 Winter 2013 National Assocation of Volunteer Programs in Local Government | |
Volunteer Satisfaction Surveys
NAVPLG received an inquiry late in 2012 asking our members to share their volunteer satisfaction surveys. Several members responded and those responses have been consolidated and posted on the NAVPLG.org website. You will find the links at the bottom of the main page. Why conduct a volunteer survey? • It will tell you what you are doing well and what you need to improve upon. • It may provide you with feedback about your program that the volunteer was too shy or uncomfortable telling you face to face. • It is a form of appreciation by saying to your volunteers “Your opinion matters. We want to hear from you.” Think about the results to see if the feedback reinforces what you are doing or if changes are needed to your actions or policies. Volunteers will be watching to see if you act on their suggestions and ideas. Continue the discussion with your colleagues by sharing your questions and needs. That’s what our NAVPLG network is all about. Learning Resource: VolunteerMatch
Is one of your New Year's Resolutions to receive additional training to be the best volunteer manager you can be? If so, NAVPLG wants to share with you the free resources from VolunteerMatch. VolunteerMatch has a wide variety of free webinars scheduled through the middle of the year for all experience levels and interests. Check it out at Volunteer Match
30 Years of Community Engagement
Robin Popik, Volunteer Services Supervisor Editor's note: Robin is the receipent of the 2012 NAVPLG award for Outstanding Volunteer Administrator. With a population of 88,000, 1983 was a memorable year for the City of Plano. The award winning Volunteers In Plano (VIP) Program was officially introduced by Plano’s City Council with the mission to encourage citizen participation in government, to provide a means of enhancing services and to keep expenditures down. The gift of volunteer engagement that year amounted to 3,500 hours with a value of $5,522. Today, the VIP Program is still going strong and is looking forward to celebrating its 30th Anniversary in October 2013 with a special concert for its volunteers. This event will be a great time to reminisce about the program’s accomplishments and the growth and the friendships forged throughout the years. Plano’s volunteers represent the rich diversity of its population. They come from all walks of life and all age groups. VIP volunteers are truly an essential part of Plano. City officials and staff welcome their assistance and are impressed with their enthusiasm and skillfulness. This has helped to produce a positive environment for volunteerism to flourish in Plano. So effective is the program’s impact, that it has been emulated as a role model by cities across the nation. read more... | President’s Message - The Speed of Trust for Volunteer Managers Leigh Britt, CVA I recently gave a presentation on Stephens M. R. Covey’s book The Speed of Trust. While trust was at first a dull topic to me, but after reading Covey’s book, I realized how important trust is and that it is something we all have the ability to build or destroy. Covey talks about the four cores of credibility that help build the trust that others have in us and trust we have in ourselves. 1. Integrity – This is the basis for our trust and includes showing up on time, doing as we say, carrying out our responsibilities and treating others with kindness and respect. As volunteer managers, we also need to follow up with our volunteers, treat them kindly, arrive on time and be organized. 2. Intent – This is what grows from our integrity. Is our intent best for the individual, the organization and ourselves? Do we put the person first and then the problem? As volunteer managers, we innately believe that people have the best intentions, even when they let us down. read more... NAVPLG 2013 Awards Submission Process
Susan Mong
The submission process for the 2013 NAVPLG Awards is now open. There are three categories of awards.
1. The Outstanding Volunteer Administrator will be recognized for a number of qualities including their effective use of leadership skills, creative utilization of people, resources and opportunities, a strong sense of professional ethics, and an ability to mentor youth and/or peers. CLICK HERE FOR THE ONLINE FORM 2. The Innovative Program Award honors the outstanding achievements of a local government program in their creation and implementation of a program/service, which utilizes volunteers to creatively serve both their local government and their community. CLICK HERE FOR THE ONLINE FORM 3. New Volunteer Administrator Award will be given to someone who has been in their position serving local government for three years or less. CLICK HERE FOR THE ONLINE FORM Nominations Deadline: May 1, 2013. Please use online forms to submit nominations For more information visit www.navplg.org/awards.php Winners will receive a plaque and a one-year membership in NAVPLG for the coming year, along with the satisfaction of recognition by his or her peers. Winners do not need to be present to win. Self-nominations will be accepted and membership in NAVPLG is not required. Awards will be presented at the 2013 National Conference on Volunteering & Service in Washington, D.C. Visit: http://www.volunteeringandservice.org/2013-conference.cfm for more information about the conference. Questions: Contact Susan Mong, NAVPLG Board Member at (913)826-4302 or mongs@jocolibrary.org NACo Affiliate Corner NAVPLG is pround to be an affiliate of the National Association of Counties (NACo). Check out the links below for some current NACo News and resources that might be of interest.
NAVPLG's Affiliate representative to NACo is Greg Castano, Volunteer Services Program Coordinator with Arlington County (VA). Learn more about NACO at www.naco.org. Reminder to pay your 2013 membership dues
If you haven't done so already, please renew your membership in NAVPLG by going to Membership Dues. Thanks. |
| NAVPLG - Winter 2013 | |
