The past couple weeks I facilitated (as a consultant with JBS International) small group discussions in four cities designed to gather stakeholder input – part of a series of 15 Community Dialogues being hosted around the country by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) as part of their 5 year strategic planning process.

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act outlines 6 priority areas in which the service and volunteerism programs funded by CNCS (AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps VISTA, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America) will be focused moving forward – Education, Healthy Futures, (Economic) Opportunity, Veterans, Disaster Preparedness, and Clean Energy.  In each area, CNCS has identified draft key objectives that are felt to be areas in which targeted service and volunteerism can truly move the needle and make a significant contribution.

(Chart from CNCS Strategic Plan Fact Sheet.)

The small group discussion processes I have been facilitating seek input on whether the key objectives for success in 5 years seem sound, if there are other key objectives that should also be considered, and what stakeholders view as the challenges and opportunities available for programming in these areas.

Stakeholders invited to participate include a broad range of organizations – representatives of state service commissions, CNCS state offices, National Service programs, corporations, foundations, local and state government officials, community-based organizations, and faith-based organizations.  It has been very interesting to me to hear the differences in need and perspective based on regional differences and local needs as groups engage in the dialogue and I am processing the collected data.

I have been impressed with the quality of input the invited stakeholders have offered, the openness in which Patrick Corvington – CNCS CEO, Board members, and senior staff have received the input, and the real time revisions of the preliminary key objectives the agency is doing based on the input they are receiving.  Well done all around!

If you would like to provide input on any of these focus areas, CNCS has set up a website to collect public feedback.  Click here to go to that site.  CNCS is also hosting a series of webinars also designed to collect stakeholder input.  The dates of the webinars are:

• Education: Tuesday, July 13 at 2:30pm EDT
• Opportunity: Wednesday, July 14 at 1:30pm EDT
• Clean Energy: Thursday, July 22 at 2:00pm EDT
• Healthy Futures: Tuesday, July 27 at 1:30pm EDT
• Veterans: Thursday, July 29 at 1:30pm EDT
• Disaster Preparedness: Wednesday, August 4th at 1pm EDT

For information about how to access the webinars, click here.

Next week, I travel to Indianapolis to facilitate another Community Dialogue.  Later in August, I will also be in Detroit, Flint, and New Orleans for their Community Dialogues.  Makes for a busy summer…and I love doing this work!

The time is now to re-tool business and nonprofit relationships to make them more win-win and sustainable.  Therefore, I am conducting an online survey of nonprofit staff and/or board members about their experience with business partnerships.  I’d love to know more about what your organization’s experience has been – the success and challenges – as I am developing new materials to help nonprofits and businesses engage together more effectively.

Also, if you are open to being interviewed and featured on my blog, www.BusinessGivingStrategies.com, please provide your name and contact information at the end of the short survey.  If you complete the survey, I will be sure you get a copy of the final report as well as a downloadable eBook on ways to engage with businesses as a thank you.

To take the survey, go to: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AVN23WCEL.

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE!!

At the Target for Good Party at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in NYC, I got the chance to taste both new Ben & Jerry’s flavors: Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder.  Very tasty!!  And I love what this promotion supports!

Target and Ben & Jerry’s have partnered to offer two new, exclusive ice cream flavors at all Target stores nationwide.  The super premium ice cream flavors, Berry Voluntary^® and Brownie Chew Gooder^®, will be available throughout 2010 in mini cups and pints.  For the Target news release click here.  I could find no reference to this partnership or new flavors on Ben & Jerry’s website.  In fact their most recent press release posted was from 4/20!  Sheesh!

Berry Voluntary is raspberry cheesecake flavored ice cream laced with white chocolate chunks and raspberry swirls.  Brownie Chew Gooder is vanilla caramel ice cream with fudge brownie pieces, finished with a caramel swirl.   Mini cups will be available for $1.25* and pints will be priced at $3.50*.  I ate two mini cups at the Party and they both were delicious!

From the Target press release, “The partnership symbolizes each company’s shared commitment to volunteerism.  Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder were specifically created to encourage guests to volunteer in their local communities through a special promotion called “Scoop it Forward.”

Guests simply visit www.VolunteerMatch.org/scoopitforward to find volunteer opportunities in their neighborhoods.  After registering for a specific volunteer activity, and forwarding the opportunity to five friends, that person and each of his or her friends will receive a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, redeemable at Target stores, while supplies last.  After that time, guests will still be able to participate in the “Scoop It Forward” promotion, and will receive a $1 off coupon in recognition of their volunteer efforts.”

So eat some ice cream, feel virtuous, and support volunteerism!

Last week I attended the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New York City with almost 6,000 other people from the nonprofit, government, and business sectors.  I usually am presenting or facilitating sessions at these conference so it was a real treat to actually get to attend some sessions this year!

