Whenever I had a meeting with Sharon Capeling-Alakija, then head of the United Nations Volunteers programme, I took notes, either during the meeting or after, because she always said something amazing that I wanted to remember later. One of the best things she said was when she talked about why UNV was committed to its online volunteering program. She never said it was because NGOs or UNVs have so much work to do and need people to undertake some of that work, for free. She said it was because “this is a way for people to be involved in the work of UNV, first hand. Before the OV service, the only way to do that was to be a UN Volunteer – and most people don’t get to do that.”

When we lost Ms. Capeling-Alakija, we lost a hugely important voice regarding the value of volunteers.

I cringe when someone says their organization involves volunteers because of the dollar value – like the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, which has, at the top of its volunteer page, that a volunteer’s hour is valued at $20.85 by the Independent Sector. It’s the kind of statement that says to those paid staff members at your organization that are making less than $20.85 an hour, You are not as valuable as these volunteers. It says to funders, Why not cut our funding? Because we can replace staff with volunteers, and save $20.85 an hour! And it justifies the fear of union members and others who say We don’t want volunteers, because they are a threat to paid staff.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Why involve volunteers? What are the best reasons?

• • Volunteer involvement allows members of the community to come into your agency, as volunteers (and, therefore, with no financial stake in the agency), to see for themselves the work your organization does.

• • Community engagement is community ownership. Volunteer involvement demostrates that the community is invested in the organization and its goals.

• • Involving volunteers — representatives of the community — helps educate the community about what the organization does.

• • Certain positions may be best done by volunteers. Volunteers can do anything. They can be counselors, advisers, theater ushers, short-term consultants, board members, projects leaders, project assistants, event coordinators, event staff, first responders, coaches, program leaders, classroom assistants, and on-and-on. Always be able to say why your agency wants volunteers, specifically, in those positions rather than paid staff (and never say it’s to save money!).

• • Involving volunteers can be a reflection of your organization’s mission. If you are a nonprofit theater, for instance, you probably involve unpaid ushers. What have ushers experienced that is a reflection of your mission (which may be to present theater productions of that are of cultural significance for your community, or to ensure that community members of all ages and backgrounds are introduced to and educated about the place of theater in our society, etc.). If you involve volunteers as interns, how could you tie this involvement to the mission of your organization?

• • Involving volunteers can help your organization reach particular demographic groups — people of a particular age, in a particular neighborhood, of a particular economic level, etc., especially groups who might not be involved with your organization otherwise.

• • Involving volunteers can create partnerships with other organizations (nonprofits, government, business). Involving volunteers from a corporation might spur that corporation to give your agency a grant. Involving volunteers from a government office could lead to a program partnership.

• • Volunteer involvement can garner good PR (in media reports, government reports, blogs, etc.) regarding your community involvement. 

• Involving volunteers creates support for your organization in other ways. How many volunteers are also financial donors? Have volunteers spoken at local government meetings or written letters to the editor of your local newspaper on your organization’s behalf? Are there any influential community members (elected officials?) who are former volunteers with your organization? What have volunteers done to educate friends and family about your organization and its mission?

Also see:

Another anti-volunteer union

The union of professional firefighters in the USA “does not condone” volunteer firefighters.

Tags: volunteer, volunteers, volunteering, engagement, involvement, management, community, stakeholders, charities, charity, NGOs, non-governmental, organizations, nonprofit, civil, society, international, United, Nations, UNDP

This is yet another example of the plethora of free, detailed information available online to help nonprofits, NGOs, and other mission-based efforts. Various offices of the United Nations, as well as state and national governments all over the world, publish these kinds of materials online. Meeting government and international standards – even if you have nothing to do with the UN or government, even if you aren’t in a developing country, even if you work just locally and never internationally – is going to help your organization land grants / donations and build credibility.

The Handbook on Planning, Monitoring & Evaluating for Development Results, recently updated, addresses planning, monitoring, and evaluation in the context of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and its evaluation policy. It provides practical tools to strengthen results-oriented planning, monitoring, and evaluation in UNDP – but anyone who works to improve communities anywhere will find this manual helpful. The contents include:

• Planning, monitoring, and evaluation for development results
• Planning for results: Practical applications
• Planning for monitoring and evaluation
• Monitoring for results
• Evaluating for results
• Initiating and managing an evaluation
• Assuring the quality of evaluation design and methodology
• Enhancing the use of knowledge from monitoring and evaluation

It’s 220 pages long and available in English, Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish.

