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A great volunteer program does more than invite the community into an organization; it welcomes community members to share in your mission. The Volunteer Catalyst encourages nonpro ts to think differently about volunteer engagement. By connecting individuals’ skills and expertise to agency needs, volunteers can tackle in-depth projects: marketing plans, IT support, financial audits, and more.
What is a Service Enterprise?
“A Service Enterprise is an organization that fundamentally leverages volunteers and their skills across all levels of the organization to successfully deliver on its social mission. These organizations are more adaptable, sustainable, and capable of scaling their impact. They also operate at almost half the median budget of their peers.”
- Points of Light Service Enterprise Initiative
How can nonprofits develop the most effective Service Enterprise model?
To meet the need for volunteer management resources, Hands On Nashville and the Center for Nonprofit Management partnered to create the Volunteer Catalyst using Points of Light curriculum. This catalyst builds nonprofit capacity and helps organizations address community needs through volunteerism.
The Volunteer Catalyst provides participating organizations with:
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A thorough research-based assessment of existing organizational volunteer engagement practices called the Service Enterprise Diagnostic;
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16 hours of cohort-based training to assist in reimagining volunteer engagement;
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10 hours of individualized coaching provided by CNM consultants to address unique organizational opportunities and challenges; and
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National Service Enterprise Certification signifying the organization’s proficiency in leveraging the time and skills of volunteers.
The 2017 cohort members have been selected; stay tuned for information about the next Volunteer Catalyst.
Questions about how you can be involved? Reach out to Josef Kaul at josef@hon.org.
