Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’

Seven Essential Principles of Neighboring

Thursday, October 4th, 2012

Yesterday’s post introduced the idea of neighboring. It’s a place-based approach to community problem solving that focuses on individuals’ talents as a resource to improve their neighborhoods.

We’ve found seven ways that individuals, organizations, and businesses can use when working with communities to engage and empower local volunteers and to build effective partnerships with their community. Whether you’re planning a short-term volunteer project or a long-term community initiative, these tips can help bring about real change!

1. Try to understand the language and nature of volunteering

  • Understand the history and culture of the community.
  • Include youth, immigrant communities, seniors, faith communities, and refugees.

2. Overcome barriers to volunteering.

  • Understand the community obstacles. What has traditionally kept people from volunteering?
  • Understand the organizational barriers. Have organizations tried to work in the community previously? What made their actions successful?

3. Empower the community.

  • Create space for residents to own their issues and develop solutions.
  • Support residents to witness the benefits of their involvement.
  • Engage residents in the decision-making process.
  • Mobilize residents around issues that impact them directly.
  • Host community meetings and provide examples of success.

 

4. Cultivate community members’ skills and talents.

  • Acknowledge and build on existing community assets.
  • Help members identify their own skills and talents.
  • Allow residents to have a real role in the partnership.
  • Encourage residents to plan and lead projects.
  • Show the relationship between residents’ skills and project outcomes.

 

5. Strengthen existing community leadership.

  • Cultivate leadership and the internal capacity of community members to lead and engage in community activities.
  • Help develop leadership and recognize different leadership styles.
  • Identify volunteer leadership development training.
  • Encourage leaders to have a leadership role in the partnership.

 

6. Acknowledge that volunteering is an exchange.

  • Offer volunteers something in exchange for the time, talents, and efforts they contribute to bettering their communities. A simple, honest, thank you note is enough to recognize each person’s contribution, but you can always do more.
  • Help people see the benefits of the work that has been done, and the work that they can do.
  • Understand that it’s okay to receive something in exchange for volunteering.
  • Develop mechanisms by which residents receive tangible outcomes such as tutoring, child care subsidies, and job opportunities.

7. Ensure community readiness.

Participate in building the internal capacity of communities to partner with outside organizations and engage residents in community activities.

  • Be patient; community building and resident involvement takes time.
  • Remember that relationship building is a process.
  • Be flexible; survival issues demand time and attention.
  • Help communities resolve conflict that may be preventing involvement.
  • Set your community up for success but accept if it is not ready.

Have you used neighboring practices in your community? Let u know what worked for you in the comments!

 

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Tag — A Game To Restore Idealism

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

Michelle NunnToday’s post comes from Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light Institute and Co-founder of HandsOn Network.  It originally appeared in the Huffington Post on October 28, 2010.

As we approach the election, a barrage of political advertisements and commentary showcase the current and future electoral leaders of our nation.  Unfortunately, the reaction from the majority of the public seems to be one of profound disappointment and a collective shudder.  Politics increasingly feels like a game, but one that is played outside the bounds of civility and with only short-term winners.  And it feels like a game in which the real victory — building a stronger nation — has been lost.  A polarizing media, the lowest common denominator appeal of negative advertising, a trivializing and superficial coverage of the issues, and a failure of political courage all contribute to a disillusioning electoral landscape.

And yet, at a grassroots level, our civic landscape has great vibrancy and there are reasons for both optimism and idealism.  Across the nation, there are individuals, “super-empowered citizens”, who are leading others and creating innovative change.  Each day, Points of Light recognizes some of these outstanding grassroots leaders.  Individuals such as Christopher Fought, who after leading a team of volunteers from Ligonier, IN, to the Gulf Coast to help rebuild in the wake of Katrina, was inspired to mobilize his own community.  He founded Operation Foundation, a week-long clean and revitalization effort to restore Ligonier’s downtown.  With a budget of just under $8,000, Operation Foundation completed $250,000 worth of work in 2009.  More than 600 volunteers, or 12 percent of the town’s total population, showed up to help.

Individuals such as Renee Van Heel, who did not bow to despair when wildfires devastated her community in San Diego.  Instead, she started “Fired Up Sisters,” a group that has grown to include 600 women actively working to get fire victims back into their homes and help fire victims to become fire survivors.