Tags: fundraising, fund, raising, donors, donations, funding, credibility, donating, evaluation, evaluating, planning, monitor, monitoring, design, project, program, programme, results, charities, charity, NGOs, non-governmental, organizations, nonprofit, civil, society, transparency, accounting, accountable

Questions about how to help Somalia – where to send money, if you can send in-kind donations, where to volunteer, etc. – are starting to show up on various boards, such as YahooAnswers. So, here’s the answers to those questions:

• There are several UN agencies working together to address the regional crisis. UNHCR, the refugee agency, has a page on its website detailing what aid specific amounts of money will buy for its effort in Somalia. UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, is also seeking assistance (US citizens, donate here).
• The World Food Programme has a full page detailing its efforts in the region and is collecting donations.
• Oxfam is accepting donations for its efforts to alleviate the drought in the region, which was the key cause of the famine. It is providing both emergency water supplies and leading efforts to build more sustainable water resources and practices.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross has been in Somalia, working alongside the Somali Red Crescent Society, since the 1970s. The two will be opening ten new feeding centers, expanding services in existing feeding centers, and launching a program specifically geared toward malnourished children under five and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. You can find out more, including how to donate, here.
• The International Rescue Committee has operations in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia that run the gamut from supplying water to providing medical screening in the refugee camps.
• Mercy Corps has emergency operations in northeastern Kenya, and teams in Ethiopia and Somalia as well providing food, water, and other assistance.

ReliefWeb is tracking the crisis (as well as those in other countries).

Also see:

Fund Raising For a Cause or Organization

How to Make a Difference Internationally/Globally/in Another Country Without Going Abroad

Volunteering To Help After Major Disasters.

Ideas for Funding Your Volunteering Abroad Trip.

Details on volunteering abroad (volunteering internationally).

You may remember that 2001 was the International Year of Volunteers. What you probably don’t know is that, as it’s 10 years later, there are IYV+10 activities going on. Not many, as promotional activities about IYV+10 have been few and far between – in stark contrast to the outstanding job the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme did promoting IYV more than a decade ago: online communities are largely silent on the subject of IYV+10, and when I have asked at my workshops if anyone knew it that IYV+10 was happening, I’ve been met with confused looks and shaking heads.

One of the main events regarding IYV+10 is the newly-announced Global Volunteer Conference in Budapest, to take place 15-17 September 2011 and being planned jointly by UNV and the International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The conference theme is Volunteering for a Sustainable Future, and “will look at ways to mainstream volunteerism in peace, humanitarian and development work. Linkages between volunteering and issues such as climate change, migration, youth involvement, solidarity between generations, crisis prevention and recovery, disaster risk reduction, gender or growing urbanization will be addressed. The conference will focus on the following broad themes:

• Volunteering during humanitarian crises and emergency situations
• Volunteering for peace and development:  MDGs and beyond
• Promoting an enabling environment for volunteering
• Enhancing evidence of the impact, value, and power of volunteering and its contribution to peace and development
• Engaging national and international policy makers to enhance protection, recognition, and promotion of volunteers”

This conference was announced on July 15 – just two months before it’s going to happen! As of now, there is no information on speakers or specific workshops, let alone goals for the event or how to register. And even though this event is being hosted in Europe (in fact, in one of my favorite cities on Earth!), there’s no mention that 2011 is also the European Year of Volunteering.

There will also be regional conferences, such as the Southern Africa Conference on Volunteer Action for Development, also hosted by UNV, as well as the Volunteer and Service Enquiry Southern Africa (VOSESA), in Johannesburg on October 17-19. Alongside that meeting, members of an African Working Group, consisting of African delegates that attended the International Association for National Youth Service’s 9th Global Conference in Alexandria, Egypt in October 2010, will meet to continue their efforts promoting opportunities for Africans to engage and interact on national youth service and youth civic engagement in Africa. 

If you are attending either of these events, please let me know if you will be blogging about such – I would be happy to link to all those that will be writing about the event while there or shortly after.

Tags: volunteering, volunteers, community, engagement, volunteerism, service, help, development, MDGs, humanitarian, aid, international, global, presenters, presenting, conference, event, presentations, Africa, Europe