December 30, 2009
Although the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan endures, a new generation of veterans is coming home. A first-of-its-kind report reveals that many want to serve as volunteers, and that this volunteer work may be crucial to welcoming and re-integrating them into their home communities successfully. Effectively engaging this force for good on the home front will require cultural awareness and new tactics on the part of all of us in the independent sector.
The new report on the civic engagement and volunteerism of veterans is the first of its kind.
The report, released by Civic Enterprises and funded by the Case Foundation and Target Foundation (a member of the Minnesota Council on Foundations), is entitled All Volunteer Force: From Military to Civilian Service.
Report Highlights:
- A Rocky Transition – Only 13 percent of returning veterans strongly agreed that their transition home was going well
- Few Contacted – Nearly seven in ten respondents (69 percent) reported that no community institution, local nonprofit, or place of worship had contacted them after returning home
- Ready to Serve - Ninety-two percent of respondents agreed or strongly-agreed that serving their community is important to them
- Diverse Interests - Veterans are interested in serving many types of organizations, from those involved in environmental conservation, to disaster relief, to those serving other veterans and their families, to those who work with older Americans or at-risk youth
What Nonprofits, Faith-based Organizations and Grantmakers Can Do
Perhaps one of the most powerful things that organizations in the independent sector can do to engage veterans is simply to ask them if they’d like to volunteer. Many of those respondents currently volunteering reported that being asked to volunteer was the reason they began volunteering in the first place.
Faith-based organizations can also help ease the transition for veterans by recognizing them during services and asking congregants to invite veterans into their homes to share a family meal. Many returning veterans are Millenials and members of Generation X. These individuals are high technology users and may be contacted via forums and using other online communications vehicles. If you have a Twitter account or enewsletter, consider making a special appeal to veterans to volunteer at your nonprofit or serve on your board of trustees.
The report outlines many other strategies — from national policy down to the grassroots — for effectively engaging and re-integrating servicemen and women into their communities. The full report can be viewed and downloaded for free at civicenterprises.net
Join the conversation: Have you talked to your colleagues about how to reach out to veterans? If you’re a veteran or service member, what advice do you have for organizations who would like to engage you?
1 Comment | 
communication, nonprofits, volunteers | Tagged: Case Foundation, Civic Enterprises, Target Foundation, veteran volunteers, volunteerism, welcoming veterans | 
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Posted by MCF Webmaster
December 7, 2009
The Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA) Report: The Status of Minnesota’s Volunteer Programs In a Shifting Environment
According to a recent MAVA report, some nonprofit organizations in Minnesota are currently finding themselves in a challenging, almost paradoxical predicament. They have more volunteer inquiries than ever before because of higher unemployment. However, their decreased resources and staff capacity due to the downturn have made it a challenge for some to make use of these potential volunteers.
Eight-six percent of organizations polled in a recent survey conducted by MAVA reported that their organization is under fiscal stress. As budgets for paid work are cut at some of these organizations, unemployed workers are simultaneously volunteering at higher rates. Forty-four percent surveyed reported an increase in volunteer inquiries, and 50 percent reported an increase in volunteer hours at their organization.
Despite this surge in volunteers, relatively few nonprofits reported an increase in the administrative resources used to manage and train these volunteers. Only 12 percent of organizations reported an increase in the budget for their volunteer programs.
Regardless of the challenges of managing this windfall, many organizations surveyed disclosed that they are are enlisting novel strategies to both attract and retain these new volunteers, among them:
- Involving volunteers in new capacities
- Allowing volunteers to serve in leadership positions
- Designing volunteer opportunities to offer more robust work skill development
- Creating new streamlined and standardized intake, screening and placement practices
Both nonprofits and unemployed workers looking to keep their skills sharp stand to benefit mutually from this increase in volunteerism. Will this uptick in volunteerism be the bridge that helps nonprofits overcome these troubled times? Having a larger, more highly skilled pool of volunteers will undoubtedly help those who are able to tap into it. However, as noted in the conclusion, MAVA challenges the assumption that organizations have the capacity to effectively channel this force for good without additional resources.
To read more and download the full report from MAVA, visit mavanetwork.org.
