The Bama Buzz’s Post

IBSS was recently featured in the "B of Service: How B Corps Give Back to Their Communities" article for our volunteer efforts. We impact our community through paid time off for volunteer days, group volunteering activities, and more.  To change the world, we all need to go beyond! Read the newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/ebYM3vMQ #IBSS #CertifiedBCorp #BCorp #GlobalImpact #GlobalGood

Following the Seek to Serve™ philosophy is often used in the context of business, but this philosophy can also be applied to your personal life. Our Principal Joel Reed is living proof of this. This week, we want to share how Joel implements Seek to Serve in his life in the form of volunteering. Learn more about Joel and what drives him to serve his community here: #S2S #volunteering

Volunteering can not only help out your community and give back to a good cause, but it also provides practical experience, expands your network, and teaches you new skills.  👉🏾 While volunteering for the American Red Cross, I took several classes on Public Relations and Communications, Working with Community Partners, and Leadership and Team Management. Today, I still use the knowledge and strategies I learned in those workshops as a Career Activator!  If you are a nonprofit seeking volunteers - post a link below! My network of career activators would love to support your mission. 🙌🏾 #Volunteering #CareerActivator #JobSearch #ResumeTips #LinkedinTips #CareerTransition #JobSearchStrategies

Look, I'm the world's most empathetic person when it comes to nonprofit employees, and I am *such* an admirer of how hard they work... often in somewhat thankless roles where they're underpaid. But that doesn't mean I don't notice when the ball gets dropped. Volunteer recruitment is a tough but crucial part of nonprofit leadership, and there are many ways to fumble this process. Let me share one such instance. Not too long ago, a nonprofit where I volunteered emailed to ask me to chair an upcoming event. The staff member who reached out is someone I had never even met who essentially cold emailed me. Knowing that I was slammed and under a deadline to finish writing my book "Effective Management of Nonprofit Organizations," I politely declined. Having worked in the nonprofit sector my entire career, I can tell you that few things are more frustrating than having a volunteer chair not follow through with their duties. I was NOT about to be "that" type of volunteer. I guess I expected a "no worries, maybe next time" sort of message, but to my surprise, the response was.... absolutely nothing. Total crickets. Zero response at all. I mean, I get the disappointment of being told "no" by a prospective volunteer, but c'mon. I would have loved to have accepted this role and readily would have deferred to the next year. But now? No thanks. When in the recruiting phase of the volunteer management cycle, it's important to nurture relationships before making a big leadership ask like this. But you know what's more important? Following up with something (anything) -- even if the answer is "no." And if you can't even successfully get past the recruitment phase of the volunteer cycle, you're doomed for failure. Learn more about nonprofit stakeholder relationships in my book, which you can find here: https://lnkd.in/gpb36E-t #nonprofit #management #nfp #notforprofit #volunteerism #volunteers #nonprofitboards #volunteerrecruitment

Before I headed to bed tonight I wanted to write you out a few updates and things that you are going to see coming. This week our washers and dryers are coming in and we will be putting up new volunteer opportunities so members of the community can come in and start doing laundry for free at our location in Dayton. We also now have a recovery group that has been meeting at our location weekly on wednesdays. We also have a fiber group that has been meeting on Tuesdays. The Ada Gaden project has been updated and we are going to be working on some fundraisers to help this program grow even more. Our biggest fundraiser of the year “Give Out Day” is in May this year. Our fundraising this year is focused on the redesign of our space and making it more accessible for the community. After 12 years of being a volunteer with Have A Gay Day the board is pushing for funding to get me hired with a paid position with the org. This means that I can focus full time on the work and the give back to the community. It also means instead of me working a full time job, also volunteering for have a gay day, and taking care of my parents I will have some time to self care a bit more. While I deeply appreciate the work I have had for the company I have been with for 8 years the organization believes I am a more valuable asset as staff with the organization. I don’t know when this will happen but perhaps sooner than later. We have had a few people reach out to us asking how to support this and make it happen and the board is researching what that entails. We also are going to launch a new wishlist on our website with things like property, emergency housing, internships, and a lot more. We want to grow our wheelhouse, have a stronger impact for good and so much more. We have never grown alone. We have had the most amazing supporters through this process of growth. We imagine a thriving community and resources that are accessible and lack the red tape that so many have in place. So far this year with individuals and groups we have had more than 250 volunteers stop by. On average through our food pantry we serve 500-600 families a month and through other services we are serving about 350-500 families each month. The board is growing, the good is growing, and the support of the community for our work is growing too. People are discovering us, advocating for us, partnering with us, and making our steps possible. The future of what we do is to serve. While our focus has always been on the LGBTQ+ Community and our Ally’s the bridges we have created and the work we have done is deeply meaningful and we hope to continue those branches of good. As always, thank you. You are the magic and the rainbows of everything we have done and do. To our volunteers, board, supporters, and random magical you. Thank you Michael Knote -Volunteer Executive Director

