| Q & A with Boomer Expert Jill Friedman Fixler |
 Last month VolunteerMatch teamed up with Jill Friedman Fixler, author and noted expert, to publish Boomer Volunteer Engagement, a new guide to collaborating with older adult volunteers. Recently we spoke with Fixler about what the impending retirement of 77 million Boomers means for today's nonprofits. |
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| VM: Why did you write the book? |
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| JFF: In my consulting practice and in the 22 years that I was a director of volunteer service, I observed that the traditional approach to volunteer management was not as effective with Boomers and the generations that follow as it was with older volunteers -- and yet, I knew that Boomers and beyond have tremendous skills and passions to share with nonprofits. I wanted to give nonprofits the tools needed to successfully harness the abundant talents of Boomers in order to meet their current and future challenges, while fulfilling their vision and mission. |
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| VM: Why is it so challenging to engage Baby Boomer volunteers? |
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| JFF: Boomers want to use their influence and skills to better nonprofits. When they are assigned low-level positions, Boomers drop out because their expectations for volunteer service do not correlate with the reality of their volunteer experience. Boomers don’t want to be managed. Rather, they want to collaborate with nonprofits for powerful results. |
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| VM: How does the book help nonprofits change the way they work with volunteers? |
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| JFF: The book opens with an overview of research and trends in Boomer engagement. A needs assessment tool and guidelines for establishing a staff and volunteer task force to shepherd the process of creating a culture of volunteer engagement are provided. Each subsequent chapter outlines another step in the process of organizational change including: developing the work plan; creating high impact opportunities; cultivating volunteers; analyzing Boomer motivation; finding the fit; and nurturing the relationship. The book culminates with a process for sustainable innovation. The book offers a hands-on approach and includes 14 downloadable interactive worksheets. |
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| VM: Who should buy your book? |
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| JFF: CEOs of nonprofits, board members, staff, and leadership volunteers. Everyone who wants greater organizational capacity for their nonprofit. |
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| VM: Do you have any success stories? |
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| JFF: We worked with an RSVP program in a rural farming community in Colorado. Their director has embraced working with Boomers and is establishing a computer training program for farm wives who need to learn basic computer skills. The school district donated computers that were being replaced. Boomer volunteers who are computer savvy teach Boomers who need technology skills. The farm wives will use their computer knowledge in their agricultural businesses and in second jobs to augment their farm income. It has been a tremendous success! |
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| Learn more about engaging older adult volunteers. Boomer Volunteer Engagement is now available at http://www.BoomerVolunteerEngagement.org. |
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You can also sign up for a free VolunteerMatch Webinar hosted by Jill Friedman Fixler:
Engaging Boomer Volunteers: Collaborate Today, Thrive Tomorrow
Wed., 7/23
11 AM - 12 noon
Register
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 Where Are You? |
| Get on the Map with Search Maps |
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Many organizations are failing to take advantage of an important new tool at VolunteerMatch.org. Make sure yours isn’t being left behind.
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VolunteerMatch Search Maps, a new feature found on our Search Results page, help volunteers see opportunities displayed visually using Google’s innovative mapping technology. Now volunteers can see in a glance what’s convenient to their home, work, or school.
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| Sounds convenient, right? But there's a problem: Search Maps rely on the physical address of your opportunities, and many of you aren’t including the address in your listings! |
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| Although some organizations have important reasons for not including their addresses, many probably don’t realize know that volunteers can now use a map to select an opportunity. Adding an address only takes a few seconds, and it could help an amazing volunteer find you. |
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| Take time today to make sure you’re showing your community how easy it is to get involved and make a difference. Log in, add your address, and get on the map! |
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| Places to Be |
| 2008 NY Nonprofit Boot Camp, 8/16 |
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With so many nonprofits today there are surprisingly few opportunities to gather and learn as a united community. Craigslist Foundation Boot Camps are increasingly serving the vital social need of bringing together leaders of grassroots organizations to learn and network.
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On Saturday, August 16, New York University will host the 3rd Annual New York Tri-State Area Boot Camp. On October 18, San Mateo, Calif., will host a Boot Camp for West coast organizations. Both events are designed to educate and empower the next generation of nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs, connecting them with valuable industry resources, peers and potential supporters.
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| Over 1,000 emerging and established leaders will be at NYU. Event organizers are packing in a full day of interactive workshops, panels, and seminars into seven distinct learning "streams" including Nonprofit Basics, Fundraising, Big Ideas, Technology, Social Entrepreneurship, an Exhibit Hall, and One-On-One Coaching. |
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| In the Exhibit Hall, VolunteerMatch's Torrey Lippincott and Robert Rosenthal will join 50 other vendors, partners, and sponsors in outreach to the conference-goers. Stop by for a demonstration of some of our new features like Ratings & Reviews and RSS -- or just to introduce yourself! |
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| Registration for both the New York City and San Francisco events is now open. Attending requires a subsidized registration fee of $75 for each attendee. You can also learn more by visiting the Craigslist Foundation Web site at www.craigslistfoundation.org. |
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| Nonprofit Spotlight |
| Donna Bartos, Purple Ribbon Council |
| The commitment to fight for a cause sometimes comes out of a long struggle. Other times it's born in an instant. In Donna Bartos’ case, the path to her calling was a little bit of both. |
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| In 2006, Bartos, a Phoenix-area homemaker and former fundraiser, was at a seminar about a philanthropy program called Cut It Out, a domestic violence education program for salon professionals. That night memories came flooding back to her. |
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| "I realized I was one of the 'silent victims,'" she recalls. |
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| Throughout her high school and early college years, Bartos hid the secret that "under a facade of excellent grades and a packed social calendar," her boyfriend had serious anger issues. He would slap Bartos and generally degrade her. |
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| Like many victims of this kind of abuse, she believed all the while that she could change him. |
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| Eventually, in the fall of 1993, he smashed Bartos’ head against the concrete floor. That’s when she finally saw clearly how dangerous the relationship was and that she needed to get out. |
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| Domestic abuse kills four women a day in the United States alone. For Bartos, becoming active on the issue was perhaps the only way to make sense of what she had gone through. Not long afterward, she created Girls Night Out to Cut Out Domestic Abuse and a companion agency, Purple Ribbon Council. |
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| With turn-key grassroots awareness and fundraising events to empower others to break their silence, Girls Night Out to Cut Out Domestic Abuse offers by-ticket-only affairs -- bringing together advocates, volunteers and communities of concerned citizens.The events are hosted by Girls Night spas and salons, with food and beverages sponsored by local businesses, information on local shelter and prevention resources, education on how to recognize domestic abuse, and more. |
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| The Purple Ribbon Council channels fundraising from Girls Night Out events to important programs designed to elevate public awareness of domestic abuse. |
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| Bartos says she’s already received dozens of qualified referrals from her VolunteerMatch account. |
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| "I am so grateful to my friend for introducing me to VolunteerMatch," she says. "I can now recruit volunteers in cities across the U.S. to help launch GNO to Cut Out Domestic Abuse awareness events in their communities." |
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| At VolunteerMatch, we’re honored to support Donna Bartos and more than 59,000 organizations united in dedication to the causes and concerns that so desperately need to be addressed in today’s society. What about your cause? Update your listings today and get into the fight. |
