The problems that we face today are more challenging than ever, which means that we need more leadership than ever. But leading an organization effectively is challenging, to say the least.
Come learn from the folks who’ve been there, done that, at this year’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New Orleans.
Join us at
2PM on June 7
for “
Leaders Make the Future: Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World
” (5367), an interactive conversation about what it takes for nonprofits today to be successful, with panelists Max Stier and Wendy Kopp.
, an organization that works to revitalize the federal government through innovation, recruiting talent, and building supportive communities. The organization releases annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings to highlight the agencies’ accomplishments, and encourage others to improve. His leadership has also been a driving force behind the Service to America Medals, which awards outstanding federal employees.
. This organization lets college graduates give back by sending them to teach in schools around the country for two years. In 2011, Teach for America made Forbes’ 100 Best Companies To Work For, and is extremely popular amongst college graduates. Nearly 10% of the graduating classes at both Dartmouth College and Yale University applied to the program in 2006. Since its founding in 1990, 20,000 graduates have helped transform the lives of countless young people, and more is sure to come.
Whether your organization works with the honchos who run the country, or the youth who someday will, every organization has something new to learn at this panel.
See you there!
NCVS Is Putting a Spell On You
by Kenneth Tran, The NCVS Blog’s New Orleans Lifestyle Editor
There are a lot of different words that come to mind when you think about New Orleans –
Saints, Crawfish, Po’Boys, Mardi Gras, and…
(*spooky sound effects*)
VOODOO!
Now don’t get your pin cushion in a bunch; Most of what is known about Louisiana Voodoo has been highly exaggerated by Hollywood (i.e. spells, dolls, etc.)
What is commonly associated with dark magic is actually the opposite, as Voodoo is focused on natural healing and the processes of life.
Here’s your Cure-all for all things fact and fiction of the African practice and where you can check out some real Voodoo during your time at NCVS. No snake deity required!
Voodoo, also known as Voudou, Vodou or Voudun, literally means “God Creator” or “Great Spirit”.
It is a life affirming practice that encourages better understanding of the natural processes of one’s own spiritual natures.
During the Slave Trade in the 1700’s, African slaves and Haitian exiles brought the practice of Voodoo to the French colony of Louisiana.
Due to cohesion of slave families and lack of stability in the colony prior to their arrival, survivors of the Slave Trade banded together and thus, their culture strengthened and thrived in the French Creole community.
Louisiana Voodoo is unique in its emphasis upon Gris-gris (amulets that ward off evil spirits), voodoo queens, use of Hoodoo occult paraphernalia, and Li Grand Zombi (snake deity).
The openness of African belief also allowed for traditions to be intertwined with practices in Catholicism.
One common misconception of Voodoo is the use of voodoo dolls.
Most people associate the dolls with placing a curse on someone, but contrary to popular belief, the Voodoo doll is used as a blessing, rather than a hex.
The pins are used to place a picture or name of a spirit, rather than inflicting pain on another.
Today in New Orleans, there are numerous museums, shops, and churches that attract tourists to the Voodoo culture.
You can expect to find plenty of souvenirs, tours, and spiritual services provided at these various places throughout the city.
Be sure to check out the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, located right in the heart of the French Quarters, which features cemetery walking tours and visits to the tomb of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans.
While in the French Quarter, you can stop by Voodoo Authentica, where they offer a locally handmade Voodoo Dolls, Gris Gris Bags, Potion Oils and other unique New Orleans, Haitian & African Spiritual Arts & Crafts.
If you plan on visiting historic Bourbon Street, make a visit to Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, where they offer a wide variety of items to help in both learning and practicing spiritual and religious ceremony.
Finally, make a visit to the Voodoo Spiritual Temple, the only “formally” established Spiritual Temple in New Orleans, to see traditional West African spiritual and herbal healing practices.
Now if only we could use some of that magic to get us to NCVS sooner…
We Love Festivals. Yes, We Do. We Love Festivals. How About You?
Getting to New Orleans early? Planning to stay the weekend after?
