth of experience, she is well qualified to help VolunteerMatch’s community of nonprofits better recruit and engage volunteers.
She shares her knowledge with volunteer managers through the webinars found on the Learning Center, in newsletters and blog entries, and at conferences around the country. She also co-hosts the Time + Talent Podcast with Tobi Johnson from VolunteerPro, which finished its fourth season in December 2022.
She currently serves as the Director of Knowledge on the Board of the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration. She is the current Co-Editor and a contributing author for the 4th Edition of Volunteer Administration: Professional Practice, published by LexisNexis Canada in January 2021. And, she contributed The New Volunteer Manager’s Toolkit chapter to the guide Volunteer Engagement 2.0: Ideas and Insights that are Changing the World published by VolunteerMatch in 2015
She’s a strong believer in the importance of engaging volunteers in meaningful work and was Certified in Volunteer Administration in 2009.
She currently volunteers with the Justice & Diversity Center and Project Homeless Connect in San Francisco and with the Social Justice Sewing Academy.
She holds a B.A. from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, VA.
Last Chance to Renew Your Membership!
We are going through our membership database and dropping members whose 2022 membership dues are past due more than 60 days (per our bylaws). If you had past due amounts from the 2021 membership year, they have been forgiven. If your membership is dropped, you may rejoin at any time upon payment of your dues. Contact us for assistance.
Remember, membership is required to access certain member benefits. If you have any questions about your membership dues, please contact Association Manager Gretchen Jordan ( manager@volunteeralive.org) Thank you for investing in your professional organization and YOUR professional development!
2022 Annual Report Now Available
AL!VE is proud to present its first-ever Annual Report highlighting accomplishments from a variety of our programs in 2022! Please take a moment to read about our programs and feel free to share report with colleagues who may be interested in joining AL!VE.
View AL!VES 2022 Annual Report Here
Join an Upcoming Community of Practice!
New COPs Launching in May!
Faith Based, led by Anna Brandt
Join in the conversation around faith-based volunteering and engagement! Whether your organization engages faith-based groups or your organization is faith-based, this is an opportunity to network, share experiences, ask questions, and brainstorm with peers working in the faith space. Discussion topics will be sourced from the group to ensure these conversations are helpful and applicable to your work. Register for the 5/11 session.
Book Club, led by Brittany McGarry
This book club COP will be for all members of AL!VE, first diving into the book that everyone is talking about, Transforming Disruption to Impact: Rethinking Volunteer Engagement for a Rapidly Changing World. Register for the 5/17 session.
UPCOMING COP DATES
April 24, 2:30pm, National Netoworks
April 24, 3pm, AmeriCorps Seniors
April 26, 1pm, Animal Welfare
May 2, 3pm, Food Banks
May 11, 2pm, Faith Based
May 16, 2pm, Rural Programs
May 17, 12pm, Book Club: Transforming Disruption to Impact
May 18, 12pm, Parks & Recreation
May 18, 3pm, Musuems
*All times listed in Eastern Standard Time
Learn more about Communities of Practice and sign up via the AL!VE calendar.
Volunteer Engagement Professional Career Pathways Survey
During our last annual meeting in November, the AL!VE Board of Directors announced a job-leveling project that will help articulate the career pathways for a volunteer engagement professional.
Part of AL!VE’s mission is to advocate for our field, and there is a lack of data that speaks to the career pathways for a volunteer engagement professional, causing many professionals to leave the field in search of other advancement opportunities. Responding to member needs around advocacy for the role of a volunteer engagement professional, our goal is to create a Career Pathways report that demonstrates the various job levels within our field and the competencies and skills for each level, giving practitioners and employers a roadmap of progression.
A committee of AL!VE board members and stakeholders assembled for this project and worked with a compensation consultant to create a survey that will solicit information needed from volunteer engagement professionals that currently work in our field.
IMPORTANT: Survey Eligibility
Survey respondents must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible to complete the survey:
- Spend a minimum of 25% of time spent on your role fulfilling volunteer engagement responsibilities. Examples include, but are not limited to: directly managing volunteers; building volunteer engagement capacity for own organization or other organizations.
- Do NOT work as a consultant or vendor (e.g., selling products/technology for volunteer engagement activities)
Click here to participate in the survey, no later than Sunday, April 23, 2023.
The survey should take between 15-20 minutes to complete. Your individual data will remain confidential and will be aggregated by industry, job grouping, and location.
Thank you in advance for your participation!
Service Enterprise: Research-Backed Change Management Program
Kayla Paulson, Service Enterprise Administrator Volunteer Appreciation
Often organizations that I have worked with and supported pre-COVID had a big appreciation event, but during COVID they had to pause that, so they took time to ask volunteers how they really wanted to be appreciated. Many said a simple and genuine thank you, to use their time well, and including them in the organization.
