Find news you can use on a variety of topics; opportunities to raise money, changes in postage rates; statistics and facts that impact volunteer programs; and more.

~ August 2007 ~ Topics

Training Galore for Managers of Volunteer Programs
Congress of Volunteer Administrator Associations (COVAA)
Hands On Network to Merge With Points of Light

• Earn a certificate as Washington State University in its Volunteer Management Institute for managers of volunteers in Spokane, WA, November 6 - 9, 2007. Designed to accommodate beginning managers, as well as those with more experience, it is an in-depth look at the new forms of volunteering and how to manage the episodic and traditional volunteer. Sign up now for a price break with early bird registration. For more information visit the Web site at: http://www.emmps.wsu.edu/volunteer/.

• Thursday, August 16, 2007, "New Vitality for Volunteer Programs: New Models, New People, New Strategies," Nancy Macduff, Trainer, 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., for more information contact Barb Bush at: volunteercenter@clearwire.net.

• The Association for Volunteer Resource Managers Conference, October 3 - 5, 2007 in Dallas, TX. For more detailed information go to: http://avrm.org/.

• Wednesday, October 3, 2007, "Revitalizing Your Government Based Volunteer Program Using the Multiparadigm Model of Volunteering," Nancy Macduff, Trainer, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Southside Conference Center, Dallas, TX. For registration information go to: http://avrm.org/.

This association of volunteer administrators has been hard at work building the infrastructure of this new organization for managers of volunteer programs. A visit to their Web site at http://www.covaa.org/ reports on the work of their committees in goal setting and there is a another report on a Leadership Retreat held in June in Las Vegas. It is a detailed report of their plans to organize and move forward in engaging members.

In Philadelphia, during the National Conference on Volunteering and Community Service the Hands On Network and the Points of Light Foundation announced mutual board approval to merge their two organizations. The announcement transforms the landscape of the volunteer sector, creating a network of 370 affiliate organizations covering 83% of the US market.

Michelle Nunn, co-founder and CEO of Hands On Network, will lead the new organization. Ray Chambers, a philanthropist, will serve as the new organization's chairman of the board during the integration period.  Neil Bush, CEO of Ignite! Learning in Houston and son of former President George H.W. Bush, will serve as vice chair. The two organizations merged on July 31 with the new organization's fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2007. During the transition, the new organization will be known as Points of Light & Hands On Network.

"The time is ripe for us to re-imagine how we can create exponential versus incremental change in volunteerism and civic participation," says Nunn. "Combining the unique strengths and assets of both organizations gives us the opportunity to realize our vision of a world in which all individuals discover their power to make a difference and are equipped as active, engaged citizens."

"The two organizations hope to redefine volunteer service, inspire civic action and dramatically expand the scope of volunteer contributions within the nonprofit sector," adds Terry Williams, interim CEO of the Foundation. "A united Points of Light Foundation and Hands On Network hopes to shift organizational, societal and political realities to create a new culture of service."

The boards of both organizations say the new organization expects to:

• triple National Service Member impact resulting in 30 million national service volunteer hours;
• create a model to increase corporate volunteering by ten percent;
• recruit, train and place 500,000 new volunteer leaders over three years; and
• triple volunteer placement efficiency through seamless and scaled technology tools.

The merged organization will spend the next 100 days assembling its board of directors, creating a robust national staff team and initiating dialogue with the volunteer sector to shape goals that demonstrate the potential impact of the new entity.

For more information on the Points of Light Foundation, visit http://www.PointsofLight.org.