ECIVC Workshops From 2009

The East Central Illinois Volunteerism Conference is designed to help you develop skills that will enhance your relationship with the volunteers at your organization. Last year's conference offered presentations on a varity of topics presented during three concurrent sessions.

Concurrent Session I

What’s Love Got to do With It? Volunteer Recruiting for the Technology Challenged
Kellie Anderson, Urbana School District 116

Many of our volunteer-dependent agencies operate under limited budgets for recruiting – or maybe no budget at all! Even with funds available, many volunteer managers do not have the knowledge or expertise to use programs like PowerPoint or to produce slick presentations for volunteer recruitment … so what’s a “technology challenged” volunteer manager to do? Can you “wow” your audience and share your passion for what your agency does without a clicker in your hand? Can a low tech person give a heart-felt presentation in a high tech world?

Youth and College Volunteers: Your Organization’s Link to the Future
Mary Anne Schierman, McLean County Museum of History, and Shelly Hanover, Children’s Discovery Museum

Internships and service learning programs are becoming the standard for high school graduation, college admission, the core of many university courses, and a key component on one’s resume for employment. As these requirements increase, the not-for-profit world is seeing an influx of teen and college age volunteers. What are their expectations? What are your needs? This workshop will walk you through the development of an internship and service learning program to utilize this group of talented, enthusiastic workers.

Volunteer Retention: Encouraging Volunteers to Stay
Sheri Seibold, University of Illinois Extension/4-H
Download the presentation [pdf]

One of the most common problems programs need to address is the turnover rate of volunteers. Whether or not volunteers stay longer than the initial commitment often times depends on how they feel about the volunteer experience, including their impressions of how the program values them and their work. Everything you do as a volunteer manager is either…an invitation for a volunteer to stay…Or…an invitation to go!

Illinois Sustainable Technology Center
Laura Barnes, Librarian/Information Specialist
Download the presentation [pdf]

Lean new ways to make your organization environmentally friendly by improving energy and water efficiency, reducing waste, and making greener purchasing decisions.

Concurrent Session II

Principles of Volunteer Mobilization
Mike Green

Motivation to act must be identified. People will act on themes they feel strongly about. People act on concerns (what they do not want to happen), dreams and goals (what they want to create), and people may act when there is an opportunity to contribute their gifts in a particular way. The challenge is to discover the volunteer’s motivation to act. Discovering a person’s motivation requires deep listening and careful watching. This workshop explores the theme of discovering what volunteers care enough about to act and the principles of volunteer mobilization

Using Social Networking To Work With College Student Volunteers
Amy Sponsler, University of Illinois Office of Volunteer Programs
Download the presentation [pdf]

Attendees will learn how to effectively utilize Facebook and other social networking sites to garner interest in their organizations, attract and communicate with volunteers, and to connect with more people than you could imagine!

Working with All Volunteer Community Organizations
Audrey LeGrande, Junior League of Champaign-Urbana

The Junior League of Champaign-Urbana will present information; both broad and specific about how to best develop a relationship with and gain support from all volunteer groups like the Junior League. While we do not have paid staff like most other non-profits, we have access to a qualified, motivated group of professional volunteers who can, in some cases, do much more for you than just stuff envelopes. We will offer insight on the structure of theses organizations and ways to reach these groups to best take advantage of what they have to offer.

Moving from To-Do List to Ta-Da List – staying positive when there is too much to do and not enough time to do it
Megan Holland, Carle Foundation Hospital

The workshop is interactive and it is basically a how-to stay positive tool. Breaking down the old practice of writing a TO DO list (that may not get finished) and changing it to writing a TA DA list (a completed list). This behavior is based upon the concept that we love to put our A+ work on our family’s fridge, or get the appreciation for a job well done. This is a “how to” become our own biggest cheerleader and positive reinforce-er. By making a list of the things we accomplished in a day – we will stay positive and feel good about our accomplishments and strive to accomplish more.

Concurrent Session III

Family Volunteerism – Costs and Benefits
Lynn Peisker , United Way of Champaign County
Download the presentation [pdf]

This workshop will discuss both the costs and benefits of working with families as volunteers, both for the families and the organizations that choose to welcome them. Unique challenges to working with multi-generational volunteers, project planning and ideas for reflection will be discussed. Resources to use in helping young family members be involved in the entire process will be shared, along with specific ideas for involvement in issues and causes important to the family.

Volunteers as Leaders:Helping Your Volunteers Manage Themselves
Cheryl Middaugh, do good Consulting

This workshop will examine the diverse ways that volunteers serve in leadership roles and identify specific tools to maximize their autonomy, accountability, engagement, and capacity to manage and excite others. Workshop participants will hear and share stories of effective (and not-so-effective) volunteer leadership, troubleshoot commonly faced challenges in managing and engaging volunteer leaders, and learn how to structure leadership responsibilities to maximize productivity and output from volunteer teams.

Sabotage! How We Are Undermining Volunteerism
Martin J. Cowling, People First -Total Solutions
Download the presentation [pdf]

What behaviours or action exhibited by managers of Volunteers damage their programs? In this session, Martin J Cowling considers The Five Lethal Factors Volunteer Managers Employ which Harm Their Programs. This
interactive session is based on material published in the Journal: E- Volunteerism; it will provide people with practical solutions.