SITE

By Sarah Ryan, Ph.D.

If your nonprofit doesn’t have a second life presence, are you doing a disservice to your clients? Probably not. If you don’t provide economic data on your website, are you failing your donors? Maybe so. These questions point to the difficulty of strategic communications planning in the digital age. The good news: You already have (most of) the tools to make the right decisions!

Nonprofit leaders, volunteers, and supporters can help their organizations succeed through effective external communications – digital or otherwise. And, the criteria for making decisions in the digital world are almost identical to those for newspaper, radio, and billboard campaigns. Yes, you might have to debate things like “Twitter vs. Blog (or both!)”, but your options should be judged based upon how well they serve your audience and your mission. With those two criteria in focus, decisions become much simpler. Let me demonstrate…

A nonprofit client came to me very concerned about second life. Other nonprofits in the neighborhood had a presence in the virtual world, offered clients the chance to chat via avatars, and hosted online socializing events. “We need to be doing this,” I was told. “And soon.” When I asked “Why?”, the organization’s community outreach director mumbled something like “…because the Jones’ are doing it.” I actually found this to be a compelling argument – no organization wants to lag behind its community or competitors. But the core mission of my client was assisting small businesses, mostly immigrant-owned, in succeeding. Having been a small business owner, I could not imagine wanting to create a pretend me and interact with pretend others in cyberspace while trying to juggle face-to-face meetings with clients and vendors, budgets, etc. So I asked, “Did any of your clients ask for this?” Silence. And I advised, “At your next big gathering, ask your clients what they need and want from you online. Maybe it’s second life. More likely, it’s a page with all of the business forms they’re always hunting for. I’m guessing it’s not virtual socializing. I bet you’ll find that that’s a waste of time and resources for this audience.” I offered that advice both because of the audience and the organization’s mission…

Some organizations, like my client, assist a select group of people in achieving specific goals. The people and those goals are central to the mission and are the basis for making almost all decisions (e.g., does X get our clients closer to Y). Other organizations – most nonprofit organizations, I’d argue – have a broader mission. While a nonprofit might protect animals in a certain jurisdiction, for example, it might also aim to educate a wider audience about animal cruelty. While a 501(c)(3) might support a single arts institution, it probably also champions the power of the arts to promote peace and tolerance in the broader world. When broad-missioned organizations ignore new technologies, they fail to fully realize their potential, or keep their promises. If an arts leader, for instance, laments that fewer people (than ever!) are visiting her museum in this down economy, she needs to bring the museum to them via the organization’s website, Twitter (e.g., pithy quotes from artists), blogs, etc. If she has to pay for underutilized physical spaces (e.g., empty galleries because there is no money for school bussing…), her digital showcases can actually save money while increasing the number of constituents served. Maybe. Of course, nothing substitutes for viewing a piece of art or watching a performance up close. But when the audience doesn’t show, the institution must find other ways of fulfilling its mission. New technologies not only fill gaps, they can take information, art, and client service-delivery in interesting and meaningful new directions.

So, the criteria for judging an external communication strategy are still service to the audience and mission. Nonprofit leaders, staffers, and volunteers should begin digital communications conversations by asking, “what does our audience want, need, and desire?” and finish with “does this forward the mission of our organization?” In the digital age, it is important to reach out to audiences in more ways than ever before. But not every tool or site or activity is right for every organization. There are costs associated with unnecessary communication strategies – time, money, burnout – as well as with underutilized digital technologies – loss of clients, educational opportunities, and potential revenue streams, declining prestige. Digital strategies are exceedingly important for large organizations in major markets such as New York City, where “cutting-edge” is a mission, not a vision. But smaller organizations and individuals working for good shouldn’t feel obligated to jump on every e-bandwagon. Just like always, they should focus on doing what they do best for the people they serve – in person, on the radio, or via frenetic tweets.

Sarah Ryan, Ph.D., is from the Department of Communication at The University of Texas at El Paso and is a guest blogger.

By Anne B. Schink

Managers of volunteers are busy people, especially today with tight budgets and increased pressure to bring on new volunteers. In most nonprofit organizations, serving on the Board is a leadership role; consultants provide short term expertise; and traditional volunteers provide direct service or administrative support. Engaging pro bono and highly skilled volunteers requires setting aside some of these traditional assumptions.

