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This July, the Corporation for National and Community Service (NCS) published Volunteering in America – 2007 City Trends and Rankings. In his opening message, NCS CEO David Eisner urges “local leaders from the government, nonprofit, and private sectors” to use the report to develop volunteer growth strategies. Note that “government” is listed first. Public sector employees are uniquely fit to volunteer. Most already have a strong sense of community, inside knowledge of regional issues and crises and a keen desire to serve the public. One can almost guarantee that, at any philanthropic special event, there are probably several public sector employees helping out. But as Eisner notes, “the number of adults who volunteer has dipped recently.” A recent Harris Interactive poll supports this statement. According to the survey, 49% of US adults make only “small” contributions of time and 12% don’t volunteer at all. Eisner issues a stern warning, “Our failure to retain more volunteers from one year to the next is cause for concern and should serve as a wake-up call to all … that care deeply about addressing the nation’s most pressing needs through volunteering.” And the organizations that should care the most about the nation’s needs are government agencies. Creating an employee volunteer program (EVP) at your department or agency is one way to promote the rewarding benefits of community service. Of course, establishing a strong EVP isn’t easy, but help is available. The Points of Light Foundation, NCS, United Way, and the Hands On Network are a few of the agencies that offer suggestions, best practices and, in some cases, regional support. Kathy Chow, Director of Hands On Sacramento, is more than willing to work with an agency to develop a project that best fits its employees. “Hands On [Sacramento] has over 300 partnering agencies, including local governments and nonprofits, that have volunteer opportunities available,” she says. “But if you don’t see any program that your employees might be interested in, we can build one.” To help assess the climate for employee volunteering within your community, NCS recommends joining a local Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC). Despite the ‘corporate’ label, public agencies could find membership in a CVC useful. CVCs act as forums for sharing ideas between volunteer coordinators and give an indication of some of the issues facing EVPs in the area. Chow, who facilitates the CVC of the Sacramento Region, recently led discussions about methods to recognize employees who volunteer and the challenges of motivation. Having an EVP in place, however, does not guarantee success. Veronica Lara and Patricia Williams spearhead employee volunteer efforts at CPS Human Resource Services as a part of its Community Action Network (CAN) program. “It’s difficult to get people motivated and involved,” Lara says. “And, of course, the claim of not having enough time is an issue.” The NCS report reiterates this claim and, in particular, cites the negative effect of long commute times on a person’s ability to volunteer. For agencies like CPS that offer employees time off during the normal workday to volunteer, the conflict between getting one’s job done versus helping the community becomes an issue. Anita Clay, Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s (SMUD) Employee Volunteer Program Coordinator, agrees. “One of our biggest challenges is release time so employees can volunteer.” Williams adds, “Taking time off during the day requires a supervisor’s buy-in. Feeling guilty about volunteering shouldn’t be a problem.” The Points of Light Foundation agrees – getting top management support is one of the group’s recommended building blocks for the success of an EVP. Despite the challenges of implementing an EVP, however, the positive results far outweigh the negative ones. Countless studies, available through various service agencies, tout the benefits of employee volunteering – to the employees themselves, the organization itself and, of course, the community at large. For example, Clay cites the success of SMUD’s annual clothing drive. “Employees donate gently used clothing to assist clients entering or reentering the workforce. All clothing is pre-cleaned and placed on hanging racks, she says. “In addition, last year we collected $7,000 for the non-profit involved.” Lara gives a personal twist to the success of CPS’s EVP. “We had two employees who had never volunteered before joining teams at Loaves and Fishes [a local homeless shelter] serving lunch to homeless clients and at the Chalk-it-up event [which benefits local schools’ art programs]. They both had a blast and want to volunteer some more.” Every year, The Points of Light Foundation gives awards for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs. On average, at excellent EVPs, 32% of the employees volunteer, and each of these employees contributes an average of 16 hours per year. The annual People Helping People Awards in Sacramento honors organizations for achievements such as 150 years of employee volunteer efforts and providing their employees with unlimited time during workdays to volunteer. Impressive numbers... numbers that public sector agencies should have no trouble matching. Links for more information on EVPs National: Sacramento:
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| © 2007 CPS Human Resource Services |