Smarter Impact Starts Here
Planning: Your Path to Leading the Way
Boulder, Colorado is nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Like many cities, Boulder had volunteer programs in many of the city agencies – from libraries to parks & recreation. That worked well for the city, or so they thought, until everything changed over the course of one week in September 2013, when Boulder experienced unprecedented rain. The resulting flooding was catastrophic, destroying 1500 homes, rendering roads impassable, and killing eight people. As the rains were still falling, Boulder residents stepped up to volunteer – as did thousands arriving from far off states. But the city was not ready to engage them. As a result, developing a city-wide engagement strategy became an integral part of the city’s resiliency planning.
Reunion Day! A Time for Stories
Today was one of my favorite days: “Reunion Day!” I spent all day with the ten teams that participated in the 2018 HIVE Initiative. HIVE (High Impact Volunteer Engagement) is an initiative of the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits (in partnership with Volunteer New...
Recognition vs. Acknowledgment
With fires blazing across the American West, hurricanes approaching our coastlines, and floods rising in the Midwest, I am grateful again for the first responders and the thousands of volunteers who leave the comforts of their homes to help others find safety and...
Saying “No” When “No” is the Right Answer
Last week, I received this email from a volunteer coordinator whom we’ll call “Vickie the Volunteer Coordinator.” Hi Beth, I met you at the recent Points of Light conference. I am currently recruiting and interviewing for an upcoming volunteer training at our...
Spin the Wheel of Value!
How do you talk about the value of volunteering? And, with whom do you discuss it? So many professionals strive to make the case to organizational leaders to invest in engagement through financial resources, staff time, space in the facilities, and equipment or...
Peach of a Morning: Transforming Volunteers into Strategic Messengers
This post was originally published in August 2015... but I experienced it all once again this past Saturday when I picked up this year's crop of peaches from the annual Rotary Club Peach Sale. Both the peaches and and the volunteers were bountiful! Summer is waning...
People, Participation, & Partnerships: Lessons from Service Unites
By Beth Steinhorn, President of VQ Volunteer Strategies, and Alison Doerfler, Senior Vice President of Capacity Building at Points of Light At last month’s Service Unites conference, some 3,000 leaders and learners committed to service and volunteerism in Points of...
Listen Up! Summer Listening List
Every summer, we post a list of “what we’re reading.” For the 2018 edition, stay tuned (as I do have a good stack of books just bursting with sticky notes and dog-eared pages that I’ve been reading the past few months and I’d love to share them). However, in honor of...
Sometimes Simplicity Rules!
This blog was originally posted in November 2015, but a client recently asked a question about how to match volunteers needing flexibility with staff members who need shot term assistance with small projects. Of course, I thought of this post. We are sharing it here....
Ask Questions Now… Save Time Later!
Interviewing volunteer candidates takes time... but that time is well spent. Investing time in interviewing candidates up front saves time in the long run. Ensuring that the position is the right fit for both the organization and the individual benefits everyone....