These leaders are emblematic of the best spirit of America.  We need to do more to highlight and lift them up and to follow their lead.  So at a time of political bad sportsmanship and increasing cynicism, I want to encourage people to jump into a “game” that celebrates grassroots leaders and idealism and encourages positive action.  Points of Light Institute is launching the Get HandsOn Tag Challenge, an innovative digital and social media initiative to inspire and engage an extraordinary number of Americans to bring positive change to their communities.  Tag is, more simply put, the game you remember as a youth, but we’ve updated it for the 21st century and added a healthy dose of social consciousness.

With a powerful community-driven website, Tag invites you to create, or commit to, a service project, then “tag” your friends, family members and co-workers to come online and do the same.  The site also lets you connect with other service-minded individuals, share stories of impact and see the ripple effect of positive change.  And although service is a prize in and of itself, we have included some other great prizes to raise the stakes.  But have no doubt, the underlying stakes of this game are high.  Tag is a fun game with serious intent — we are lifting up individuals who are changing the world, recognizing them by “tagging them” and encouraging those that are on the sidelines of change to join in the game.

Beyond the charged rhetoric and the inflammatory electoral accusations, millions of leaders in our communities are quietly tackling tough problems through direct service and creative civic action.  They are gathering neighbors together to re-imagine parks, rallying around local schools to ensure better futures for our students, and helping equip families for financial self-sufficiency through financial counseling.  They are joining hands across differences, political and otherwise, and acting to create practical and pragmatic solutions.

So… Tag, You’re it!  This is a game that will remind you about what really matters.  And perhaps it will encourage you to remember that at its base, the game of elections is about creating positive change and ultimately uniting behind leaders.  Leaders, who like all of us, are flawed, but have stepped into the arena with the hopes of creating a stronger nation.  Join us at www.gethandson.com and let’s unite around something we all can believe in — the power of the individual to create change by serving, advocating, organizing, and voting.

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Powerful Grassroots Voices

Friday, May 28th, 2010

By Zach Maurin, Co-founder and Executive Director of ServeNext, and an AmeriCorps alum

Since my service with AmeriCorps seven years ago and my three years with ServeNext, seeing the impact of individuals and programs has been amazing. Yet, it has been equally inspiring when people across the field come together on behalf of the larger service movement.

I remember being in college in Washington, DC when individuals, programs, and leaders across sectors helped united to save AmeriCorps in 2003.  More recently, our field rallied across the country to help pass the historic Serve America Act. These experiences helped crystallize for me the importance of grassroots organizing around service and the need to remain proactive as a field. We must work together to ensure that those who serve have a voice that is heard by key leaders.

That’s why I’m so excited to announce that last February, thanks to the support of many of those in the service movement, ServeNext won a $50,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project that allows us to launch our most ambitious effort yet: the inaugural year of our Field Corps community organizing program.

Field Corps will recruit, train, and support an annual cohort of community organizers to build and lead local networks.

The goal is simple: so many people care about service that we want to unite that passion into collective grassroots action so that more leaders understand the impact of service programs and more citizens serve.

In June of 2010 we will select 10 organizers for the inaugural year of the program. You can apply here until June 15 and you can also use this online form to nominate others who would be interested.

To create the strongest program possible, we’re looking for exceptional people who are leaders in their communities, but leadership can show itself in all kinds of ways, so traditional organizing experience isn’t required.

We are looking for people who are active in their communities and plan to remain there.

Field Corps is a six month program designed for working professionals, running from August to January, and requires a commitment of about 10 hours/week and includes a stipend.

Organizers will receive extensive training in organizing grassroots campaigns, communication and social media, legislative advocacy, strategic planning and more.

Our search is nationwide as we look for 10 great people to build and lead local grassroots networks in different areas. You can read more about the program at servenext.org/fieldcorps.

This is our most ambitious effort yet and any help towards its success is much appreciated – to Tweet it and to share on Facebook.

Our vision is to build networks across that country that will be permanent, vibrant constituencies to form a powerful grassroots voice for the service movement.

We are excited to get the first year going to help build this momentous period for service and social innovation into long-term public and political will.

We believe that the grassroots is a critical component to make this happen!

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Posted in Equip, News & Links, Service, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Leader, Volunteering, Volunteerism | No Comments »

Can Volunteering Solve Real Problems?

Monday, May 10th, 2010

A couple friends and I have been exchanging emails over the past few days about volunteerism and its ability to solve social problems.

The conversation began when one of my friends sent out an email asking if we had seen the article/excerpt from a book called “The Soul of a Citizen: Volunteering Can’t Solve Our Problems.”

After reading the article, I at first became a little bitter.

I thought – what a very limited view of volunteering!  Volunteers can solve problems! In fact, it is our business to solve community problems.

