Attendance and Registration

1. Which associations are eligible to send a representative to the Congress?

Please note that the most important eligibility criteria for sending a representative to the Congress is to be an association comprised of members from different settings or different geographic areas who have joined together as a professional society, organized for and governed by members of the volunteer management profession. 

Therefore, no matter how engaged an organization may be in the volunteerism field or how extensive its volunteer involvement, the Congress is not meant for any single "agency" or "organization."  Colleagues from such organizations are, of course, welcome to submit individual profiles.

The following associations are all eligible participants in the Congress, providing their members are mainly from the United States :  

• Local “DOVIAs” ( D irectors o f V olunteers i n A gencies groups) serving particular cities or regions. CVCs (Corporate Volunteer Councils) also fit the definition.
• Such a group can be unincorporated and relatively informal, provided that it has at least 10 members, is open to more, and meets with some regularity.
• State associations of volunteer administrators, whether generic or serving specific fields or affinity groups, including online forums.
• National associations such as ASDVS, National Association of Volunteer Programs in Local Government (NAVPLG), National Association of RSVP Directors, VRM-Roundtable, National Organizations Volunteerism Network (NOVN), etc.
• Organized networks of volunteer program managers within a specific national organization.
• Associations in any of the “streams of service,” including student service-learning program managers, faith-based community involvement projects, officers of all-volunteer service clubs, etc. 

Simplistically, therefore, here are some examples:

• A single volunteer center – no; a DOVIA in a single community – yes; a state association of volunteer centers – yes.
• A single agency that involves many volunteers – no; a coalition of staff who manage volunteers in a multi-site, national organization and who have formed an internal network as volunteer coordinators – yes.
• The Points of Light Foundation – no; the Volunteer Center National Network – yes.
• A state Commission on National Service or Governor's Office of Volunteer Services – no; a state association of volunteer administrators – yes.
• One local hospice -- no; a national association of hospice volunteer coordinators -- yes.
• A state association of nonprofit organizations – no; a state association of volunteer administrators – yes.
• It's ok for state affiliates and local chapters of national associations to register for the Congress independent of their national body, as they often have different perspectives from one another and sometimes even have different membership roles.

2. Can more than one representative from our group participate in the Congress?

In order to keep costs at an acceptable level and to assure the best environment for participatory discussion, the Congress is planned for a maximum of 125 people. Therefore, initially, only one designated voting representative per association may register. However, an association may indicate interest in sending additional participants and – if space allows – registration will be open to more representatives a month before the Congress.

However, each association will have only one vote on any matter before the Congress.

If more than one person is in attendance from an association, s/he may be present at all sessions and confer with the designated voting representative to determine their collective position, but only one vote can be cast for that association on any given matter.

All participants, including observers, must be registered for the Congress in advance and pre-pay their registration fees to be eligible to participate. Participants are responsible for their own travel, lodging and related expenses. Media representatives will be allowed to enter upon presenting credentials and will not need to register, except for meals, as applicable.

3. Is it important that I attend for the entire two-days? 

YES. The Congress will be a facilitated process in which each session during the two days will build on the ones before and then produce a collectively-determined outcome. So, in order to get to this product of the Congress it is essential for designated voting representatives to plan to stay for the entire time.

4. How do I register to attend as a representative of our DOVIA or other affiliation?

As soon as all details and costs are final, a registration form will be posted on this Web site.

5. Will associations be able to be represented at the Congress via Internet or conference call if they cannot send a representative in person?

An effort is being made to provide an opportunity for “distance” participation. The ability to achieve this is dependent on securing the necessary funds, expertise, and technology to accomplish this goal. Please submit your association profile and complete the Congress registration form (when available), indicating your need to participate virtually.

6. When is the cut-off date for registration?

The Congress will be held with whatever number of associations are represented. In order to keep contract obligations for notifying the host sites about meal counts and other details, please register as soon as possible. After November 15, 2006, new instructions will be posted to this site about late registrations.

Costs

7.What costs will be incurred by participants and what costs will be covered by the Congress?

Actual registration fees and Congress related costs are not yet known. An effort is being made to secure donations/grants to help cover some of the common costs of the Congress. In any event, participants will need to cover their own travel and lodging costs and other related expenses. The registration fee will be announced when the complete budget and other sources of income, if any, have been identified. The idea is to build a break-even budget for the Congress. Associations sending a representative will want to identify sources of funds to help support the participation of their representative.

Other Questions 

8. Who has planned the Congress so far?

Lengthy discussions were held during the Points of Light conference in Seattle in June about what might serve the needs of the volunteer management profession after the dissolution of the Association for Volunteer Administration (AVA). An ad hoc group with a sincere interest in the success of a new professional association has been formed, all of whom participated in Seattle and want to continue the ideas and collaborative efforts that were started there. Specifically, there is a need to intentionally create a much larger venue for this discussion – not just as part of someone else’s conference and not just via the Web. To begin the work towards such a gathering, the colleagues named at the end of this notice agreed to serve as the initial planning “team.”

The team's sole purpose is to create a venue where representatives of volunteer manager affiliations can assemble in person. The desired outcome will be the creation of an empowered leadership steering committee to carry forth an action plan derived from decisions made at the Congress.

The current team members are:

• Paula Beugen , who participated as one of the off-site telephone participants in the Saturday Seattle meeting, at that time representing the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA)
• Joan Brown of Civic Center Volunteers in Marin County, CA, who was ad hoc discussion leader in Seattle for the Monday evening session
• Victoria Eggleston  of Cedar Mill Community Library in Portland, OR, who compiled the conference survey responses
• Susan Ellis of Energize, Inc., who helped to plan the Seattle meetings
• Audrey Harris , Executive Director (in Chicago) of ASDVS
• Pam Lemp of the St. Luke's Episcopal Health System in Houston, TX and National President of ASDVS, who had originally offered their September conference as a site to meet
• Todd McMullin of Samaritan Technologies, who participated in the Seattle meetings and volunteered his company’s Web services
• Christine Nardecchia of the City of Dublin, OH, who is representing NAVPLG (National Association of Volunteers in Local Government) and who took the minutes of the Monday evening meeting in Seattle
• Betty Stallings of Building Better Skills, who had offered to contact funders for the originally-planned Philadelphia meeting
• Cat Trapp of Girl Scouts Totem Council in Seattle

With the selection of Denver as the site for the Congress, leadership has expanded to include members of the Denver DOVIA, the association officially hosting the event.

9. Is the Congress the same as the VRM-Roundtable? 

No, VRM-Roundtable (www.vrm-roundtable.com) is a separate organization, though they are welcome to send a designated voting representative to the Congress. The Congress is a first-ever attempt to convene existing associations of volunteer program managers in the United States.

10. Why was Denver selected?

The goal was a city that is an airline hub and reasonable hotel and meeting room rates. Due to the capacity, willingness and offer of the Denver DOVIA to facilitate the arrangements for the Congress, Denver was selected.

11. Who are the funders? 

Funders will be announced on this site as soon as they have made formal commitments.

Samaritan Technologies has generously donated their services to create and host this Web site.

 12. What happens after the Congress?

It will be up to the Congress participants to determine what, if anything, will happen next. It is anticipated that leaders will be identified from the Congress to plan next steps.

13. How can I help?

• Provide information about your association of volunteer administrators – or ask the right organizational representative to do so.
• Enter your personal information as someone who wants to be kept informed.
• If you want to help with any of the ad hoc team activities in preparation for the Congress, please contact info@covaa.org.
• Tell as many colleagues as you know about this new effort.
• Keep checking this site for the latest information.