What better way to appreciate volunteers than to invest in better engaging and supporting them? During the last week of Volunteer Appreciation Month I encourage you to take a moment, pause, and reflect on how your organization is engaging the skills, talents, and time that volunteers are giving.
- Do you have opportunities for volunteers to serve throughout all your departments or service lines?
- Do you have volunteers and pro-bono services sprinkled throughout the organization chart?
- Does your organization culture embrace volunteers as a key resource for realizing your mission?
If your organization’s culture is not yet there, I encourage you to explore how your organization can participate in AL!VE’s Service Enterprise Program.
Imagine in addition to giving your volunteers a token gift and/or celebratory event you can showcase all of the work your organization was able to accomplish due to their contributions, assure them that you are investing their time and talents in the most impactful ways, and the organization recognizes and appreciates all that volunteers bring. To learn more about Service Enterprise and how you can leverage it to help the whole organization recognize and appreciate volunteers as a key human capital strategy contact Kayla Paulson at ServiceEnterprise@VolunteerALIVE.org or (319) 310-0901.
Upcoming Conferences
America's Service Commissions National Service Training Regional Events
America's Service Commissions, in partnership with state and territorial service commissions, is pleased to announce the dates for our 2023 National Service Training regional events. The theme for the 2023 trainings is “Expanding What's Possible.” If you are attending these events, look for an AL!VE representative at our sponsored table. Stop by to say hello and pick up some AL!VE swag - watch for announcements for any AL!VE member meet ups!
May 2-4, 2023: Central · New Orleans, LA · Hosted by Volunteer Louisiana
May 15-17, 2023: East · Charleston, WV · Hosted by Volunteer West Virginia
June 7-8, 2023: Virtual
Visit www.nationalservicetraining.org for more information.
Points of Light - Registration now open!
Now’s the time to reserve your spot! Early bird registration for the Points of Light Conference 2023 is now open. You already know the value of attending, so register now. You’ll save an average of $100 by registering before March 31. Pricing starts at just $575 for nonprofits, $475 for Points of Light Affiliate Members and $775 for corporate audiences.
- Experience more than 50 workshops with actionable takeaways led by industry experts.
- Engage in compelling leadership discussions highlighting best practices in the social impact space.
- Connect with 1,000+ fellow change-makers.
Reserve your spot at the conference by registering today!
AL!VE will again be co-hosting a networking event Wednesday June 14 in the evening, and we will post more information soon.
AL!VE Standards at DOVIA Meetings
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.
Volunteer With Us!
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!
These Committees are seeking AL!VE members to join:
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.
Marketing: Are you a tech saavy individual that has experience with websites? We're looking for a volunteer to join us on the Markeing Committee to assist with website and tech issues that arise from time to time.
Visit our volunteer page to apply and get started!
Updates to the AL!VE Website
Not finding what you’re looking for on the AL!VE website?
No worries - we’ve made a few changes to make things more accessible! You can now find  Al!VE Academies, Better Impact & Hybrid Conference, Mentor Program, Impact Awards, and Presenter’s Bootcamp under the “Get Involved” drop down.
All resources such as professional standards, advocacy, ethics, trends, DEAI, and general management under the “Resources” drop down.
Take a few minutes to scroll through the updated website; we hope you find it easier to use!
Don't Miss Emails from AL!VE
We send this newsletter monthly, and an additional 3-4 emails per month. If you didn’t get it in your inbox please check your junk/spam folders (if you find it there right click it and choose Junk/Spam and then select Never Block Domain). If you don’t find it that was you may want to ask your IT to whitelist volunteeralive.org.
You can also try to whitelist at your email level by following the directions linked below (sometimes you may need admin permissions):
Whitelisting for Gmail
Whitelisting for Office 365 Outlook
Whitelisting for Outlook ios
If you need more assistance or haven’t been able to access the email please email manager@volunteeralive.org so that we can follow-up and do another test email after volunteeralive.org has been whitelisted on your account.
Presenter Boot Camp Completes Successful First Sessions
 Our inaguaral Presenter Boot Camp was a great success and we plan to offer another. Special thanks to Paula Allen and all the trainers who have led the training team and attendees. We will have more information in the May Newsletter about the graduates, outcomes and next steps about when the next event will be held.
Member Benefit: Portfolio Manager
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. We also are giving away some cool door prizes too ! The next one is April 10. Register from our calendar.
Our second member social is a great time to just hang out, connect and network with your peers! Need to get ideas or share a challenge or success? Our topic for this session will be about discussing summer programming. We will have some door prizes, too! The next member social is May 24 @ 5 PM E and will last 45 minutes. You can also register from our calendar. read more...
Thank You For Your Renewals!
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