Nonprofit leaders- This giving season give supporters more ways to give. Nov 18 is Family Volunteer Day - how will you engage families? Let’s look at 3 scenarios 1️⃣ Your nonprofit doesn’t have a structured volunteer program Don’t spin up a one-off activity just to leverage the momentum of the day.  Throwing together a last minute activity or event is a bad idea. It won’t serve your cause, it will burn out your staff, and it won’t be rewarding for your supporters. Instead, here are 2 ideas for you –  ✅ promote a peer organization’s event ✅ share the Points of Light resource for finding a volunteer project (link in comments) Both of these actions position you as a connector, an organization that cares about the broader community. Your engagement strategy isn’t always about your own direct impact. 2️⃣ Your nonprofit has a volunteer program but you missed the memo and have been focused on your Giving Tuesday fundraising appeal See [1] above for why NOT to ask your staff to jump into planning an activity. Instead, here are 2 ideas for you – ✅ do targeted outreach to your champion volunteers asking for a personal story reflecting on their volunteer experiences with your organization ✅ invite a lead volunteer to help host an appreciation breakfast - make it a one-time early morning “drive by” event for your volunteers and families on their way to work or school drop-off Both of these actions tap your current volunteers in low-impact ways and make them feel a part of your family. Your engagement strategy needs to include recognition and gratitude along with the usual cultivation and stewardship. 3️⃣ You’re all set - your Family Volunteer Day is planned! Great! Here are 2 ideas in case you haven’t already thought of them – ✅ make sure you check in every volunteer, if you don’t track participation you can’t measure it! ✅ take this opportunity to ask one question to learn more about the volunteer experience - “what motivated you to volunteer today?” is a great way to capture affinity for your cause, moving stories, and fun anecdotes. AND, for all of the above – plan for this next year. In fact, plan for it ALL YEAR LONG. ✨Volunteering is a key component of any supporter engagement strategy and it comes in many forms. Interested in talking more about increasing #volunteer engagement and overall supporter engagement for your #nonprofit #mission? DM me now and we’ll set up time to chat. No charge, just chat 😉 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi, I’m Beth. I partner with mid-sized nonprofits whose teams are ready to look up from their day-to-day, apply their knowledge, and tap into their data to develop longer-term relationships with supporters so they can make their missions happen… easier.  #makingmissionshappen #MapMoveMeasure #engagementstrategy #fundraising #volunteermanagement

It's Volunteers Week this week and last night like every Monday in the school year I was volunteering as Brown Owl at my local Brownie unit - alongside me last night was Martin from the RNLI who has spent the last 25 years as education volunteer going round talking about Water Safety and the work of the RNLI - and why the post you may ask? I often think about why , why is that I stick my hand up to run a stall at the local carnival, organise a fundraiser for my daughters dance school, take 30 girls to watch WSL and generally get stuck in when I can both in and out of work - what is the 'Volunteer Mindset' and where does it come from? I think mine is combination of my family background, a nurturing education environment and working in places where volunteering was the norm be that external or in the guise of mentoring, running some training or going into schools talking about the opportunities out there but its definitely something that once you get involved it's contagious For me it's all about being part of the wider community, getting to know people , seeing people get opportunities to experience things they may otherwise have not. with an underlying view of why not me. And with that in mind if you fancy dressing up in some rather fetching outfits to the amusement of 8 year olds why not see where you can volunteer near you? #VolunteerWeek #VolunteerMindset

every #lovols needs to read this article by Sue Carter Kahl just consider this quote: "We sometimes assume power requires a position of authority – that it somehow resides in whoever holds the senior roles in an organization. However, another way to think of power is who has influence or the ability to make decisions on behalf of a team. Leaders of volunteers make dozens of decisions every single day." more gems inside- let me know what resonates with you!

Volunteering is an excellent way to enhance your skills and improve your resume while also giving back to the community and establishing meaningful connections. In the video, you can explore five college traditions that involve volunteering as part of the college experience. ❤️🙋 Do volunteering opportunities play a role when thinking about where you want to go to college? Tell us in the comments! #CommunityService #CollegeLife #VolunteeringTraditions

How to Build a Truly Inclusive Nonprofit Volunteer Program