Fortunately for you, NCVS falls right in the middle of two consecutive weekends of great NOLA festivals. No, it’s not Mardi Gras the Redux, but you’ll still be spending plenty of time in the French Quarter.
Here’s our rundown of some festivals that you can take ya mom’n’em!
From June 3rd-5th, check out the Back to the Beach Festival in Kenner, LA (about 15 miles from the Convention Center), which is benefiting the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.
The three-day Festival kicks off with a Run/Walk on Friday evening, with the rest of the weekend being jam-packed with a Bikes at the Beach motorcycle rally, a Car Show , Fishing Rodeo and much more for the family.
Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for students with ID, and $4 for children.
The New Orleans Oyster Festival will educate the public about the benefits of the Louisiana Gulf Oyster. In addition, they will be honoring the restaurateurs and oyster farmers who have helped position New Orleans French Quarters as the Oyster Capital of America.
The festival will feature Acme Oyster House’s World Oyster Eating Competition, New Orleans Fish House’s Largest Oyster Eating Contest, and P&J’s Shucking Contest.
Proceeds from the event will go to local coastal communities. Admission is FREE.
This 8-block festival, stretching from Café Du Monde to the Old US Mint, will feature three stages of music, over a dozen food vendors, cooking demonstrations, and a large crafts fair. Vieux To Do has become one of the major attractions of NOLA’s social calendar.
I’ve been there and done that (when it comes to strategic volunteering), and I’m thrilled to share best practices at my workshop:
Strategic Volunteering: Preparing Your Organization to Meet the Demand
on Tuesday, June 7th @ 8:30 AM. (Session ID: 5354)
While I typically concentrate on helping professionals utilize the strategic volunteering concept to advance their career goals, this workshop gives me the opportunity to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations to meet the need of those interested in applying this concept.
Why should strategic volunteering matter to nonprofit organizations?
This program helps organizations remain relevant and competitive in the volunteer community.
You can provide a significant ROI for volunteer time and talent and differentiate your organization amongst a vast pool of options. Utilizing this program within my own nonprofit, I find that it helps increase our recruiting and retention of volunteers.
We strive to provide meaningful volunteer placements and clearly link those to their professional goals.
Your organization is also provided an opportunity to enhance your corporate relationships.
One of the golden rules that we learn in the nonprofit world is that engagement leads to financial support.
Strategic volunteering provides a unique way to both engage and support corporate volunteers.
Step One…We Can Have Lots of Fun
If you don’t have one already, your organization should create a volunteer application.
Having an application process helps with the placement process and “weeds out” those with only a mild interest in participating.
My experience proves that if a potential volunteer will take the time to complete and return an application – that volunteer is MUCH more likely to have an effective level of engagement when placed in a role.
And engaged volunteers make our lives so much easier, right?!
Step Two…There’s So Much We Can Do
(or need done)
Of course, volunteers can’t make informed decisions if they don’t know what volunteer opportunities are offered by your organization, so be sure to make that information readily available.
Consider including your placement process, volunteer program philosophy, important deadlines, job descriptions, corresponding time commitments, and paths to leadership.
Employ technology when possible.
In my workshop, I’ll go into more depth about the process of developing the tools to succeed – including the development of the “skills matrix”, a useful tool for matching professional skill-sets with your organization’s volunteer needs.
(Special kudos to anyone who can name the song that inspired by Step One and Step Two titles!)
Heather S. Rocker joined Women in Technology (WIT) in March 2007 as the organization’s first-ever executive director.
Heather’s story and advice are profiled in the book Change Your Career: Transitioning to the Nonprofit Sector, and she is contributing author to the recently published book CLIMB: Leading Women in Technology Share Their Journeys to Success.
She currently authors a blog about strategic volunteering and speaks to nonprofit and corporate groups about incorporating this concept into their leadership development plans.
This year at NCVS, session content is organized across a series of issue areas so that attendees can tailor their schedules to meet their learning and networking needs.
