InformOntario SymposiumInformOntario Symposium

June 20, 2014

VISIONVISIONTo create a dynamic online volunteering community that will motivate, inspire and celebrate volunteering in Ontario.

Volunteer Gateway Volunteer Gateway What is it?What is it?

The Volunteer Gateway will be:

A tool for prospective volunteers to find available volunteer positions in the province.

An online library of resources for volunteers and volunteer management professionals.

A way to showcase volunteering in Ontario and to engage the overflow of volunteer interest for the Pan/Para Pan Games (100,000 anticipated volunteers/20,000 volunteer positions)

Primary Objectives - Primary Objectives - MCIMCI

1. Offer one-stop access volunteer matching services - enhancing volunteer experience and organizational impact.

2. Provide the private sector with opportunities to access corporate volunteer opportunities - strengthening the sector and corporate interest in supporting it.

3. Facilitate access to volunteer resource materials - building capacity by creating a one stop place to find much needed resources.

4. Connect Pan/Parapan American Games volunteers and overflow volunteer applicants with other volunteer opportunities - leveraging this enthusiasm and opportunity to the benefit of communities across Ontario.

Partnership ObjectivesPartnership Objectives1. Foster coordination and collaboration within the not-for-profit sector and beyond for public benefit;

2. Build not-for-profit sector capacity;

3. Support new ways to reinvigorate Ontario's tradition of volunteering;

4. Leverage technology to breakdown silos, increase transparency and share information/resources;

5. Leverage and build upon existing not-for-profit sector strengths;

6. Building sustainable solutions within the not-for-profit sector.

Project TimelineProject Timeline

Our PartnersOur Partners 5 of 7 - 211 Provincial Partners:

Community Connection Community Information Centre of Ottawa Findhelp Information Services Information Niagara Lakehead Social Planning Council

Ontario Volunteer Centre Network (OVCN)

Ontario 211 Services

Our PartnersOur Partners Sport4Ontario

York University & Ryerson University

Collège Boréal

Ontario Coalition of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI)

Others Pending

Our Collective Our Collective StrengthStrength

211: network of 30 plus partners across Ontario & database of almost 60K human and social services

OVCN: network of 8,400 organizations; 2,500 member agencies through 24 OVCN members

Sport4Ontario: membership of 50 plus sport networks and organizations connecting to Ontario’s 6,500 plus sport groups

OCASI: network of 230 organizations in Ontario reaching Ontario’s newcomers

Collège Boréal: network of 43 satellite offices, engaging Ontario’s Francophone community

Who will do the work?Who will do the work? Findhelp: Existing management team members to

ensure we meet timelines.

Part-time secondment from OVCN through Liz Dennis, Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington

Part-time consultant from the volunteer sector - Lianne Picot

Leadership from other partners on working groups including Ontario 211 Services and York University

Others to be determined

Partnership PrinciplesPartnership PrinciplesCommitment to:Leveraging existing skills in the sector and within our partner organizations.

Utilizing this initiative to further enhance partner and sector skills.

Partnership Agreement: A collaborative of partners with strong values and principles, that participants are pleased to be a part of.  

A process that focuses on the value and assets of the participating organizations based on open communication, mutual respect and productivity.

Commitment to effective communication, mutual respect and productivity.

Why Now?Why Now?One of the key recommendations of a recent pan-Canadian study on volunteering recommended that greater online engagement would help to improve the volunteer experience.

“…fostering meaningful volunteer engagement in Canada today is not just a capacity issue, but also a strategic one that must evolve with the trends to meet the needs of both organizations and volunteers themselves.”(Bridging the Gap, Volunteer Canada, 2010)

Why Now?Why Now?The next step in the development of collaborative

partnership between 211 Centres and Volunteer Centres

Has potential to expand upon a previous collaborative project: 211 and Volunteer Centre Services Report and Tool Kit

Gateway grew from consultations between Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and the volunteer sector

211 and Volunteer 211 and Volunteer Centre Services Report Centre Services Report

and Tool Kitand Tool KitReport Highlights:online volunteer opportunity databases and a repository of information about volunteering would support volunteering in locations without volunteer centres

Project partners agreed that: those interested in volunteering and organizations wanting to share information about volunteer opportunities should be provided with a pathway to do so

Findhelp & 211 Interest Findhelp & 211 Interest Leverages the skills and abilities of the sector and

project partners: o Builds the technology capacity of the sector, leveraging Findhelp’s experience

and capacity supporting provincial initiativeso Leverages the 211 provincial database of almost 60,000 programs and

serviceso Showcases and leverages the experience of OVCN and it members

(not intended to compete with this)

Positive and proactive response to funder pressures to collaborate (integrate, merge, amalgamate) in order to achieve system “efficiencies”

Aims to maximize the impact of the non-profit sector for the benefit of Ontarians, building our sector’s reputation as a solutions provider and building public benefit

OVCN InterestOVCN Interest Two Pan-ParaPan Am Games and Legacy projects support

core aspects of the work of the OVCN and Volunteer Centres o Recruiting and Retaining volunteers (Gateway)o Recognizing volunteers (PREB Ontario)

Offers an unprecedented opportunity to profile volunteering in Ontario

Leveraging Technology to provide support for volunteers, particularly in regions not supported by a Volunteer Centre Service

Opportunity to demonstrate the value added by systems/capacity supporting organizations to the nonprofit sector.

Volunteer Gateway Volunteer Gateway Project – Next StepsProject – Next Steps

Engagement Activities:•Blog to engage our stakeholders in the development of the Gateway

•Recruit Community Champions

•Content strategy that will showcase volunteering in a new way and market opportunities effectively

•Storytelling to share impact of volunteering

Questions/Comments?Questions/Comments?

Thank You!Thank You!