One session I especially enjoyed was the panel on “Understanding the Talent Benefits and Metrics of Pro Bono Engagement: Develop Your Employees and Measure Your Success” facilitated by Lindsay Firestone of Taproot Foundation.  One of my specialty skills areas is metrics and the evaluation of social programs from both the nonprofit/social impact and business perspectives – so I always appreciate hearing about advancements in the field.  The panelists were Janet Donovan Katsakis from Merck, Evan Hochberg from Deloitte, Matt Hines from Capital One, and Farron Levy from True Impact.  After opening remarks from each panelists, we were able to select two mini breakout sessions.  I first sat with Lindsay and Diana Fischer, an AmeriCorps fellow from Taproot Foundation.  The following table and report in its entirety can be found at http://www.probonoactiontank.org./pro-bono-standards/.

The Taproot folks were sharing the results of their 2009 collaborative work with the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) to establish a definition and valuation for pro bono service.

They have calculated an overall average of $120/hour for pro bono service provided to a nonprofit organization.  This compares to the Independent Sector‘s  hourly average value for “hand on volunteering” of $20.85.

If your employees are providing professional services to your nonprofit partners, you now have an approximate value to use to help you estimate the contribution you are making to the community.  This $120/hour figure is especially useful if you are not a professional services firm and do not already have market values assigned to the skills your employees could be providing through pro bono service.

But remember, if your CEO or other executives are helping paint a fence, you need to use the $20.85/hour figure, not a percentage of their salary or the $120/hour average pro bono value as they are providing hand on/manual labor not skilled services – even if they are good painters!

I hope you find this information helpful!

Last week I attended the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New York with almost 6,000 people from nonprofits, business, and government. One of the highlights for me was attending Target’s Party for Good at Basketball City – Pier 36 in NYC on Tuesday, June 29th.

Party for Good was a combo service project and party benefiting Feeding America, Food Bank for NYC and City Harvest.  According to the Target press release, “The ‘Party for Good’ allows Target to expand our commitment to combat hunger and its impact on children’s academic achievement,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the National Conference on Volunteering and Service and the Food Bank For New York City on this unique service project.”

Target provided busses from the conference hotels across town to Pier 36 where we met by enthusiastic Target ambassadors in red employee volunteer shirts holding bullseye signs.  Basketball City is a HUGE place and it was packed!!  Target provided a great free buffet spread of chicken, burgers, salads, and desserts plus an open bar.  Through out the evening, the tunes were cranking and there was live entertainment with celebrities including “The Insider”, Lara Spencer, American Idols’ Katharine McPhee and others.  The energy was high and everyone was having a great time!  Including me!

The 5,000+ attendees were each expected to roll up their sleeves and pack at least 3 boxes of food to meet the 150,000 meal goal, which translated to more than 4,000 meal kits. Each kit provided a family of four with three meals a day for three days, and included items from Target’s Archer Farms and Market Pantry owned brands, such as oatmeal, multigrain pasta and canned chunk white tuna.  I was really impressed with how organized the meal packing was!  Amazing how smoothly it worked!!  They had two packing sections on each end of the hall.

So how did it work?  First, when we were ready to start packing, we got in a line and were handed one of the boxes you see in the photo.  Then we took our box through the line where a Target employee would place whatever item they were responsible for in a predetermined spot inside the box.  We were basically the manual labor making it happen.  After passing through about 8 food stations, Target put a flyer in the box to tell the recipient where the box came from, and we handed it off to the Target tape brigade who taped it shut and got it loaded onto the semi truck trailer.  Really well organized – I was totally impressed how smoothly it all worked!

So after after box one, back in line to do the next one.  The wait got longer after each round for me but the music was cranking so I was dancing in line and saying hi to so many people I know from 15+ years working in the nonprofit and National Service field!  It was a total blast!

Target made it really fun every time a benchmark was reached – up on the jumbotrons they showed slides “25,000 meals packed” and the place erupted into loud cheers.  25,000, 50,000, 75,000, 100,000, 125,000…the cheering got louder each time as we neared the 150K goal.

From their press release, I learned that “Party for Good” is an extension of the Target Meals for Minds initiative.  Launched in May 2010, the innovative partnership with Feeding America and local food banks will bring food to schools to feed students and families most in need.  This fall, Target will expand Meals for Minds into more schools across the country to help nourish young minds and ease the impact of hunger on academic achievement. Target also is working with Feeding America to develop a toolkit to help hunger organizations expand these types of programs to assist more kids and families in need.  In 2010, Target has committed $3.5 million, through Target Meals for Minds and other school-based food programs, to combat the impact of hunger on a child’s learning, and the company is projected to donate more than 20 million pounds of food to children and families in need.”

Thanks, Target!  GREAT job!