Latest News | September 2022

We had the pleasure last week of presenting at the Alberta Museum's Association virtual conference where we talked about where we currently stand in our Anti-Racism journey as white settlers working in a colonial sector. We had been supported by Moyo (https://www.bloomworld.org/bloomteam) around the importance of sharing stories, struggles and learnings. To be honest, and to build community through that honesty and vulnerability. It seems timely then to share what one of us will be doing this Friday, there are plenty of event lists and resources online; Google is your place for that and certainly everyone should feel free to spend the day how they need or want. We as a team will certainly be spending it in varied ways ...

We are a shift working household, my partner will be wearing an orange shirt into their workplace. 

I will be spending time in nature with my daughter, niece and nephew. We are planning to read Shi-shi-etko by: Nicola I. Campbell to them. My sister owns a chunk of land in Alberta as a direct result of intergenerational wealth built in our family due to our white grandparents who came to Canada from the Netherlands and Ireland respectively. As adults, we will be reflecting on the profound impact that intergenerational trauma has on the day-to-day existence of all of us in the communities we live and work in. 

Is it enough? It certainly does not feel like it. The work continues on Saturday. 

Coming to, what we all hope is, the emergence from a global pandemic I’ve seen a resurgence in the term “capacity building” across the sector. Maybe that’s because there is a desire to fill the obvious funding gaps with something familiar. Maybe it’s because our capacity as a sector was shown to be lacking through the pandemic. Maybe it’s a distraction.

While we talk a lot about volunteers getting connected, humans in the center and providing capacity through a digital transformation . . . we still undertake a lot of capacity building as a team. In fact, we do more capacity building today than we once did 10 years ago but the principles are the same. Here they are:

• We know that change is rooted in local interactions. Particularly 1-2-1 interactions that help new knowledge take shape. This approach to change is articulated by Ralph D Stacey as he explores effective organizational change.
• We know that learning happens at the pace of the learner and when they determine for themselves that new skills are required. For all our neurodivergent friends out there who tried to succeed inside the system of K-12 education we sympathize with you. That is not a system designed for the pace of the learner but rather as a conveyor belt as articulated best by Ken Robinson.
• Finally, we know that for most people empathy, compassion and even love are required. This is found in our own training, our own journeys over the last decade. Being available for what another human is experiencing and coaching them where to focus energies  and find new resources, through compassion, is the most effective way to provide practical support everyone calls capacity building.

You can see in those practical applications of theory the threads of Training, Consulting and Coaching. Those are the words most offered in capacity building services. In our world when you see “email us” this is what we mean.

Remarkably, over 5,150 individuals representing community organizing tapped into our team’s capacity building efforts in 2021. That number is already growing in 2022 as we all seek to emerge stronger from a pandemic and face the worst economic crisis in 80 years.

As always, in volunteerism if you are feeling lost or unsure of what next . . . reach out to the team info@volunteerconnector.org.

You are invited to a webinar hosted on Zoom by our very own Katie Dodd - Volunteer Recruiting and Organizing in a Post-Pandemic World - a session designed to help you make the most of the powerful tools the VolunteerConnector has to make every recruitment effort that much more successful.

• Did you know that volunteer interests are shifting at a rapid pace?
• Did you know that there is an increase of volunteers this year looking for that right opportunity that fits them just right?

Join Katie on September 27th at 10:30am (mst) to learn more.

ZOOM REGISTRATION

This fall, many of you are looking for event volunteers. We are in a similar position. Here in Alberta the AGLC runs opportunities for volunteers to run a casino and the nonprofit group receives a portion toward their organization. Many charities, school parent councils, sports orgs and more participate in this fundraising effort. No surprise, it requires volunteers to ensure a successful event!

You can view our posting here: https://www.volunteerconnector.org/calgary/volunteercalgary

Once your posting is live . . . here is a quick look behind the scenes of how your new and current volunteers will be organized:

First Roles will be created

Next Assign those Roles to your volunteers as new ones apply or to existing volunteers who are opting into this event

Be sure to check out the full list at a glance of all the Roles filled and those yet to be connected with

Second create a Schedule if your event has shifts as our does

From there offer shifts in the Schedule to those who have applied but not yet picked there time 

From there, watch your event fill up and be sure to share on your social media platforms so the people who are most interested in your cause will see yet another way to support it!

As always, if you need additional support with any of this we are just a quick email away: info@volunteerconnector.,org. 

It is back to school week through much of the country, the bells are ringing and the classes are beginning. September can feel more like a fresh start that the turning over of the calendar to a new year. The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling off, we are all pulling out our cardigans and anticipating Taylor Swift's new album. The other thing we are all still doing over here at VolunteerConnector is still learning, still trying, still working away at decolonizing volunteerism. Here are two things that have got us thinking, reflecting, changing and talking this week:

Martha Cecilia Ovadia shares her brilliance on a grief we in the charitable sector do not speak enough about in her blog 'Phantom Impact Syndrome' and also reminds us to say the things we are sitting with even if we do not think it is fully ready. 

Mutale Nkonde and Sareeta Amrute join Jessie Daniels to discuss her book Nice White Ladies: The Truth about White Supremacy, Our Role in It and How We Can Help Dismantle It. Systems that do seem​ universally beneficial (like the 911 Emergency Call System) can also have roots in racism and white supremacy. 

If you have something we should read or listen to, let us know!