Fire up your smart phone, start thinking in 140 characters and check out all of the sessions associated with…
Optimizing Technology and Media
HandsOn Connect Technology Tour
Monday, June 6, 2011 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Session ID: 5007
Speakers: Matthew Nelson
Twitter Hashtag: #NCVSHON
technology team to learn more about the next generation volunteer management platform, HandsOn Connect.
HandsOn Connect is a full lifecycle volunteer management platform that expands your capability to manage, track and report on people, programs, trainings and volunteer opportunities in real time.
HandsOn Connect uses
, the leader in web-based CRM (Customer Relationship Management), to support the broadest model of volunteer management in the marketplace.
It’s available to any organization that wants a comprehensive data management system for volunteer engagement and project management without the need to buy and update software or hardware.
Information to Impact: Tracking your Action
Monday, June 6, 2011 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Session ID: 5301
Speakers: George Weiner
Twitter Hashtag: #NCVS5301
Session will cover streamlined field reporting, surveying so results can be quickly aggregated and analyzed. Tips on collecting photos and anecdotes from the field will be shared.
The session also covers how to look at website Google Analytic data.
Designing a Mobile App for Volunteering and Service
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Session ID: 5744
Join the team from the Motorola Mobility Foundation to discuss an open source mobile app for volunteering and service.
This is your chance to help build an Android app that will benefit our field.
Attendees have a chance to win a mobile device.
Continental breakfast will be served.
Bringing Community Organizing Into Online Campaigns
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Session ID: 5341
Speakers: Debra Askanase, Amy Sample Ward
Twitter Hashtag: #NCVS5314
Explore ways to translate community organizing principles into online community-building.
, Matthew Nelson & Melinda Chang
Twitter Hashtag: #NCVS5033
Join the Interactive Strategy Forum to explore interactive strategies to recruit, retain and recognize volunteers.
Have you already started using interactive strategies only to discover you have 1,000 questions?
The Interactive Strategy Forum will feature 20+ tables, all staffed by leaders in nonprofit tech, leading relevant and timely discussions and Q&A sessions on topics you care about.
You’ll be able to rotate to different tables/topics during the session, learn best practices & innovative approaches, hear about new tools and get answers to burning questions.
Additionally, experienced table hosts will provide session take away materials.
Making Volunteer Management More Efficient and Cost-Effective With Cloud Computing
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Session ID: 5463
Speaker: Mark Sirois
Twitter Hashtag: cloudfornpos
Come hear how you can use the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of cloud computing to develop a 360-degree view of your volunteer programs from volunteering to donations to service use.
In a world of mobile and social, learn how you can take your management systems on the go and integrate with leading social computing/social media platforms to monitor conversations and better communicate internally.
Mark Sirois of the Salesforce.com Foundation will demonstrate how to use these technologies to transform your programs using examples of nonprofits, higher education and social enterprises that have developed constituent management solutions using cloud computing.
Are you collaborating, innovating, and sharing best practices with others in your organization?
In your area of service?
In your profession?
Don’t reinvent the wheel!
Learn to leverage online social and collaborative tools to maximize impact.
We will explore the how and why of online communities of practice using hands on exercises, and key examples from the national service and nonprofit sectors.
Whether you want to start a community, revitalize an existing one, or find places where your peers already share, this session will help you clarify your strategy and choose the human resources and tools to support your community.
How Does Your Community Support Military Families?
So, you want to support military families but you don’t know where to start, think it’s too expensive or complicated, or even time consuming?
Well, we have a simple, easy answer for you!
Finding Common Ground: A Toolkit for Communities Supporting Military Families is a new resource from the National Military Family Association.
This toolkit is the product of our Association’s summit, “When Parents Deploy: Understanding the Experiences of Military Children and Spouses,” at which we gathered the leading experts in the fields of military family support, childhood development, women’s issues, and behavioral health.
This toolkit suggests easily-achievable action items and useful resources to guide anyone who wants to support military families, but doesn’t know where to start.
This toolkit provides an answer to the question “What can I do to help?”
Using and sharing the information in this toolkit is easy.
, identify yourself in one of the communities, and read about ideas and resources that can start conversations and stimulate action.
