Girls on the Run® of Central New York (GOTRCNY) needs you!

How can you help this great program?  You can volunteer to coach after school, twice a week for ten weeks (late March through mid-June)!  No running experience is required - all you need is an enthusiasm for working with the girls and a commitment to being a good role model.  We are looking for volunteer coaches at our Cooperstown Elementary School and our Clark Sports Center locations.

With nearly 700 girls participating each season, GOTRCNY has been in operation since 2002. GOTRCNY is a local council of the national organization, Girls on the Run (GOTR), based in Charlotte, North Carolina.  GOTR is an after school program that uses the power of running to prepare girls grade 3-8 for a lifetime of healthy living.  Meeting twice a week for ten weeks, GOTR teaches life skills through an experience based, two-part curriculum, taught by volunteer certified GOTRCNY coaches.  Each curriculum includes three parts: understanding ourselves, valuing relationships and teamwork and how we connect with the world at large.

Running is used to inspire and motivate girls, encourage lifelong health and fitness and build confidence through accomplishment.  At each season's conclusion, girls complete a 5k non-competitive running event.  Completing the 5k gives the girls a sense of achievement as well as framework for setting and achieving life goals.

For more information, contact Sally Trosset at sally.trosset@girlsontherun.org or 607.437.1985 or Sherrie Kingsley atsherrie.kingsley@girlsontherun.org or 607.547.6024

National Volunteer Week Funds Available

The Institute for Human Services Brings You:National Volunteer Week Mini Grants

National Volunteer Week: April 21-27, 2013

Are you planning a volunteer event as part of National Volunteer Week during April 21-27th?  Could you use some additional funds to enhance your project's impact?

If you have answered "YES" to either of these questions then consider applying for a mini-grant from 2-1-1 HELPLINE Give Help and the Regional Volunteer Center of the Southern Tier!

Because of this partnership, we are to be able to offer mini-grants to support local volunteer efforts in Chemung, Steuben and Schuyler Counties during National Volunteer Week. If your organization is currently planning an event for that week and could use some additional funding to enhance your efforts we encourage you to request a mini-grant of up to $350. If you are interested in applying for a mini-grant, simply fill out our online application by going to the link below. Please complete the survey by Friday March 29th. Decisions regarding project funding will be made by Friday April 5th, 2013.

Apply Here!

  

If you have any questions, please contact Tess McKinley at mckinleyt@ihsnet.org or at (607) 776-9467, ext. 217. 

2-1-1 HELPLINE Give Help coordinates volunteer support services, by serving as a volunteer clearinghouse and resource center that is supported by United Way of the Southern Tier to increase civic engagement in our area.  Interested in volunteering?  Want to add your volunteer opportunities to our database?  Learn more here.

The Regional Volunteer Center of the Southern Tier is a collaboration designed to promote and enhance local volunteer efforts in our community. Under the leadership of the Institute for Human Services, United Way of Broome County, and United Way of Tompkins County, local non-profits are coming together to create a dynamic regional partnership to enhance and strengthen local volunteer efforts.  The Regional Volunteer Center of the Southern Tier is one of ten regional volunteer centers in New York State.

The Inexpensive Solution to Volunteer Protection

The Inexpensive Solution to Volunteer Protection

Sometimes, volunteers have accidents - injure someone, get hurt themselves, or have an auto accident. Usually, their own insurance is not enough to take care of the damage. And the nonprofit organization's insurance does not protect the volunteer in some critical areas of risk.

Your nonprofit organization has the option of adding volunteers as additional insureds on the commercial general liability (CGL) policy. However, such an endorsement usually excludes volunteers' travel between home and the place of volunteer duty. Also, a CGL endorsement excludes coverage for claims made by one volunteer against another. Finally, the organization risks sharing its own limits of insurance - under the CGL policy - with the volunteer.

Covering volunteers under workers' compensation usually is not the wisest approach. First, a volunteer's injury would affect the claims experience of the nonprofit, which could increase workers' compensation insurance costs. Second, workers' compensation does not protect the volunteer during travel to and from their volunteer duty. 

However, there is an inexpensive solution to the problem...

  

To protect volunteers, the Volunteers Insurance Service (VIS®) program offers the following three coverages separately or combined:

• Up to $50,000 in accident medical reimbursement as a result of covered accident - at a cost of $3.94 per volunteer per year;
• Up to $1,000,000 in personal liability insurance - $1.72 per volunteer per year with a minimum premium of $100;
• For those volunteers who drive, up to $500,000 in excess automobile liability insurance above the volunteer's own insurance -$6.34 per volunteer per year with a minimum premium of $100.  

Total cost per volunteer, if all coverages are selected: $12.00 per year. The organization simply insures the greatest number of volunteers it expects to have at any given time.

VIS® Membership is required in order to sign up for any of the above programs; which an annual membership fee of $135 (July-June fiscal year).

For More Info Click Here

Conference to highlight volunteerism

The Center for Social Responsibility and Community at the State University College at Oneonta is cosponsoring the 11th annual Conference on Volunteerism and Social Responsibility from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration begins at 9:15 a.m. in the Morris Conference Center on the college’s campus. Admission is free, and community members are invited to attend. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and every participant will receive an official conference T-shirt.

The program will open with a keynote address by Stephen G. Post, professor of preventive medicine and director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics at Stony Brook University. The award-winning author of “The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times,” Post is recognized as a leader in the study of altruism, love and compassion in the context of scientific research, health care delivery, philosophy and spirituality.

Following that participants can attend up to three workshops.

These include an interactive session by Julie Dostal of the LEAF Council on Alcoholism and Addictions, entitled Truth in Advertising: Media and Social Responsibility. It will provide an opportunity for her to interact with participants about such topics as the realities of how alcohol use is reflected in the media, and body image.

Bonnie Laugen, the interim director at the Kennedy-Willis Center at Pathfinder Village in Edmeston, will lead the group: “Pathfinder Community Partners: An Experience You’ll Never Forget.” Pathfinder Village is a community where people with developmental disabilites can live and be independent and have meaningful lives, she said.

The session includes a panel discussion with four people who live at Pathfinder and volunteer in the community, who will talk about what life is like there. They will also talk about the importance of volunteers helping the residents. Hopefully when participants learn about the programs, more will want to help out, she said. One student from the college already volunteers there, she said.

Also presenting is SUNY Delhi instructor Peter Campbell who will talk about “Alternate Spring Breaks: Rebuilding America One House at a Time.” Over the past six years he has worked with other volunteers, taking students to Habitat for Humanity sites in the South, to help rebuild homes. This is in addition to work he does with students locally to help people rebuild from recent disasters. During the colder months, students enjoy going to warmer climates, he said.

One of the students volunteers, culinary major Kelsey DeHey, will be helping him present. “There are a lot of different opportunities,” he said.



Other workshops include:

• “Meditation for Stress: Stress Relief for the Over-worked and Super Busy,” by Rebecca Harrington of SUNY Oneonta;

• “Together WE win: Fun Activities for Effective Team Building,” by Glenda Bolton of SUNY Delhi;

• “Putting the ‘Community’ in ‘Sustainable Community,’” by Jack Tessier of SUNY Delhi;

• “Community Connection: Connecting Campuses for Social Justice,” by students from SUNY Oneonta and the Oneonta Job Corps Center.

More information is available from Drake at 436-2098 or csrc@oneonta.edu.

New! Consumers Guide to Volunteer Management Systems

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our latest in-depth report, A Consumers Guide to Volunteer Management Systems, created in partnership with TechSoup. It’s available for free download with registration at http://www.idealware.org/volunteer_management.

Like all our reports, this one is the product of extensive research, interviews and hands-on system demos. It condenses the knowledge of experts and impartial reviews into an all-in-one-place guide to help nonprofits understand and choose the best volunteer management system.

Volunteers provide the strong backs that help build organizations, but volunteer-based nonprofits have to keep track of a lot of data, from contact info and schedules to time sheets and job sites. The right software can streamline that process and free up time for managing volunteers. Though there are a number of products on the market, it’s surprisingly hard to find information about them—until now.

We designed this report as an introduction to volunteer management software: what’s out there, what to expect, and how the different solutions compare. It covers the basic features and functions that might be desirable, and discusses the pros and cons of standalone systems vs. those that track volunteers alongside donors or other constituents. Finally, it compares the strengths and weaknesses of three standalone volunteer management systems and three consolidated constituent management systems, with contextual information about 21 additional systems.

Whether you’re upgrading your existing system or just starting out, let Idealware help your nonprofit make smart software decisions—use this report to guide you through the process. Download it now (free with registration)!

Want to know more, or to hear the researchers talk through the systems and considerations? Check out our online seminar Choosing a Volunteer Management System, for $40 on June 9th.


Enjoy!
Laura
--
Laura Quinn Executive Director Idealware
laura@idealware.org www.idealware.org

Volunteer Question: What Questions Can You Ask Them?

Here is a recent question related to volunteers and screening that was made to NYCON's legal staff:

Do you know if when screening volunteers or having them complete an application, is it legal or appropriate to discuss things like marital status, health, etc. that cannot be asked when screening employees?

NYCON's legal staff feedback: Staff should not ask questions of volunteers that they do not ask of other staff. For a variety of reasons, most of which revolve around the notion that anyone can sue for anything. Opening that Pandora's Box should be avoided. Any info obtained really can't help the volunteer opportunity or the agency, so please consider volunteers to be employees for all cases of liability from this to sexual harassment, etc

NY ranks last in volunteerism

The Albany Business Review reported that New Yorkers are not very beneficent when it comes to giving their time. Not at all.

In fact, the Empire State ranks 51st out of 50 states and Washington D.C. when it comes to volunteering, according to the annual Volunteering in America report.

Nationally, however, about 1.6 million more volunteers served in 2009 than in 2008, making this the largest single-year increase in the number of volunteers since 2003, when data was first collected for the study. The report is produced by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a government-sponsored nonprofit. Higher unemployment rates also increase volunteerism.

Nationwide, a total of 63.4 million volunteers contributed 8.1 billion hours of service in 2009, an estimated dollar value $169 billion. Overall, the volunteering rate increased in 2009 to 26.8 percent, up from 26.4 percent in 2008.

Volunteering data used in the annual report is gathered through the Current Population Survey, conducted monthly by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Volunteers are defined as individuals ages 16 and over who perform unpaid activities for or through an organization.

The study showed that 2.9 million, or 19 percent, of New York residents volunteered in 2007-2009, compared with the national average of 26.8 percent. The Capital Region fared better, but still placed in the lower half of the rankings. It ranked 44th out of the 75 mid-sized cities that were studied for the report, with 27.1 percent, or 200,000, of its residents volunteering.

Compared with other mid-sized cities in New York, the Capital Region placed behind Binghamton, ranked 30th, and Poughkeepsie, ranked 41st, and ahead of 71st-ranked Syracuse. Nationally, Provo, Utah, ranked first among mid-sized cities and El Paso, Texas, was last. Utah was the top state for volunteerism.

Volunteers in New York contributed 405.5 million hours, or $8.5 billion worth in service from 2007-2009.

Read more: New York dead-last in volunteerism - The Business Review (Albany)

Program: Core Policies for Your Volunteers, Board and Staff

The April 14th morning program titled” Core Policies for Your Volunteers, Board and Staff” was held at A.O. Fox's Levine Conference Center located at 1 Norton Ave, Oneonta, NY.

Three panelists made presentations based on their area of expertise and took questions from the audience that traveled from three counties.

Panelists were:
Susan Kenny, Executive Director, Roxbury Arts Group, sharing feedback and policies for boards of directors.

Nancy Karaman, Volunteer Administrator, New York State Historical Association and The Farmers' Museum, sharing information and policies on volunteer management.

Melissa Marietta, Internship Coordinator, Hartwick College, sharing information and policies on internship management.

Some of the issues discussed were: board members are volunteers, succession planning for board members and executive directors and staff, what is a volunteer, how to fire a volunteer, creating a volunteer manual, legal matters surrounding interns, why have a intern, and interns are not staff.

Handouts included examples of board policies, intern and volunteer manuals and related materials.

Though Panelists took many questions during the presentation the discussion could have lasted all day.

April 14th Program: Core Policies for Your Volunteers, Board and Staff

With the recent economic challenges nonprofits are facing, volunteers have become an essential resource for organizations. As nonprofits rely more and more on volunteers, working with them and their management have become more of focus. This program focuses on three types of volunteers: board members, volunteers, and interns. The program features a panel discussion with nonprofit professionals sharing and discussing policies for the board, volunteers and interns. The proposed panel will be:

•Susan Kenny, Executive Director, Roxbury Arts Group, sharing feedback and policies for boards of directors
•Nancy Karaman, Volunteer Administrator, New York State Historical Association and The Farmers' Museum, sharing information and policies on volunteer management
•Melissa Marietta, Internship Coordinator, Hartwick College, sharing information and policies on internship management
Program location will be at A.O. Fox's Levine Conference Center located at 1 Norton Ave, Oneonta, NY.

REGISTER HERE

Date: Wed, April 14th, 2010
Time: 9:30am - 11:30am
Cost: Free
Location: A.O. Fox's Levine Conference Center
1 Norton Ave
Oneonta, NY 13820

Have you seen recent news about the growing focus on interns? Here is a recent article:

Working for Free: The Boom in Adult Interns
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1977130,00.html?cnn=yes&hpt=C2#ixzz0kNIoaV5V

Growth of unpaid internships may be illegal

The NY Times featured the following story about the increase in the number of unpaid internships in recent years, leading federal and state regulators to worry that more employers are illegally using such internships for free labor.

Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws, officials in Oregon, California and other states have begun investigations and fined employers. Last year, M. Patricia Smith, then New York’s labor commissioner, ordered investigations into several firms’ internships. Now, as the federal Labor Department’s top law enforcement official, she and the wage and hour division are stepping up enforcement nationwide.

Many regulators say that violations are widespread, but that it is unusually hard to mount a major enforcement effort because interns are often afraid to file complaints. Many fear they will become known as troublemakers in their chosen field, endangering their chances with a potential future employer. Read more here.

Employees Volunteer Services to Charities and Nonprofits, Fostering Potential New Customer Relationships

Some small businesses are following the recession playbook of the unemployed.

Just as many laid-off workers are volunteering more to fill up their free time and enhance their résumés, small-business owners and their employees are doing more pro bono services or volunteer work as a marketing and customer-relations strategy.

The recession hit Studio G Architects Inc. of Boston particularly hard last fall, causing 2008 revenue to drop 30% from the prior year, says Gail Sullivan, the principal. Clients of the 16-year-old architectural firm killed or put on hold 10 projects last October. With work slowing down, the company began providing 15 to 20 hours a week in pro bono services to keep employees occupied and potentially attract future contracts. It worked.

This spring the firm prepared preliminary design projects, such as a playground for severely handicapped children, for various charities. The projects later received full funding and Studio G obtained several contracts, which ranged in value from $16,000 to $100,000. "Offering the pro bono services has given us a chance to maintain our design vigor [and] resulted in people hiring us," Ms. Sullivan says.

For a small business that has lost clients or seen revenue-generating projects dry up, performing free work is a way to keep employees engaged while cultivating new relationships. Donating services to charity groups, churches, schools and other nonprofits can "increase local visibility, deepen local business ties and create opportunity for new business," says Christine Banning, vice president of marketing and communications at SCORE, a Washington-based group that provides free counseling to small businesses. Read more here.

How can nonprofits in the local region better position themselves for attracting pro bono assistance? Share your ideas here.

On the Bright Side: Nonprofits aided by area students

The Daily Star reported about hundreds of students, who stepped off campus Saturday to volunteer at area nonprofit organizations in a community service project.

Through ``Into the Streets,'' some SUNY Oneonta and Oneonta Job Corps Academy students spent hours at assigned Oneonta sites, including Saturday's Bread, a soup kitchen; Family Service Association, an assistance program; the Elks Club on Chestnut Street; and Calvary Hill Retreat Center.

About 500 students and 35 organizations from Otsego and Delaware counties signed up to participate, such as Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, the Delaware County Historical Association in Delhi and Gilbert Lake State Park in Laurens. Students met between 9 and 9:30 a.m. Saturday in Chase Gymnasium on campus to join their teams and pick up T-shirts.

``The goal would be to encourage volunteerism by the students and provide services to the community,'' said Linda Drake, director of the Center for Social Responsibility and Community at the State University College at Oneonta. The center organized the community service day, said Drake, who expressed relief after students had left at about 9:30 a.m. for their jobs.

``Today is just a fun day,'' Drake said. ``Students anticipate and look forward to participating.''

The teams were scheduled to spend up to six hours at their assigned site. They did cleanup work, painting, landscaping chores and food preparation, among other tasks. The day's theme was ``Into the Streets: Try it for a day; you may love it for a lifetime.'' Read more here.