Why is it that many organizations are still battling problems even though the solutions are available? Why is it that despite workshops, speakers, and seminars galore focused on solving issues, our sector leadership and funders are still frustrated in their efforts to motivate staff and volunteers to explore new solutions? Many cynics refer to workshops…
I was recently volunteering at the Freewill Players’ annual Shakespeare in the Park festival, where I gained some great insight into volunteer management. During my second shift, I was talking to one of the other volunteers and she told me, “It’s awesome to volunteer here! You are never bored, and you get to help…
The biggest conference in the world on volunteerism is held in America (where else?!). This summer the Points of Light Foundation hosted the annual National Conference on Volunteering and Service, an annual gathering of direct service volunteerism leaders and experts. This year’s event was in Chicago and three Volunteer Alberta staff members were fortunate enough…
The Points of Light Foundation in the USA has great capacity to bring together amazing speakers and panels to share their knowledge. So I had high expectations for the event. They did not disappoint. From political (current and former) to high-level leaders of successful businesses and nonprofits, the demonstration of the value they place on…
SCiP Success Profile: L’Arche Calgary SCiP internships produce many success stories for both organizations and students. One such story comes from L’Arche Calgary, which created a SCiP internship posting for a communications intern. After going through the interview process, they ultimately hired Gagan, a 21 year old Marketing major at Mount Royal University completing a…
A friend of mine was sharing a conversation she had with her 14 year old, they were talking about résumés, the importance of volunteering and how that can impact future jobs. It started the wheels turning in my head… is there not enough information available to students in younger grades about volunteering? Are we…
In an increasingly complex world, organizations are established to develop and meet the needs of our communities. We are fortunate in Alberta, as there are over 19,000 nonprofit/voluntary organizations working to make Alberta a better place to live and work. These organizations have needs and need to develop as well. Like anyone else, the leaders…
Term limits for board directors, or a lack thereof, is one of the most controversial topics of conversation in the nonprofit/voluntary sector. Each new organization must decide at the outset, when writing their bylaws, whether or not to include a cap on the number of consecutive terms a board director can serve. In an effort…
June 8, 2012 One less barrier for Alberta volunteers Cost of police information checks for volunteers working with children, seniors, and the disabled will be covered Alberta… Volunteers and volunteer engaging groups in Alberta have one less barrier to overcome thanks to the continuation of the Volunteer Police Information Check Program (VPICP). Under this program,…
A few weeks ago, I attended an interagency meeting where the term “STP” was used in reference to volunteering. I had not heard this term used before, so I was relieved when someone else asked if the acronym could be explained. As it turns out, STP refers to the “Same Ten People” who always volunteer…