The excerpt focuses on the failure of volunteer efforts to address the causes of social issues and the author suggests that we need to add a layer – “witness” – to our volunteering in order to leverage our good deeds for large scale social change.

Furthermore, the article implies that too often volunteer efforts treat the symptoms and not the root of social issues.

To illustrate this point, the article resurfaces an old story of community impact.

In the story, some friends are having a picnic next to a beautiful river and suddenly a baby floats past them.

They wade into the current and rescue it, but then they notice there are dozens – hundreds – thousands of babies floating down the river.

The question is, should they put all of their resources into saving the floating babies, or should they take some of those resources and put together a re-con team to go up the river and find out where all the babies are coming from?

When they head upriver and find an ogre tossing in babies, should they let it continue to wreak its havoc, or try to stop it?

The book excerpt asks the question, what if the ogre (or root cause of the problem) is our government or the private sector?

As the article states,

“I’ve seen too many compassionate individuals trying to stem rivers of need, while national political and economic leaders have opened the floodgates to widen them.”

It’s a nice story, and one that speaks to splitting our efforts between direct service and advocacy – but, I don’t think we – or the author – can ignore the multitudes of skills-based volunteers and self-organizing innovators who are already addressing issues far beyond direct service.

My friends and I think that volunteers already have a place at the heart of social change.

Many nonprofit ventures are started as all-volunteer operations – imagining and implementing solutions to problems large and small, global and local.

These volunteers already know that they can make a difference and move the needle on issues like poverty, discrimination, hunger, human rights, and other societal issues.

After my friends and I debated on this issue for a while we agreed on the following major ideas:

First, volunteers need to be better advocates.

Advocacy is a big part of being a volunteer leader and teaching others to advocate for themselves is as equally important.

We also need to embed advocacy into volunteer training. This is what Loeb means by being a witness – described as

“taking these examples and lessons to the village square–or its contemporary equivalent–and then doing our best to convey them to as many others as possible. It means we must refute myths that justify callousness and withdrawal. It also implies that we do all we can to help those who are habitually ignored or silenced to find their own voices and platforms…”

As volunteers and service leaders, we need to get better at telling our story so that the public doesn’t simply see volunteers as feeding the hungry and clothing the poor but also as those who are working on all levels to create lasting social change.

We can’t let the mythology that volunteers are only good for fishing babies out of rivers stand unchallenged – we have the skills, knowledge, and ability to tackle the ogre, too!

We must have a multi-pronged approach to addressing social problems.

Of course we must treat the symptoms and address immediate needs of clothing, food, employment etc. but we also need to get involved in local government and teach others to do the same.

As my friends Rebecca and Melissa say,

“We must make sure that basic human needs are met.  People can’t think about civic engagement when they’re worried about how to stay in their home or feed their kids. Once these are met then we can create a community around civic engagement and empower communities to use their own voice.”

My friends an I also believe that volunteers and service leaders should try to work with existing organizations.

All too often, people have an idea and start their own club or organization.

There’s nothing wrong with being a self-starter, but if there’s an existing framework, joining that group is an instant way to engage those people who are already involved instead of splintering off into smaller and smaller fragments of community.

It’s important to remember that people crave a sense of community.

If civic engagement just adds to our already overwhelming to-do lists, no one is going to want to get involved.

Have a block party with your neighbors!

Share your ideas, plans and resources with the young couple across the street!

Once real relationships are established we can ask people to take on more responsibility, but the relationships have to come first.

Special thanks to my friends Melissa Sines and Rebecca Southers, who always challenge me and helped write this blog post.

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Posted in Equip, Get HandsOn, Service, Volunteer Leader, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 8 Comments »

5 Steps to an Organized Community Volunteer Project

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Do you want to create high-impact, well-managed community projects that make a meaningful difference and engage neighbors and residents?

If so, HandsOn Network would call you a volunteer leader,  someone who sees a local need and takes the initiative to find a solution.

(We love you guys!)

Okay… you’ve identified a need in your community and you want to to meet that need, what’s next?

Step One: Identify Nonprofit or Neighborhood Partners

Contact the appropriate local nonprofit or community organization to introduce yourself and your idea.

For example, if you want to organize a project to capture the oral histories of local seniors you may decide to work with a local senior center.

Similarly, if you want to restore a local stream bank, you may need to work with the local department of parks and recreation and /or the local neighborhood association.

Schedule a meeting to discuss your project idea and determine the next steps.

Ask what other stakeholders should be consulted and involved.

If you’re working in a community, strongly consider holding a meeting to discuss your idea with residents and be sure to incorporate their leadership, ideas and support.