2 Comments | volunteers | Tagged: capacity, economic downturn, MAVA, Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA) Report: The Status of Minnesota’s Volunteer Programs In a Shifting Environment, Volunteer, Volunteer Management | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster
September 21, 2009
Ever since the Major League Baseball All-Star game in mid-July, I’ve been thinking about the pre-game video. And, now that my beloved sport is reaching its regular season conclusion in the next couple of weeks, I thought I’d finally blog about my unexpected, impactful encounter with that six-minute video.
Did you see it? There I was, sitting on my couch waiting for Pres. Obama to throw out the first pitch. Instead, what came next from St. Louis were Presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Carter appealing to us to go beyond, to do good work daily, to volunteer. They highlighted the stories of five “All Stars Among Us,” individuals who were not intimidated by challenges, but inspired by the difference they could make.
What struck me about these stories is that these folks are ordinary people who are transforming their world in simple, extraordinary ways because they chose to act. Not just talk about needs and what ifs, but taking it upon themselves to step up to the plate and do something.
My colleague Juliana Tillema wrote a blog about her reflections and actions around the Sept. 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. A few days before that, I wrote about turning the word “philanthropy” into a verb. What is it about that word “do”?
Well, I’m trying to step up and do some sort of good work daily – whether it’s an organized activity or a spontaneous gesture. Opportunities abound. If you’re at all inclined to explore the possibilities for action, check out the website referenced in the All-Star video, http://www.serve.gov/. Other appropriate names for this site could be do.org or act.com.
You get the point.
- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate
Leave a Comment » | individual giving, promotion of philanthropy, volunteers | Tagged: All Stars Among Us, All-Star | Permalink
Posted by Chris Noonan
August 24, 2009
I can rattle off a myriad of reasons why those over age 50 might choose to cut back their giving: concerns about future income streams, limited spare time as they care for aging parents, their children’s college tuition expenses, rising health care costs and insurance premiums, and on and on.
But, last week The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. announced the results of a volunteerism and charitable gift survey of the 50+ population. The results showed that, excuses aside, this group is ramping up giving of both time and money.
In commemoration of The Hartford’ 25-year relationship with AARP, part of the survey focused on comparing AARP members with non-members.
Some of the findings:
- 53 percent of consumers age 50+ participate in volunteer work, compared to 45 percent for those age 49 and younger.
- Of those who volunteer, almost 14 percent of AARP members volunteer one day per week as compared to 7.5 percent of non-AARP members.
- 76 percent of those over 50 give monetary donations to causes they support. This compares to 83 percent of AARP members over age 50, and 60 percent of those under age 49.
- The causes most favored by the 50+ group include Alzheimer’s disease, social services, the environment and military support.
- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate
Leave a Comment » | fundraising, individual giving, promotion of philanthropy, research, volunteers | Permalink
Posted by Chris Noonan
July 7, 2009
Rock on, Twin Cities' volunteers!
The Corporation for National and Community Service ranks the Twin Cities first in volunteerism. More than 913,000 of us (39.3 percent of our population) volunteer 106.2 million hours a year, making an estimated annual economic contribution of $2.1 billion, according to the corporation’s new web tool VolunteeringInAmerica.gov. (Check out the profile of volunteering in Minnesota – that’s impressive too!)
Adding to these accolades is news that the Corporate Volunteerism Council of the Twin Cities (CVC-TC) was awarded the 2009 Corporate Volunteerism Council of the Year Award at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in June. The award, presented by the Points of Light Institute, recognizes the CVC-TC’s outstanding success in employing the CVC Principles of Excellence, which acknowledge that CVCs exist to meet the needs of businesses and the community, assist businesses interested in developing employee volunteer programs, and target its efforts to address serious social problems based on real community needs.
In accepting the award, CVC-TC president Cheryl Thompson said, “We believe that employee volunteerism is the pinnacle of corporate citizenship, bringing together a corporation’s most valuable resource – its people – with organizations that address community needs and bring positive change.”
Among its accomplishments this past year, the CVC-TC:
- Engaged nonprofit associate members to apprise CVC-TC members of emerging community needs and to partner on strategic community initiatives.
- Promoted collaboration through a joint volunteer project bringing together 100 corporate volunteers from 10 companies, plus partners Hands On Twin Cities, Great River Greening and St. Paul Parks and Recreation.
