Dancing with Unusual Partners (Part 1) – Volunteer Centres

One of the challenges of working collaboratively in community is that most of us move quickly to the work and spend less time scanning the community to both identify and connect with unusual partners. Recently, I had the opportunity to present to the Corporate Council of Volunteer Canada. This second presentation occurred just a couple of days after a meeting with leaders of volunteer centres in Canada. 

Now I have to confess, I know a little about the work of Volunteer Centres as I was the Executive Director of a Volunteer Centre in Hamilton Ontario earlier in my career. It was a little bit like re-encountering a familiar old friend. 

Volunteer Centres, while they do not exist in every community, can play a pivotal role in collaborative and collective impact efforts if we think a little creatively.  One of the core functions that a Volunteer Centres undertakes in a community includes recruiting volunteers and matching them with community opportunities.  They are also experts in building local capacity for effective volunteer programs.  I learned, at the meeting of Volunteer Canada’s Corporate Council that many centres are also engaged in employer supported volunteer initiatives. 

An integral strategy to community change and collective impact efforts is the engagement of citizens and the business community.  Volunteer Centres can provide useful services here.  Volunteer Centres are also aware of the scope and scale of community-based organizations.  This can save considerable time and effort as community service mapping is important in the early stages of building a common agenda approach.  Rather than reinvent the wheel, connect with your local volunteer centre when launching a collaborative or collective impact initiative. 

Look for those unusual partners in your community, they can often help you advance your collective impact efforts forward more quickly and provide you with a perspective of your community that you did not have before. 

Specialized contributions Volunteer Centres may have for Collaboration or Collective Impact Initiatives

• Understanding of volunteer engagement trends and professional practices
• Capacity to support the development of a volunteer engagement with training, consultations and resources
• Connections to specific volunteer groups including youth, seniors, diverse populations, schools and various others depending on the priority focus of the volunteer centre
• Connections to a network of volunteer administrators across the community
• Recruitment of volunteers to the core collaborative or working groups
• Strong, connected network of community organizations
• Deep understanding of the community infrastructure of organizations
• Connections to local corporations through Employer Supported Volunteer Programs
• Engagement in volunteer recognition activities through but not limited to National Volunteer Week

Find the closest volunteer centre to your community by visiting Volunteer Canada.