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Join us on Wednesday, September 27 at 11:00am MST for a symposium  This will undoubtedly be a moment to remember as an extraordinary group of humans who have profound impact in their communities gather to share insights, illuminations and lessons from the past. Take this opportunity to shift your understanding and feel invigorated about the work of compassion and causes. This imagining is meant for anyone and everyone who engages other humans in community work; volunteer managers, grassroots organizers, community leaders, executive directors, board members, civil workers, people who work in the charitable sector, volunteers, people who care about their community but are not really sure what that looks like! 

The symposium will feature ten, 3 minute moments (think TikTok but with the lens of social justice and belonging), a full some space for conversation and parting thoughts. 

To read more about the people involved and register click here. 

email for more information.

Have you ever wondered what the value of a digital transformation looks like? Well here are some numbers to answer that question. It's not always our fav, in this sector, to quantify in $$ the value of the work . . . but occasionally a board or a funder requests it to gain a better understanding of the impact or reach of the organization.

• The value of volunteer labour provided by our matching services is estimated to amount to $1.6 billion, since September 2019 when we began tracking this measure.
• Over the same period of time, the cost savings for organizations who used our recruitment services was estimated at $9.0 million.
• Regional partners, our peer capacity building organizations, across Canada saved an estimated $4.7 million through our collaboration efforts.

For every dollar investors contribute to Propellus we return 486% in cost savings and labour value to the sector. These staggering figures reflect the value of long-term collaboration and the power of digital transformation inside the charitable sector. (**compared to 31% in 2016)

Our 2022 AGM is coming up on June 1. Join us as it will include:

• A brief business meeting
• A presentation of the year in review
• A discussion on how to use our/your data to support volunteer recruitment to your cause

See you all there: REGISTER

Sharing and learning with our fellow humans is one of our most favourite things here at VolunteerConnector. We love hearing how organizations and communities are navigating the world. It is also fun for us to share what we have been working on! We have some opportunities coming up to create spaces for building understanding and relating. Please feel free to join us for any or all and to let us know at info@volunteerconnector.org if there is something you want to chat about! 

We know where some volunteers are! 

Festivals, Fairs, Rodeos Oh My!

Tips and Tricks for Boards 

Can I ask you a question? 

In celebration of National Volunteer Week I had this great idea of visually displaying the thousands and thousands of different roles that humans have connected with over the past year via VolunteerConnector. Alas, it turns out that a 100 page pdf is pretty hard to condense in a way that is not just a black void so here we are, a bejewelled valentine of sorts as a deep and heartfelt acknowledgement (with a couple of those volunteer roles inside the heart).

To the people who wake up in the morning and think about someone else, to the person who wakes up and sees a gap in their community and tries to fill it, a person who speaks out at town council on causes they care about, the person who manages social media for the group that does not really know about this space, the person who hears a neighbour has a bunch of sick kids and leaves some muffins, the people that use their skills on boards, the people who share their community stories, the list goes on and on. You not only make people’s lives better, you make our communities places of comfort and belonging, you make other people want to keep going, you create places and spaces where people feel safe. So from our hearts- thank you. Profoundly thank you for being the reason we get to exist. Thank you for believing that changing our world is possible. Thank you for trying. 

We don't often talk about the $$$ required to run the VolunteerConnector. The last few years have been especially lean, requiring our board to approve targeted investments into the life of the Connector. What you may not realize is that, as a registered charity, we are almost 100% funded through grants and donations. It also means that every upgraded subscription goes right back into the development of the features and future plans of the platform.

Every single investment in the the VolunteerConnector enriches the lives of every Albertan as barriers to volunteering get further reduced. These investments echo not just this year or next but through to the next generation of volunteers looking to engage in community.

Yesterday we received some welcome news. We were approved for an Alberta CIP Grant! Thanks to the team at the Alberta Ministry of Culture.

So, ever wonder what happens when the government grants to a cool place like the Connector … it means improved access to volunteering for everyone! Not only that, thanks to our many and growing Regional Partners across the country it means that access to volunteering improves for all Canadians!

Here's a sample of our 2022 Year in Review:

Looking forward to even more to celebrate in 2023! Its off to a great start!!

Your VolunteerConnector Team

This blog post is a two parter - shout out to boards and highlighting some cool opportunities on VolunteerConnector so here we go! 

We are heading into board recruitment season, lots of organizations and causes are looking for lots of positions. If you are reading this and don’t think you belong on a board or you don’t have the “right” qualifications, you are EXACTLY the person who should be there! So think about using that board filter at the top of the page and finding a cause that resonates with you. If a board feels like too much commitment- hooray for being honest about how much energy you must commit. Many boards also have committees where you can lend your expertise, perspective and lived experience. 

Alright, part two - here are some opportunities that we don’t see every day and sound cool to us:

Love the term “relational rockstar” -

Social Media Coordinator

Use your design skills to help an awesome national organization - 

Volunteer with Canada Confesses' Design Team!

Give some time and enjoy the theatre - 

Theatre Attendant

Volunteer as a family! - 

Literacy for Life Foundation

Happy Volunteering,

Your VolunteerConnector Team

There are new opportunities posted on VolunteerConnector every single day! If you are not seeing something that resonates with you check back the next day and no doubt something will be there that makes you excited to give your time. We occasionally feature here on the blog opportunities that we find interesting. Here are a couple that are fascinating us this week!

If you are free this weekend and in the Greater Toronto Area, check out Canada's largest HIV Youth Conference

Would be very cool to be a part of public art through this opportunity from Activism Through Technology and Art Society

There is a lovely place in Alberta affectionately known as S'more and it is the latest Regional Partner to join us here on VolunteerConnector. Some fun facts about Strathmore; 

• the original townsite was located 6km north of its current location due to an irrigation system
• it hosts a great rodeo every summer
• it has a restaurant with train car in front
• they have been on VolunteerConnector for less than a week and they already have 4 organizations recruiting and 317 volunteers looking for opportunities! Go Strathmore Go!

Interested in your community joining the VolunteerConnector team? Get in touch info@volunteerconnector.org 

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.