RSVP-Senior Corps Alert- March 2011

Dear RSVP Volunteers,

As you read this, our Federal Legislators are grappling with some of the largest budget deficits our great country has ever seen. They, actually WE, are faced with difficult and likely some painful decisions. We know we will all have to make sacrifices. And we know that there are likely areas that could be more efficient and financially prudent.

What we hope is that as these difficult choices are made, they are made based on; what is best for our communities, what most effectively leverages all of our available resources, and long range visions, rather than short term fixes. One area that we see evidenced daily as a cost efficient SOLUTION to meeting pressing community needs, is the power of volunteers. YOU are our countries greatest resource. And we are also painfully aware that volunteers, in the vast majority of cases, need a quality infrastructure and support system in order to maximize their impact. Ask anyone who has ever had a frustrating volunteer experience for proof of this.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is the Federal Agency that sponsors National Service programs including Americorps, RSVP, Senior Companions, Foster Grandparents, Learn and Serve and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). These programs mobilize thousands of volunteers across every state, every day. They provide the infrastructure to assure that these volunteers are able to serve in ways that address the greatest challenges, in cost effective and solution oriented ways. CNCS is one of the programs that was considered for complete defunding. Hopefully as you read this, CNCS is recognized and funded as a cost effective solution with a high return on investment.

Regardless of where the budget process is at, you can call or email your congressional representatives and legislators to let them know about the difference YOU make in your community as a volunteer. Tell them that our schools, food shelves, parks, libraries, aging citizens, veterans, virtually all members of our communities, are served by and benefit from the work of dedicated National Service Volunteers. Thank them for their support and service.

Keep in mind that the current Continuing Resolution ends April 8th:

Please call, fax, or write a letter to your representative and Senators Klobuchar and Franken outlining the following:

© You have been an RSVP volunteer at ______ (volunteer site) for how long________ and you volunteer _____hours per week.

© How does the community benefit from your volunteer service and the organization you volunteer with? (Include a story that illustrates the impact of your volunteer work on the community.)

© How do you personally benefit from participating in the RSVP program with your volunteer site?

© Ask them to save The Corporation for National and Community Service and its programs like RSVP.


Our Senators are: Al Franken 202-224-5641 and Amy Klobuchar 202-224-3244. Prefer email? Their websites have links for emailing them directly.



Your Representatives: Type in your zip code to find your local representative:

www.Votesmart.org

Sealing the Deal with Potential Volunteers

According to the Rule of Seven, “a prospect needs to see or hear your marketing message at least seven times before they take action and buy from you.” Once they take action though, you must be prepared to make the final sale. Let’s think about that in the sense of a potential volunteer. When a potential volunteer notices our marketing tools and they call us, are we effectively “sealing the deal” to get them connected with a volunteer opportunity? I have been with RSVP as an AmeriCorps VISTA for about seven months and this is something I struggle with. Quite a few times I have had a person call in to me after seeing our PSA in the paper or one of our flyers (note that they called me, meaning that they are obviously already interested); so I’d explain the program, send out an application in the mail, and wait, without hearing anything back. Was there something I could have done differently?

I found some helpful tips online. Tips for Volunteer Coordinators, Utilizing Your Most Valuable Resource. The tips seemed so obvious after reading them, but maybe I just needed to see them AGAIN. Two of the tips really stood out to me and warranted a deeper look.

1. Make it easy for people to volunteer.
2. Ask people to volunteer in areas they are passionate about.

Part of the reason the RSVP program exists is to eliminate the barriers that older adults have to volunteering, essentially what Tip #1 says. Here’s how:
• Have opportunities in the communities they live in.
• Work within their time availabilities.
• Prove that volunteering will be worth their time and that they will be making an impact on the community and the organization.
• Provide perks or deals to get people to volunteer (travel reimbursement, recognition events, trainings, etc.)

And here is how we cover Tip #2:
• Have opportunities that meet their many skills or interests.
• Give the opportunity to provide change in areas that are meaningful to them (grandchild’s school, environment, neighborhood clean-up, etc.)

I knew these were the things RSVP did, because I had been told, and because it’s on our flyer. But what did it mean? How were we actually doing all of the bulleted items above? I realized that (and it’s so obvious) I had to understand the product before I tried selling it! I had to get out in the community, do visits with our nonprofit partners, understand what types of positions they needed volunteers recruited for, and converse with my coworkers so I knew what they were doing as well.

Being a connector group for older adult volunteers and nonprofits in the community, you play a lot of phone tag. You have to get to know your volunteer, find a perfect volunteer opportunity for them, see if the opportunity is still available with our nonprofit partner, give them the volunteer’s information, and then follow up to see if it was a good match or if you need to find something else. Then once a good match is made, help the volunteer understand they are a volunteer at XYZ Agency, and they are also an RSVP member. Here are some things that we are doing to help make this work:

• Meeting with the potential volunteer in person. Getting to know them face to face and making them feel they are worth our time, because we are asking for theirs. This also helps make them feel like an RSVP member, not just a volunteer at the agency where they volunteer.
• Creating a universal application with our partner nonprofits. This way the volunteer doesn’t have to fill out an RSVP application and then fill out all the same stuff on an application for the agency they will be volunteering at.
• Using a call-log system to track the number of phone contacts it takes before a volunteer gets signed up with one of our partner nonprofits. Less is best!
• Having good, effective, “to the point” materials that highlight our program and the areas of great need in the community.

And before I let you go, here’s a tip I learned from my own experience (don’t judge, I’m sure I’m not the only one) which doesn’t need any further commenting: Follow up in a timely manner!
Danielle Schminkey
Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)
RSVP and MAVA