- Bolstered local, cross-sector collaboration efforts in support of the Serve America Act/Service Nation by quantifying the corporate contribution to the community: In 2009, employee volunteers in Minnesota will contribute more than 700,000 volunteer hours, valued at $13,657,000.
- Offered educational programs on topics such as green volunteering, on-site volunteer opportunities and retiree volunteer programs.
The CVC-TC works to improve communities through its mission to advocate, support and grow employee volunteerism in companies of all sizes. Many CVC-TC members are also MCF members. (To learn more, read the CVC-TC feature in our spring issue of Giving Forum focusing on corporate philanthropy.)
Congratulations to the CVC-TC for its efforts to maintain and further our community’s long tradition of volunteer service.
- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF Communications Associate
Leave a Comment » | arts, corporate, volunteers | Tagged: Corporate Volunteerism Council of the Twin Cities, Corporation for National and Community Service, CVC Principles of Excellence, Points of Light Institute, Twin Cities volunteerism, volunteering in Minnesota, VoluteeringInAmerica.gov | Permalink
Posted by Chris Noonan
April 30, 2009
As most in the grantmaking community know, the national Council on Foundations’ annual conference is coming up, May 4-6, 2009. Attendance is down this year, as many organizations are curtailing travel budgets. With fewer attendees, there’s an even greater need for coverage of events. That’s where you come in.
Trista Harris, executive director of Headwaters Foundation for Justice, an MCF member, and the brains behind New Voices of Philanthropy, a social justice blog that aims to bring together new and experienced leaders in philanthropy, is looking for bloggers to cover the conference. The current roster includes Jason Franklin, deputy director , 21st Century School Fund and board member at Resource Generation; Kevin Laskowski, field associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy;and Erika Orsulak, grants manager, St. Christopher’s Foundation for Children and EPIP-Philly. If you’re interested in joining the New Voices of Philanthropy blog team, contact Trista.
Trista will also be covering the conference on Twitter @tristaharris; the new Twitter tag for the conference is #cof09. She’ll be giving out prizes to followers on Twitter who are at the conference and who are following the coverage from their office.
This is a great opportunity for those who are attending the conference to provide news, information and opinion to those who are staying home this year.
-Juliana Tillema, MCF research manager
Leave a Comment » | conference, economy, leadership, philanthropy blogs, promotion of philanthropy, technology, volunteers | Permalink
Posted by julianatillema
April 29, 2009
Target: Reading Programs and Partnerships
Last Friday I jumped at the opportunity to leave my desk, where I write about who grantmakers are and what they do, to get up close to a philanthropic initiative, be among the recipients, and experience the joy that giving brings.
Target sponsored an extreme library makeover at Maxfield Magnet School in St. Paul. In partnership with the Heart of America Foundation, Target volunteers, including the Property Development team and its design and construction expertise, recreated the school library into a colorful, inspirational, inviting space. Target stores and distribution centers donated 2,000 new books to the library, plus seven books for each student to take home to start his or her own library.
As I walked through the school halls toward the ribbon-cutting celebration, looked at before-and-after photos and listened to dignitaries talk about what this makeover means to Maxfield, I mulled various writing ideas around in my head – how would I describe this project and its impact?
Then, St. Paul Public Schools interim superintendent Suzanne Kelly read this to the audience:
Dear Library,
I really have to tell you what you mean to me. You mean the world to me, because you are my life. If you put your head in a book, you’re putting your life in a good position. Books are how you get a job and a library is the home of books.
Library, you mean so much to me, I would live with you. I love a library that would be so bright and clean that the books could relax and be read.
Thank you, Target, for the beautiful and wonderful library of books.
Your friend,
Jaivvan
Jaivvan is a 6th grader at Maxfield. He wrote this as part of an exercise for his school principal, Belinda Green. I cannot capture the essence of Maxfield’s reimagined library any better than Jaivvan.
In 2009, Target will sponsor library makeovers for 15 schools in need across the U.S. and inspire students like Jaivvan to craft beautiful illustrations of giving’s impact.
- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF Communications Associate
Leave a Comment » | collaboration, corporate, education, volunteers | Permalink
Posted by Chris Noonan
