By Jocelyne Daw
volunteer-calgary
This June I was pleased to be the keynote speaker at Volunteer Calgary’s 2011 Annual General Meeting. Volunteer Calgary is one of North America’s outstanding volunteer centres with a history that dates back over 50 years. Volunteers are a central element in building a breakthrough nonprofit brand.“The Value of One … The Power of Many” is at the heart of Volunteer Calgary’s brand. (http://www.volunteercalgary.ab.ca/) Like any breakthrough brand, they don’t just say it, they live it by what do, how they act and interact with their member organizations and the thousands of volunteers who benefit from their work.What was the core message for those working with volunteers? A breakthrough nonprofit brand (BNB) believes in the power of many and meaningfully engages a critical mass of people in its cause. Inclusive, not exclusive, it creates owner-based relationships with volunteers; rather than experiencing themselves as mere names on a list, volunteers feel pride of ownership and view the organization as an extension of themselves and a means to achieve goals they value.The most successful nonprofits distribute power to shape the brand through tools, resources, and training that encourage creative engagement. Meaningful two-way engagement accomplishes far more than any controlled message from the top ever could. By empowering an army of volunteers who call the organization their own, a BNB causes people to take another look and creates waves of new recruits eager to commit to the cause. A BNB turns volunteers into a true community of champions.I am pleased to share with you my presentation – available for your consideration and benefit.// <![CDATA[var host = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://secure." : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + host + "wufoo.com/scripts/embed/form.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));// ]]</p></div>