What is a pro bono volunteer or a highly skilled volunteer?
A pro bono or highly skilled volunteer is someone who donates his/her professional level services as an “unpaid consultant” to the nonprofit organization. A pro bono volunteer is different from other volunteers in that they bring expertise to an organization on a project basis that includes clear guidelines, deadlines, and deliverables. Pro bono and skilled volunteers range along a continuum of technical expertise and experience in terms of skills, levels of commitment, and the types of projects they are interested in doing.

Pro bono and highly skilled volunteers bring experience, expertise, and perspective to the organization. They are valuable assets for creating an infrastructure. The most common areas are: human resources, marketing and branding, IT, financial management, and legal services.

Among the tools that the Corporation for National and Community Service has provided for managers of volunteers is a new Nonprofit Readiness Toolkit for Pro Bono Volunteers: How to prepare your organization for pro bono and highly skilled volunteers. Under a contract with CNCS I have had the pleasure of creating this toolkit over the past several months. The link below will take you to an online course that will help you prepare for those volunteers we have been talking about. It includes a narrative, a case study, and a checklist at the end to use to assess the readiness of your organization to receive these volunteers who are enthusiastic about putting their professional skills to work in support of your mission.

http://nationalserviceresources.org/news/non-profit-readiness-toolkit

You will need to create a user name and password, but don’t let that be a barrier to taking this course. Having that user name and password allows you to access many other valuable courses through the Resource Center that are designed to provide professional development opportunities at your own pace on your own computer.

For more on this subject, check out the next issue of the VolunteerFare newsletter. I will provide more detail about pro bono volunteering and the benefits to your organization. If you would like to learn about it in person, be sure to register for the Pro Bono Volunteering workshop at the Blaine House Conference in October.

Anne B. Schink is a volunteer management consultant and the author of the Nonprofit Readiness Toolkit.

By Rochelle Runge

Volunteering in America, the most comprehensive data ever assembled on volunteer trends and demographics, found that America’s volunteers dedicated more than 8 billion hours of service in 2008, worth an estimated $162 billion.

The fact the volunteering held steady during a time of high unemployment and foreclosure rates was welcome news to nonprofit and government leaders, who are facing increasing demands at a time of dwindling resources. Previous research would suggest that volunteering drops during an economic downturn. Visit the Portland Press Herald to read a related article, Economy can’t stop the volunteer spirit.

Here are some stats for Maine:
- In addition to the 339.6 thousand adults in Maine volunteering in 2008, an extra 38,418 individuals worked with their neighbors to fix a problem or improve a condition in their community but did not serve through an organization. In Maine this type of volunteering is often referred to as “neighboring.”

- Even with the economic crisis, the volunteer rate in Maine remained relatively constant, at 31.8% in 2008. While the neighboring rate increased by more than 10,000 volunteers.

- Maine ranked 2nd in New England in terms of the number of volunteers.

- Maine ranked 7th in the nation for volunteer hours donated per resident.

- Maine volunteers contributed 51.3 million hours of service in 2008 with an economic contribution valued at $981.7.

- In Maine, more than 9,200 people participate in national service (AmeriCorps,VISTA, Senior Corps and Learn and Serve) each year. This year, the Corporation for National and Community Service will commit more than $5,900,000 to support Maine’s national service initiatives.

The research is based on annual surveys of approximately 100,000 individuals collected by the U.S. Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service. The VolunteeringInAmerica.gov website contains nine years of data on volunteering, and rankings, volunteer trends and demographic information for every state.

Rochelle Runge is the Public Relations Representative for the Maine Commission for Community Service and a guest blogger.

By Rochelle Runge

With the opening of registration for the Blaine House Conference on Volunteerism it got me thinking about professional development in our field. It can be so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day that we forget about our own enrichment. One of the ways I remember is by putting a note on my calendar that pops up to remind me. I find that if it’s not on the calendar it doesn’t get done! Whatever your strategy its import to keep up on the latest in your field.

