Philanthropy Front and Center - Washington, DC

September 11 -- National Day of Service and Remembrance

September 11 has been designated by the Obama administration as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. People all across the country are encouraged to participate in the call to action by getting involved in their own communities. To learn more about this initiative, read the press release describing the nation’s first federally recognized 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Here in the Washington area, you can find out about volunteer opportunities and other ways to participate from Greater DC Cares. The Foundation Center-Washington is partnering with Greater DC Cares on this initiative by offering a special training session on Proposal Writing Basics, along with a tour of our library/learning center. You can find more information about this session and other volunteer programs on the Greater DC Cares web site.

You still have time to participate, so register now. Help transform a day of sorrow into a day of service.

Listen! Aaron Hurst, Taproot Foundation Founder, Gives Advice for Making the Most of a Volunteer Workforce

For the latest installment of our Philanthropy Chat series, Janet Camarena, director of Foundation Center-San Francisco, interviewed Aaron Hurst, founder and CEO of the Taproot Foundation. The mission of the Taproot Foundation is to strengthen nonprofits by engaging business professionals in service. Aaron discusses lessons the Taproot Foundation has learned over the last decade of managing volunteer teams, the current climate for corporate philanthropy and workplace volunteering, and how nonprofits can most effectively harness the volunteer talent that’s currently on the market.

In addition to finding the Foundation Center's Philanthropy Chat podcasts here, you can also subscribe to them at iTunes, or via our feed.

In addition to finding the Foundation Center's Philanthropy Chat podcasts here, you can also subscribe to them at iTunes, or via our feed.

Voices from the Field: Making the Most of a Wave of Volunteers

Aaron Hurst, founder and CEO of the Taproot Foundation, writes about how a confluence of factors including inspiration from President Obama's Serve America Act to the ongoing recession have led to an abundant supply of volunteers for the nonprofit sector and the challenges the sector faces in making the best use of this new wave of volunteers. His Op-Ed piece appears in the current issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy and outlines the lessons the Taproot Foundation has learned about managing volunteer teams effectively in its eight years of providing pro bono service grants to more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations in seven cities around the country.  Read more.

Tell us what you think. Do you have more volunteers than you can handle? Or are you having a hard time matching your organizational needs to the types of things your volunteers are interested in doing?

(Thanks to Janet Camarena, Director, Foundation Center-San Francisco, for sharing this post)

Tell us what you think. Do you have more volunteers than you can handle? Or are you having a hard time matching your organizational needs to the types of things your volunteers are interested in doing?

(Thanks to Janet Camarena, Director, Foundation Center-San Francisco, for sharing this post)

National Volunteer Week, April 19-25

Established in 1974 by former President Richard Nixon, National Volunteer Week has grown in scope each year drawing the support and endorsement of all subsequent U.S. presidents, governors, mayors and other elected officials. This year's theme is "Celebrating People in Action."

Two significant national celebrations fall during National Volunteer Week: Earth Day and Global Youth Service Day. Earth Day, commemorated April 22, is an opportunity to celebrate the positive impact volunteers can make on the environment. Global Youth Service Day, commemorated the weekend of April 24-26, is an annual international event that highlights and celebrates the ongoing contributions of youth to their communities through volunteer service and service learning.

The Points of Light Institute has posted a resource guide with project ideas, suggestions of ways to recognize volunteers, press release templates and more.

For general information about volunteers and volunteer management, search the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature, the Center's bibliographic database, for the subjects "Voluntarism” or Voluntarism-administration."

Some recommended books in our collection:

• Herman, Melanie L., Peggy M. Jackson, and Barbara B. Oliver.  No Surprises: Harmonizing Risk and Reward in Volunteer Management. Washington, DC: Nonprofit Risk Management Center, 2006. 
• McBee, Shar. To Lead Is to Serve: How to Attract Volunteers and Keep Them. South Fallsburg, NY: Shar McBee, 2002

Share your plans to honor your volunteers this week—or at any time. And don't miss our special program on working with volunteers this Thursday, April 23, at 12:00 noon. We will have representatives from Greater DC Cares and the Taproot Foundation as speakers. Bring your lunch, we'll provide the drinks!

(Thanks to Kayron Bearden, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta, for sharing this post.)