Volunteer Centers mobilize people
and resources to deliver creative solutions to community problems.
To achieve this vision, Volunteer Centers use the following
core competencies:
Connect people with opportunities to
serve Volunteer Centers provide people with
easy access to a wide variety of opportunities to their community
through service. For example, Volunteer Centers:
Connect people with volunteer opportunities
doing centralized recruitment and referral of volunteers
through individual interviews, directories, searchable database
listings and more;
Manage or promote, community-wide service
events such as Make a Difference Day, Day of Caring or large-scale
community clean-ups;
Design programs targeted for special
populations of volunteers, including families, youth, seniors,
employees, or court-referred volunteers;
Involve volunteers in ongoing direct
service volunteer programs of the Volunteer Center itself,
such as mentoring or tutoring programs; and
Promote episodic and short-term volunteer
opportunities through monthly project calendars, their web
sites, volunteer clubs, and the like.
Build the capacity for effective local
volunteering Volunteer Centers help the agencies,
businesses and individuals who work with volunteers do a better
job recruiting, managing and retaining volunteers. For example,
Volunteer Centers:
Provide volunteer management trainings,
consultations and direct support to nonprofit agencies and
other organizations (like schools, local government, faith
communities, businesses, etc.);
Share volunteer management resource information
through newsletters, lending libraries, and on-line resource
sites;
Convene and advise professional associations
of volunteer leaders and managers, such as Corporate Volunteer
Councils and Directors of Volunteers in Agencies; and
Provide training and support for specialized
groups of volunteers, such as potential board leaders.
Promote volunteering Volunteer Centers raise awareness of
the power of service, encourage people to volunteer, provide
information about volunteerism and recognize the contributions
of volunteers. For example, Volunteer Centers:
Initiate and support mass media campaigns
to promote volunteering through radio shows, newspaper columns,
public service advertisements, a national toll-free number,
and more;
Recruit volunteers and raise awareness
of volunteering through strategies such as speakers bureaus,
volunteer fairs, and telethons;
Create opportunities for public acknowledgment
of remarkable volunteers and volunteer teams through awards
programs, National Volunteer Week activities and a variety
of informal recognition efforts; and
Educate policy makers and thought leaders
about the importance of volunteering
Participate in strategic initiatives
that mobilize volunteers to meet local community needs Volunteer Centers serve as a convener
for the community and a catalyst for action. Volunteer Centers
work through local partnerships and collaborations with businesses,
law enforcement, grassroots groups, schools, and community
leaders to identify needs and mobilize volunteer response.
Volunteer Centers impact critical community issues by spearheading
volunteer-run gun buy-back programs, drunk driving prevention
campaigns, welfare to work efforts, and much more. For example,
Volunteer Centers may:
Convene or participate in collaborations
to address a specific issue, such as youth violence, and
Implement and operate a volunteer service
program such as a school-based literacy program or a senior
home repair program.
The effective integration of these four
strategies positions Volunteer Centers as the local leadership
organizations for community volunteering. Volunteer Centers
are both catalysts for volunteer action and knowledge leaders
about volunteering.