I recently went to the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. Although I was very excited to go, I found myself a little stressed out before leaving, fretting about all the things I needed to get done at the office. We had a service project we were working on with the Governor for United We Serve and many other things going on! When I left I was a bit apprehensive, but after my first class I was so happy I made the effort!

I learned new things, met interesting people, and made some great connections. Most off all I felt refreshed and re-energized to do my job! It reminded me why professional development is so important! I’m excited about a similar opportunity right here in Maine, The Blaine House Conference on Volunteerism! There is more information about it below along with some other great resources- some you may recognize others you may not. Either way copy and paste them into you calendar and set aside some time to refresh and re-energize yourself!

Educational and Training Resources for Managers of Volunteers:
Certified in Volunteer Administration is the only international professional certification in the field of volunteer resources management.
Nonprofit Buzz is a great resource for anyone who leads, manages, staffs or volunteers for a non-profit organization.
Energize empowers and inspires leaders of volunteers worldwide.
People First -Total Solutions works with nonprofits to improve the efficiency, and effectiveness.
The Corporation for National for and Community Service
Competencies for Managers of Volunteers- Asses your skills!
United We Serveis a nationwide service initiative that will help meet growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn. With the knowledge that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools, President Obama is asking us to come together to help lay a new foundation for growth. United We Serve is an initial 81 days of service but will grow into a sustained, collaborative and focused effort to promote service as a way of life for all Americans.
Tips from the Maine Commission for Community Service on recruitment, working with different generations, writing position descriptions, and much more!
Blaine House Conference on Volunteerism-Keynote Speaker- Martin J. Cowling When: October 13, 2009
Where: University of Maine, Orono
Time: 8:30AM- 4:30PM
Early Bird Registration: $75 *Other Discounts Available.
The Blaine House Conference on Volunteerism is the State’s only professional development conference tailored exclusively to the needs and challenges of leaders like you in the state’s volunteer sector. Workshop Topics Include:
- Social Media
- Volunteer Management from Beginner to Advanced
- Building Partnerships
- Kennedy Serve America Act
- Pro Bono and Highly Skilled Volunteers

Rochelle Runge is the Public Relations Officer for the Maine Commission for Community Service and a guest blogger.

by Christy Monroe

Happy Friday! Although we’ve never made a formal announcement, Friday is our “resource roundup” day on the Volunteer Maine blog. From upcoming events and trainings to suggested resources for Maine’s managers of volunteers, Fridays are filled to the brim with a coffee-break’s worth of useful information.

Many of our readers are seasoned volunteer administrators with years of best practices under their belts (good for you and we hope that you’ll share some of your knowledge using the comment tool). Yet others are struggling with their new responsibilities of managing volunteers and are searching through layers of information for the keys to success (we’re here for you and encourage you to ask the tough questions by using the comment tool).

Today we’d like to introduce one of our latest ventures in providing you with the baseline of information that EVERY manager of volunteers needs to know. We call them Need to Know Basics. These brief documents are boiled down versions on various topics in Volunteer Management. They are the least you need to know, not to be confused with the multitude of supporting information and advanced concepts in the field.

What for example are the commonly recognized best practices in volunteer management? And how do I know that my organization runs a quality volunteer program? These topics are covered in the Need to Know Basics of Volunteer Management Best Practices -a must-have collection which contains the Essential Elements of Volunteer Resources Management including:

• A Best Practices Checklist to guide your organizations in determining the quality of volunteer programs
• Information about how to put those practices into place in your organization
• A Bibliography with written resources and a list of valuable websites where you can find the most up-to-date info about managing volunteers

Not to worry, we won’t stop there! This is just a sneak peek of what is to come–a series of one-page Need to Know Basics on topics like Managing Psychological Contracts, Situational Leadership, Cultural Competency, and Group Dynamics are coming your way.

We’re ready to tailor more topics to your needs, novice to expert! Just leave a comment and let us know what new challenges lie ahead for you. We’ll do our best to craft key resources that you can consume in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee (or tea).

Investing the time to learn and grow as a Manager of Volunteers doesn’t have to cost a lot, and seeing your well managed volunteers make a difference in your community is, well …priceless.

Christy Monroe is the Training VISTA at the Maine Commission for Community Service.

The Maine Commission for Community Service’s Annual Report is now available.