Vitalize 2015 is just around the corner! The Vitalize Conference offers training and development for the nonprofit/voluntary sector and helps nonprofit organizations to stay informed and current. June 18th-20th 2015, Vitalize will celebrate its 27th anniversary – what better time to get involved!
Last year, Volunteer Alberta staff member Rachel attended Vitalize for the first time. She brought back with her four pillars for nonprofit success:
1) Find the meaning
2) Live your mission
3) Know your audience
4) Change the medium, not the message
Find the meaning
When creating or revamping your mission statement, the first thing often considered is what you want to do, and how. But the most important question to ask yourself is why.
What is the gap you’re trying to address? What will this work mean to the community? What is the driving force behind your actions? Any successful organization or business has a set of values informing its activities or products. It’s important to focus on why you’re passionate about what you’re doing and why it matters before focusing on the process or outcomes.
Live your mission
Once you have a mission that reflects your passion and communicates the meaning of your work to the public, you have to practice what you preach. It’s one thing to state what you stand for, but quite another to communicate it through your actions.
Does your branding and communications strategy align with your mission? Do the programs, services or products you offer reflect your values?
Know your audience
When looking for volunteers, it’s important to figure out who is likely to identify with your cause; people are much more likely to volunteer for an organization to which they feel connected.
If you take a moment to consider the audience when attending public events or taking out advertisements, you can put your time and effort into avenues that will reach the right people. The same goes for funders – if you look for organizations whose values are closely aligned with your own, you have a higher chance of success.
Change the medium, not the message
Times have changed and it can be more difficult than ever to keep up. The strategies that once worked well for organizations may not be as effective, and it might seem like you need to do a complete revamp in order to stay current.
But while you may need to change, you don’t want to lose sight of your purpose. Your values are the heart of your organization, and if you believe in them, you can be assured that others believe in them as well. Be open to exploring new pathways to your organization and finding new ways to communicate your message. This could mean an updated website or a larger social media presence, but it could also mean exploring new partnerships and collaborations.
Overall, I learned that passion, consistency, clarity and flexibility are integral to organizational success. As a relative newcomer to the sector, it was nice to hear that the most important things, like knowing your mission, are also the most effective tools for success. I took in a lot of information over the course of the three days, and am looking forward to putting it into practice. And yes, I do feel Vitalized!
Rachel Pereira
Volunteer Alberta
Registration for Vitalize is still open! There are more than 55 workshops offered this year, but sessions are filling up. Don’t wait, register today. Vitalize offers nonprofit delegates, like you, a one-of-a-kind experience providing information and resources to stay current in the nonprofit sector. What are you hoping to come away with from Vitalize?