What are the key ingredients for a successful corporate-nonprofit volunteer partnership? How can nonprofits and businesses, no matter the size, industry or level of experience, create a strong relationship for employee volunteer programs?
In September 2013 VolunteerMatch hosted a special joint edition of the Nonprofit Insights and Best Practice Network webinar series, and welcomed three experts in corporate-nonprofit partnerships to tackle these questions from multiple perspectives: Nonprofit consultant Mazarine Treyz represented the small nonprofit viewpoint, Desiree Adaway of The Adaway Group provided the voice of large organizations, and Amanda Lenaghan from the Charles Schwab Foundation presented the corporate angle.
Whether you work at a nonprofit or a corporation, this webinar will teach you the critical focus areas for partnering across sectors to create fulfilling, engaging and high-impact employee volunteer programs.
Vietnam presentation for intercultural communications class
Nonprofit Insights: A 360-Degree View of Corporate-Nonprofit Partnerships
1. A 360-Degree View of
Corporate-Nonprofit
Partnerships
September 25, 2013
#vmlearn
2. Who are we?
2
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Mazarine Treyz
Wild Woman Fundraising
@wildwomanfund
wildwomanfundraising.com
Amanda Lenaghan
Charles Schwab
Foundation
@papeamanda
aboutschwab.com
Desiree Adaway
The Adaway Group
@desireeadaway
desireeadaway.com
3. Agenda
3
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• Intros
• Finding & Establishing Partnerships
• Pro Bono & Skilled Volunteering
• Increasing the Breadth & Depth of
Partnerships
5. A Dialogue with: Mazarine Treyz, Desiree Adaway, Shari
Ilsen, and Amanda Lenagan
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6. Volunteers give 10x as
much as non-
volunteers
And corporate volunteers
can give so much more than
the average donor.
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7. Get you sponsorships
Get you cause
marketing partnerships
Become board
members
Get you access to a
LOT of people who can
do Dollars for Doers
programs.
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9. Charles Schwab Foundation
Helping individuals and families achieve
lifelong financial well-being through
education, volunteerism and advocacy.
MISSION
EDUCATE ADVOCATE VOLUNTEER
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12. Do you want corporate board
members?
Look at companies that support
sister nonprofits. Connect with the
HR department, CSR.
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13. What companies are physically
closest to you?
What are you offering in exchange
for the company's help?
What type of help do you need?
How flexible are you about
scheduling?
What resources above and beyond people are you hoping to get?
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14. Bottom Line: We didn't communicate enough beforehand with individual
volunteers about what the volunteering day would look like.
I thought we were going to
have a phone-a-thon!
I thought we were
going to do
some tutoring?!
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15. Critical Steps to Partnership
Building
• Partnership requires vulnerability. When partners create a safe space
for its members to be vulnerable, it can reach a deeper level of success.
• There are no cookie-cutter methods for partnership-building.
Each partnership is unique in its needs, its members, and its context. If you
forget that, your partnership will never live up to its full potential.
• A partnership is made up of individuals and you can’t treat them
all the same. Each member carries his/her own
stories, baggage, limitations, giftedness, and uniqueness.
• Effective partnership building is based on meeting common
needs. This means that each partner has to be willing to articulate his or
her needs and be welcoming to others’ needs.
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16. Critical Steps to Partnership
Building cont.
• Effective partners ask the right questions and believe in
holding deep and meaningful conversations - even if they are difficult.
Growth and positive change require new conversations and deeper
inquiry.
• Effective partnerships do not ignore conflicts. With individuals
come differences and with differences, eventually, come conflicts. A
strong partnership will honor the differences and find effective ways of
working through the conflicts.
• In partnerships, leadership is shared. Once members become
engage in a partnership, leadership becomes the responsibility of every
member.
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18. Partnership that Leverages each Partner’s Strengths
• True partnership that leverages
the core strengths of Schwab
and BGCA
• Co-designed program and
curriculum; Schwab employees’
financial acumen leveraged
through volunteerism
• 10 year program has served
500,000 teens in 1,700 Clubs
• Proven effective by rigorous
third-party evaluation
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20. Skilled Volunteering Provides Multitude of Benefits
VOLUNTEER
• Financial literacy programs leverage employees’ core expertise
• Pro bono service allows employees to do what they do best in a new environment
• Board service provides opportunities for leadership and networking
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21. A.Use email networks of people who
match the profile of your ideal
volunteer, for example, female
lawyers
B.Remind through emails, follow up
consistently
C.Highlight the high level nature of the
role
D.Talk about networking opportunities in
the role
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22. Pro Bono and Skilled
Volunteering
Evaluate
•Evaluate the
position, partnership, and
work on a regular basis.
•Make changes as necessary.
Build
Relationships
•Give the volunteer
ownership over the work.
•Recognize the work of the
volunteer.
Find the
Perfect Match
•Advertise
appropriately.
•Match
skills, desires, an
d interests with
the position.
•Don’t forget to
look at
personality type.
Set
Expectations
•Share job plans.
•Have honest
discussions
about the work
and working
relationships.
Define the
Work
•Think both inside
and outside of
the box/office.
•Create
clear, concise, de
tailed job
descriptions.
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25. If you are a nonprofit and would like to get started with
corporate volunteering programs, please go to:
http://wildwomanfundraising.com/upcoming/vol-signup
I'll give you
1)A checklist to get ready for corporate volunteering
success,
2)A worksheet to help you match people with pro-bono and
skilled volunteering, and
3)A comprehensive list of companies that have good
corporate volunteer programs.
#vmlearn
26. Advice for Working with Virtual
Volunteers
• Become familiar with the dynamics of online culture and
understand how virtual volunteers fit in with your organizational
culture.
• Why not let volunteers talk with one another? Create an
online discussion group for your current volunteers. This will create a
sense of team, provide a forum for ongoing feedback, and encourage
collaboration among participants.
• Educate staff and key volunteers about virtual
volunteering. Help everyone understand why virtual volunteering
should be/will be implemented in your organization.
• Provide vision.
• Virtual volunteering is an educational process. Resistance
may exist because of a lack of understanding. Be aware of the changing
needs of your working environment and how virtual volunteering can
meet those needs. #vmlearn
27. Increasing the Breadth & Depth of Employee Volunteering
Hands-On Board ServiceSkills-based & Pro Bono Service
Breadth of Involvement
Depth of Involvement
Hands-on and large scale volunteering provides exposure to nonprofits and your mission;
deep mission connection often leads to high-impact pro bono and board opportunities.
#vmlearn
28. Questions?
28
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Mazarine Treyz
Wild Woman Fundraising
@wildwomanfund
wildwomanfundraising.com
Amanda Lenaghan
Charles Schwab
Foundation
@papeamanda
aboutschwab.com
Desiree Adaway
The Adaway Group
@desireeadaway
desireeadaway.com