Then, take some time to explore the other toolkit links. Print pages of the toolkit or use your online social networks to share the information with your friends.
Supporting military families doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive.
The toolkit provides examples of how easy it is to help military families – from having coffee with a service member’s parent to youth organizations looking for ways to include military families as part of the curriculum.
Share how you’re supporting military families in your community!
By Bailey Bernius, Public Relations Specialist, National Military Family Association
In communities all over the world, military families are living a unique lifestyle in order to serve our country alongside their service member.
It can be difficult for those not familiar with the military to understand this lifestyle and to figure out their role in helping military families in a time of need.
Everyone has a role to play in supporting military families – not just their friends and neighbors. Employers, educators, community leaders, government leaders, and health care professionals can all help support military families in unique ways.
Here are some simple ways civilian families can help the military families who are living right in their own communities.
Hang out: Where appropriate, invite the spouse of a deployed service member to go out to dinner, see a movie, or go to a concert. Getting out of the house is a great stress reliever during a lonely time.
Be yourself: Look for opportunities to help by matching your own talents and resources with the needs of another.
Volunteer: Organizations all over the country are helping military families. Whether it is with time, money, or talents, it is the volunteers that keep these much-needed services running. Check out your state volunteer website or use the search engine on Serve.gov.
Provide a helping hand: When a service member you know is deployed, offer a play date for their kids, run errands, assist with home repair, mow the lawn, cook dinner, or help with anything else that is so much easier to do when there are two parents in the home.
Show your appreciation: Business owners can offer military discounts for service members and their families.
Give a taste of home: Bake or cook for single military personnel who are living in the barracks or invite them over for a holiday when they’re stationed away from home.
Be a friend: Having a spouse deployed is extremely difficult and having a shoulder to lean on eases the hardship.
Be understanding: Civilians can offer employment opportunities to military spouses and understand that their lifestyle may cause time gaps in a military spouse’s resume. It can be hard to establish a career while having to move to a new duty station every few years. Co-workers can rally behind the family of a deployed service member, providing a close-to-home support group.
Help make a house a home: Organize your neighborhood association to make newly-arrived military families welcome in your community.
Support education: Make military children feel welcome when they arrive in your children’s schools. When possible, be lenient with tryout dates and admission cut-offs. Recognize their achievements at other schools and find the best fit for them to thrive.
Be a proud American: Through actions and words, at every opportunity, support the men and women of the military. Never take for granted the individual freedoms these service members work tirelessly to safeguard and defend, often at great personal risk and sacrifice. They do it not only for themselves, but for their family members who support them daily in their patriotic service and privilege.
Keep your flag flying high!
* This information was gathered from more than 4,000 military spouses surveyed by the National Military Family Association.
HandsOn Network Excitement at NCVS!
by Gary Renville, Vice President for Affiliate Advancement, HandsOn Network
Connecting to HandsOn Action Centers from throughout the Network; connecting to service in the community; and connecting to opportunities for professional development, inspiration and fun will all be made possible through my attendance at the upcoming National Conference on Volunteering and Service.
Just thinking about it has kept a smile on my face for months – and I can hardly wait for the time to finally arrive.
I’m really looking forward this year to speaking at, learning from and observing our Affiliate-only pre-conference track (Sessions 5705, 5706 and 5630) which runs from Sunday June 5 to Monday June 6.
I’m thrilled that our Affiliates participating in
Equip
track have the opportunity for an off-site training entitled:
Learn It! Do It! Lead It!
(Session 5736).
These participants will spend time at stations learning the trade and tips of basic volunteer project elements and then join other volunteers on site to refurbish one of many parks throughout the New Orleans area.
This year’s Affiliate experience at the NCVS really will be like no other.
For the first time there are 3 separate learning tracks – developed by and for Affiliate leaders from a wide cross section of Affiliates from around the world.
Together this amazing team supported by the HandsOn Network staff of Candi Williams, Zack Brown and Alison Doerfler are ensuring that there really is “something for everyone” from the most experienced HandsOn Affiliate Executive Director to the newest of Affiliate program staff.