Step Two: Initial Site Visit

Work with your partners in advance to plan the project.

Determine what date(s) and time(s) you will hold the project and begin to develop an understanding of how you will manage it either on the day of the event or from one session to the next.

On your way to the site, take note of any odd driving directions. Providing this information will keep your volunteers from getting lost on their way to the project.

During the site visit, ask questions that help you understand the agency or neighborhood’s greatest needs and the ways that your one-time or ongoing volunteer support can have the greatest impact.

Consider using the HandsOn Project Work Scope Planner to break your project down into tasks, estimate the number of people needed for each one, the amount of time each will take and estimate the materials needed.

Carefully consider the types and amounts of materials you’ll need to complete each of the project tasks so that your volunteers will have what they need when they show up to help and you can make the best use of their gift of time.

Brainstorm with your agency partner about how to secure the needed tools and materials.

Can the agency provide them?

Can you ask volunteers to bring tools from home to support the project?

Can you work together to solicit the support of local businesses?

Determine the type of participation that you can expect from the agency during both the planning phase and the project itself.

Will they have supervisors and potential agency / community volunteers to work with you at the project?

Make sure you exchange contact information and plan your next meeting and the next steps.

Step Three: Recruit Your Friends to Help

In order to lead a great one-time or ongoing service project you’ll need volunteers!

It is important to develop a volunteer recruitment strategy to ensure a successful project.

If you have too few participants, the project will likely go unfinished, but too many will likely mean that some will have little to do and might feel that their time was ill spent.

To prevent this, consider organizing a volunteer registration process.

This can be as simple as you keeping a list or spreadsheet of the names and contact information for those that signed up.

Alternatively, you can experiment with online tools such as or Volunteer Spot.

Pre-registering volunteers also enables you to talk with interested volunteers about the skills, supplies or friends they might be able to bring to the project.

If your project is small, you may be able to both organize the project and recruit the volunteers.

However, if your project is large, requiring many volunteers, you might really benefit by identifying an individual who would be willing to lead volunteer recruitment for you.

Consider recruiting a volunteer to serve as The Official Chairperson of Volunteer Recruitment.

[Real leaders empower others, right?!!]

Here’s a long list of recruitment ideas.

Step Four: Advanced Preparation

Call your agency contact to review project details and confirm logistics.

Arrange for the agency or neighborhood representative to prepare a brief presentation thanking your volunteers for coming and explaining how their time will contribute to the overall cause.

Schedule a final site inspection if necessary.

Pick up any tools and materials that have been donated or arrange to have tools picked up and delivered to the project site.

Make sure all tools and materials are at the site, in your possession (in the trunk of your car!) or otherwise immediately available.

Make any final calls to landscapers, gardeners, painters or other specialists you have recruited.

Think through contingency plans for inclement weather, too many or too few volunteers showing up on the day of the project and any other potential problems you can anticipate.

Confirm event logistics and details with volunteers.

Strategize about how you will manage your volunteers at the project. How will you make it such a great experience that volunteers return again and again?

Consider planning a group discussion at the end of your project,  structured time for volunteers to think and talk about what occurred during the project.

This group conversation can often deepen volunteers understanding of the social issue your project addressed and increase their commitment to service.

Step Five: Manage the Project

  1. Arrive at your project site 30 minutes to one hour early to set up.
  2. Have all tools and materials ready and waiting at the location where a particular task will take place.
  3. Have all volunteers sign an attendance sheet and put on a name tag (including yourself).
  4. Have an agency / school representative speak to volunteers about the school or agency, their mission, their struggles, the difference volunteer efforts will make, thoughts on safety and any other announcements.
  5. Be a leader:
    a. Know your outcome and convey it to your volunteers.
    b. Be organized and assign / delegate work to your volunteers.
    c. Keep the work moving on schedule.
    d. Have fun and encourage volunteers to do likewise.
    e. Give positive reinforcement.
  6. Be a public relations agent for your project with volunteers, agency reps. and interested community members.
  7. Bring a camera and take pictures.
  8. Be sure to start clean up efforts at least 30 minutes before the scheduled end of the project.
  9. Hold a group discussion before volunteers leave.
  10. Have volunteers complete an evaluation form before they leave the project site. This will help you and your agency partner evaluate what went well and what you might improve next time.
  11. Leave the site clean and in a “finished” state.
  12. CELEBRATE!

What additional suggestions do you have?

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Posted in Equip, Service, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Leader, Volunteer Management, Volunteer Project Development, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment »