Congress, December 6 – last session

The new steering committee was deep into discussion when the rest of the Congress arrived this morning – they decided last night to reconvene today at 7:30.  So enthusiasm is running high.

The last session of the Congress opened with reports from yesterday’s passion groups:  goal statements and preliminary action plans.  The following are NOT final, but are shared here to allow non-attending colleagues the chance to get a flavor of what is being considered:

This new entity will be guided by goals in these areas:

We will:
Standards: 
Establish, disseminate, and adhere to volunteer program management industry standards of excellence. 

Resources:
Be the knowledge resource for leaders of volunteers.

Advocacy:
Increase the recognition and respect for the profession of volunteer management. 

Professional Development
Provide professional development opportunities at a variety of levels utilizing a variety of means.

Values/Principles/Marketing
Create a statement of philosophy, a set of guiding principles, and marketing strategies that reflects the organization’s spirit and brand that attracts a growing and diverse membership.

Communications and Networking
Provide our membership and potential members with ongoing information and networking opportunities.

Certification
Within the next 12 months, develop a memorandum of understanding with the new Council on Certification in Volunteer Administration.

Collaboration
Develop strategic partnerships and relationships linking with existing national organizations.

Technology
Explore and apply user-friendly, innovative and emerging technologies to support organizational goals.

Again, all of these goals will be refined and reworded over the next several weeks.

The Structure team next committed to “research and recommend a structure for a strong national membership association,” with the following elements:

Elements:

• Membership criteria
• Entity name
• Fiscal, business plan
• Resource development
• Membership benefits
• Governance (bylaws, articles of incorporation, board development)
• Communication

The co-chairs of the Structure team are also the co-chairs of the steering committee – now calling itself the COVAA Steering Committee -- are  Rita Chick and  Joanna Johnson.  

The Steering Committee then asked all Congress participants to step up to the plate and contribute financially to the new entity.  Forty-four participants wrote a check on the spot to be the Founders Circle of donors…and everyone committed to return to their sponsor associations and raise more money.  In addition, there were pledges of technical expertise assistance, ranging from accountants to lawyers to grant writers.

Next Liam LeDuc Clarke of the UPS Foundation spoke to the Congress and applauded the progress made.  He also shared two critical questions that must be answered when approaching any resource, whether seeking money, expertise, or time:

• What good, for whom, at what cost?  Make the value proposition.
• So what?  Why this work is so important.

What measurable, tangible things can be produced?  He then committed the Volunteer Impact Fund to help us make the connections between this effort and potential funders once we are in the position to make our case statement and know what resources we want.

Jane Justis shared her favorite definition of philanthropy:  “the practice of returning to the community pot of assets that which you have taken out…and perhaps a smidgin more.”  And so you can’t separate the giving of money and volunteerism – we are part of the philanthropic movement.  Volunteer program managers tend to avoid (run from) fundraising, but no funder will contribute to something that is not supported first by its members.  She then committed her Leighty Foundation to a matching grant of up to $5000 for all money raised from individuals.

Being good volunteer administrators, we did all the thank you’s to everyone involved in planning this Congress, especially to our incredible facilitator, Elaine Granata.

The Congress ended with the following promises to the field:

1. A new COVAA Steering Committee committed to continuing the work started here and, in turn, having the confidence and support of all Congress participants.

2. Continued, ongoing communication with the field (using the www.COVAA.org site), including full financial transparency.  There will also be official reports of the Congress posted as soon as possible.

3. Taking the naming of this new entity seriously and waiting until research can be done on the best term for future outreach.

4. Not permitting the various task forces formed here to operate in silos, but to find the overlapping circles of concern and activities.