Michelle Nunn, David Ray and Peter York are just a few of our featured speakers that Affiliates will have the pleasure to hear from in our “
Inspire
” track.
Participants here will discuss topics such as strategic planning and capacity building.
Larry Deckel, Matt Cavell, Jamie Denniston-Merced and others headline our “
Equip
” track where Affiliates will learn about HandsOn Connect, use of social media, how to plan and lead basic volunteer projects and much more.
Our “
Moblize
” track participants will benefit from a grant writing workshop led by Khyati Desai, Kris Tecce and Zack Brown; explore the very best of corporate project execution with Curtis Cannon, Katie Stearns and Sherrie Fazio; and further explore the many tools and resources available to Affiliates throughout the Network.
For all of those who have attended conference – we all know how busy the time can be.
From rushing to sessions to ensure a front-row seat, to exploring the exhibit hall area to tasting all of the delicious food a new city has to offer – there never seems to be enough time to do it all.
So I’m particularly pleased – that in the hustle and bustle of all that is about to come – our Affiliate Only Lounge will provide a more quite space for Affiliates who want to “just get away” or to engage in 1:1 or small group discussions.
This room will also be visited by most if not all of the
, to public policy and advocacy, to technology, September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance and more!
Connecting to HandsOn Action Centers from throughout the Network; Connecting to service in the community and Connecting to opportunities for professional development, inspiration and fun – I CAN’T WAIT and I hope to see you in New Orleans!
Three simple ways to be a social affiliate at #NCVS 2011
If you’re a HandsOn Network Affiliate staff member attending The National Conference on Volunteering and Service, here are 3 simple ways you can use social media to enhance your conference experience.
1. Be part of the group
We made a list on twitter – A list that follows everyone who is at conference.
I believe the great majority of us would love to know that our lives matter.
“What positive difference am I making with my life?”
It’s a good question to ask now…if only to avoid regrets later.
Dr. Anthony Campolo asked 50 people over the age of 95: “If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?”
The top three answers he received:
1. “I would reflect more.”
2. “I would risk more.”
3. “I would do more things that would live on after I am dead.”
First…let’s cross our fingers and hope we make it to 95. Second…let’s understand that the time to guard against future regrets is NOW.
Here’s a tool to help avoid your own future regrets. I call it the OUTRAGEOUS HOUR!
The OUTRAGEOUS HOUR is a designated time period (either daily or weekly) where you brainstorm, and then focus effort on following through with really HUGE ideas that could be life-changing.
It doesn’t matter if the idea is a super stretch. If it excites you…why not go for it?
(Hey, I’m a believer in Walt Disney’s maxim “If you can dream it…you can do it!”)
During the OUTRAGEOUS HOUR, set time aside to think of OUTRAGEOUSLY positive experiences you and your organization could go for that would make your organization more effective…and would bring more value to others.
Personally, I think of ideas that give me butterflies.
You know the type; the ones that make you smile and get nervous at the same time.
Then, during this same designated period, I begin to take action on working towards the brainstorms.
Use the OUTRAGEOUS HOUR for personal goals.
Use it for work.
Just give it a try.
Why not brainstorm ways to take your organization to another level?
Why not think of ways to make your life more awesome?
We all want both. Right?
So go bold…and tell me…how can you take success up another notch and go OUTRAGEOUS?
This post comes from Shawn Anderson, ShawnAnderson.com, five-time author, corporate trainer and national speaker on the topics of “possibility thinking and creating opportunity.”
He is also the Founder of the Extra Mile America Foundation, ExtraMileAmerica.org, a non-profit organization empowering people to “go the extra mile” in life.
In 2010, the Foundation led the charge in motivating 116 mayors in 45 different states to declare November 1, 2010, as “Extra Mile Day”…a day to recognize those in the local community going the extra mile.
In 2011, over 200 city mayors in all 50 states are expected to do the same.
Join Shawn on Wednesday, June 8th, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM, for his session titled The Power of “What if…?” Extra Mile America: Stories of Inspiration, Possibility and Purpose.
The three-day Festival kicks off with a 
