Nill, Stephen - Musings on AVRM

Things only seem quiet....

editors@charitychannel.com — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:36:47 GMT

If one were to judge progress merely by viewing these blogs, one might conclude that not much is happening. Actually, things are just really hectic behind the scenes.

For example, the association recently incorporated as a nonprofit corporation. I am one of the three initial board members, just to help get things started.

Volunteers are hard at work on the bylaws, the federal exemption application, and the upcoming conference. I've been helping to create the new membership and conference registration systems that will be up on this site in the next few days.

So, it's just busy busy busy! But things are moving forward. Okay, I have to get back to the gears and wires of the registration system....

The News Conference Registration System is Now Live!

editors@charitychannel.com — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:41:15 GMT

The new AVRM conference registration system is now live, giving colleagues the opportunity to register for the conference right here, on the site.

What I love about this project

editors@charitychannel.com — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 00:35:00 GMT

I love the inclusiveness of this project. I got a note from one of the team leaders, asking if we could....

What I Love About This Project

editors@charitychannel.com — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 23:45:00 GMT

A team leader contacted me today and wanted to know if...

So, What is this "Congress" thing and why can't we all just get along?

editors@charitychannel.com — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 19:00:00 GMT

At the outset, let me again mention that I'm writing for myself here. I do not speak for the Leadership Team, though I am a non-voting member. Rather, these are just my own thoughts in this blog.

A colleague, referring to the VRM Roundtable project and another project, Congress of Volunteer Administrator Association ("COVAA"), just posted to the VRM-ROUNDTABLE public discussion list:

I also am curious about these two groups. Is there any particular reason two separate entities are being formed to serve the same audience? Shouldn't we be collaborating on such a huge endeavor?

Can anyone elaborate on where the breakdown of communication is happening that prevents the Task Force of the VRM-Roundtable and the group behind the COVAA from working together on the creation of one single organization?

To the naked eye... It seems two groups are duplicating efforts, not sharing much information and will ultimately be created to serve the same group of professionals.

The VRM Roundtable project has been in full gear since March, 2006 and is operated in an open, transparent, and inclusive manner. Its central goal is the creation of a new professional association of US volunteer resources managers. Working with DOVIAs, chapters, state associations and similar organizations is a core undertaking of VRM Roundtable. In fact, there is a Task Force called the DOVIAs/Chapters Team. It's among the most active in the VRM Roundtable project, and was the motivating force behind the recent creation of the new Registry.

My understanding of COVAA, which is a much more recent project, is that it is a single event. From the COVAA web site: "The Congress of Volunteer Administrator Associations (COVAA) is an event. It is a first-ever convening of official representatives of existing associations of volunteer program managers throughout the United States."

Okay, let's look at this more closely. The VRM Roundtable project is creating a new professional association to direclty serve US volunteer resources managers. The COVAA project is creating an event not for volunteer resources managers per se, but for DOVIAs and similar organizations. These are very different missions, but with one important area of overlap: Both projects recognize that DOVIAs, chapters, state associations and similar associations are integral to their projects.

So, how would these projects somehow work together? Celeste Sauls-Marks, the Team Leader of the Leadership Team, has invited a leader (any leader) of COVAA to join her in a public dialog by recorded teleconference. The recording would then be streamed on the VRM Roundtable web site and made available to the COVAA web site. The invitation was not accepted, with no explanation provided.* That's too bad, because a recorded, professional-level discussion between the two project leaders would have been very healthy for the profession. Maybe the idea will be revived. Hope so.

Additionally, COVAA could telephone Celeste and invite her to attend the gathering and represent VRM Roundtable there. I don't know if it fits in Celeste's schedule but the gesture at least would be well received.

I agree that a duplication of efforts should be avoided. However, it's a huge sector and it seems to me that there is bound to be a certain amount of duplication as the natural result of different visions for how best to serve volunteer resources managers. I think that's okay.

_______________________

*In going back into my emails, I find that an explanation was provided. However, the person asked me to keep it confidential, and I always honor such requests.

What is CharityChannel's Role in the VRM Roundtable Project?

editors@charitychannel.com — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 14:51:00 GMT

Every now and again I'll get a question about the role that CharityChannel is playing in the VRM Roundtable project. I don't mind the question, but it does get a little tiring to keep repeating my response. So maybe if I just post it to my blog, I can send folks here and save us all some time!

In a nutshell, CharityChannel is a major corporate sponsor of the VRM Roundtable. To date, CharityChannel has contributed in excess of $100,000 in technological support and professional advice and assistance.

More importantly, the CharityChannel professional community, which has a very large professional body of volunteer resources managers in its ranks, has come together with colleagues from many other affiliations to create a new, independent, professional association that we can all be proud of. You really can't measure that kind of can-do and hands-on "just make it happen" spirit and energy; if you could, it would dwarf the financial resources that have been contributed.

The VRM Roundtable project is fully independent of CharityChannel. It is governed by a Leadership Team, the members of which were selected from each of the Task Force teams. I personally serve on the Leadership Team at its pleasure, as a volunteer. I do not have a vote.

I am very glad to see the wonderful progress being made by the VRM Roundtable project, and am fully committed to helping in any way I can. It will be wonderful to see the new assocation open its doors and begin serving US volunteer resources managers.

We've built a new Registry for DOVIAs, Chapters and State Associations

editors@charitychannel.com — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:29:00 GMT

I'm pleased to announce the roll-out of the new DOVIAs/Chapters Registry system this morning. Working with Karen Kelly, Team Leader of the DOVIAs/Chapters Team, and Celeste Sauls, Leadership Team Leader, we designed a system that fully automates the process of contributing a listing to the Registry. With full automation, a representative of a DOVIA, Chapter, State Association or similar association can instantly a listing, and even log back in later to change it.

Here's how it works:

An authorized representative of a US-based DOVIA, Chapter, State Association or similar association signs up as a Registry Contributor on the Add Your Association's Listing page. The new Registry Contributor, upon registering, is immediately taken to the listing form.

The listing form asks for:

the type of association,
its name
its acronym or other informal name
a description of the association's service area
the states served by the association
meeting details (such as where, when, who may attend, whom to contact, and so on)
the contact information for the association
any additional information that the Registry Contributor would like to add about the association.

The system enables the Registry Contributors to edit using word processor-like tools, from their web browser. They can also include hyperlinks and email links, if they wish.

Updating the Registy Listing

The Registry Contributor essentially "owns" the listing, and can return any time to update or even delete it.

To ensure that listings are legitimate, a volunteer with the VRM Roundtable project, called the Registry Editor, approves all submissions and updates before they go live in the registry.

Fully Searchable

The new Registry lists associations alphabetically. A search box enables colleagues to enter in any criteria they want, such as, say, a state name. It will then list just those associations that meet the search term.

Help Spread the Word!

This is a new Registry and we need your help in spreading the word about it. You can help by letting your friends and colleagues know about it!