Flanked by former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Edward Kennedy, President Obama signed legislation recently that will fund the largest expansion in volunteerism and civic engagement since the New Deal.
This new law comes just in time.
Like other states around the nation, Colorado is feeling the effects of the recession. Nonprofits in particular are caught in a vise, as donations and staffing decrease while demand for food, housing and other critical services increase. Nearly 40 percent of Colorado nonprofits fell short of their 2008 revenue goals, according to a recent survey by the Colorado Nonprofit Association. At the same time, 50 percent have seen major supporters reduce or eliminate their donations.
How can we ensure critical community services flow to those in need? Both President Obama and Gov. Bill Ritter’s Commission on Community Service have named volunteerism a key part of the solution.
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which the president signed this month, is the first bill to make a direct national investment in volunteer infrastructure. It establishes a Volunteer Generation Fund to support local volunteer centers and expands AmeriCorps over the next eight years.
Similarly, the Governor’s Commission on Community Service said in its report this month that enhancing volunteer infrastructure and providing leadership and development training were two critical needs that should be addressed in the coming years.
We need to provide volunteer training and support nonprofits in developing the right management tools to identify and draw upon volunteers’ skills. Nonprofit organizations not only need our financial support, but also our talents to meet the needs of today and accomplish shared goals for the future.
To support Coloradans in that goal, Metro Volunteers has teamed with project leadership consulting firm Point B Inc. to launch the first Project Leadership Program for volunteers in the nation. This training will incorporate class discussions, fieldwork and apprenticeships with seasoned project leaders to equip participants to direct community service projects.
Graduates will build nonprofit capacity, and organize volunteers for a variety of projects such as leading renovation efforts for local public schools. These volunteer project leaders will have the skills to assess organizational needs, make critical decisions and manage volunteer teams. They will make significant contributions to our community and receive, in turn, the satisfaction of knowing they made a difference.
Point B Inc. donated its services to the Project Leadership Program because its associates believed that using their expertise to equip nonprofits with trained leaders would make the greatest difference. Kaiser Permanente is an example of another organization that has donated the unique skills of its employees by staging free metrowide community clinics.
At the individual level, more than 200,000 Denver-area residents have volunteered through our organization in the past 15 years. They have tutored at-risk youth, fed the hungry and provided accounting, legal and marketing services to nonprofits in need of their help.
Metro Volunteers is challenging the community to increase its volunteerism by 25 percent in the next three years. Sign up for the Project Leadership Training Program. Look for opportunities to volunteer at the Metro Volunteers website (www.metrovolunteers.org). Create an employee volunteer program for your business. Train to serve on a board of directors. It’s up to you.
A new day of volunteerism has arrived, and business and community leaders are answering the call to service. The question is, will you?
Deborah Dale Brackney is the chair of the Metro Volunteers board of directors and vice president of the Mountain States Employers Council.
