Issue #5 - May/June 2007

Mission: The Volunteer Centers of Michigan strengthens, develops and connects volunteer centers throughout the state.

Vision: Volunteer Centers of Michigan ensures all volunteer centers have the capacity to positively impact every Michigan community and their citizens through volunteerism.

Looking for a way to reinvigorate your summer youth program?

The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network have identified eight critical elements of effective service-learning projects. Consider these techniques as you develop your programs to keep youth engaged over the summer months.


Community Voice and Need- Engage the community in identifying their needs to provide authentic learning opportunities for young people.
Learning Objectives- Develop learning objectives to identify what young people will learn on a personal social and intellectual level.
Youth Voice & Planning- Listen to and engage youth in the planning process to provide more ownership and learning opportunities.
Orientation and Training- Present information about organization, issues and skills required to provide effective service and maximize learning.
Action- Plan meaningful service experience to include important logistics, such as age appropriateness, transportation, supervision and risk management.
Reflection- Facilitate a process where young people use critical thinking skills in order to learn from their service experience.
Evaluation- Provide an opportunity to asses process (what did we do and how could we have done it better?) and impact (how have we and the community changed?).
Celebration and Recognition- Reinforce the value of their service and their connection to the community.

Keeping these service-learning elements in mind, we can build and improve on our existing summer programs. We are fortunate to have within VCM, wildly different and very successful youth programming. VCM has identified three successful programs located within our network. The following can serve as models as we reach out to keep youth engaged.

The Government and nonprofits have traditionally been partners in meeting the needs of Michigan families. We have worked together to sustain and improve the quality of life in our communities. But with a combined state budget shortfall of nearly $3 billion during this fiscal year and next, we're at a crossroads where one wrong turn could have devastating results. Important programs and services that are funded or partially funded by the state have been receiving cuts for years. We've reached a point where continued cuts are no longer an option unless all Michigan residents are willing to accept decreases in the level and quality of education, health care, culture, environment, natural resources, social service programs, and the many other services currently being provided to them.  The Michigan Fiscal Responsibility Project believes there are:

10 things every Volunteer Center should know about the budget:

1.   Michigan has cut its budget by 40 percent over the last six years.
2.   Michigan is not a high-tax state.
3.   Low-tax states tend to be poor states.
4.   College education = prosperity.
5.   Cutting state spending means cutting local government services such as police
      protection.
6.   Cutting state health care funding doesn’t really save the state or its families’ money
      – it just drives up health insurance premiums, eliminates good jobs, and worsens the
      health of Michigan residents.
7.   Michigan’s budget problems are largely due to tax cuts, not economic problems.
8.   Michigan’s political leaders don’t control a $40 billion budget.
9.   Michigan state government today is in many ways smaller than 10 years ago.
10. Michigan citizens believe investment is the key to economic growth.

Sign On Letter Urging No More Cuts

Volunteer Centers of Michigan, The Michigan Nonprofit Association and over 160 other organizational leaders from across Michigan  have signed a letter to the Michigan Legislature, urging no further budget reductions and the consideration of generating more revenue through a close examination of the state's fee and tax structure. Click here to download the letter.

To add your organization's signature to this letter, email your name, title and organization to taurora@mnaonline.org.

Target Store Arts Grants
Target funds arts programs that bring the arts to schools or make it affordable for youth and families to participate in cultural experiences, such as school touring programs, field trips to theater or symphony, or artist residencies and workshops in schools. Programs that make the arts accessible to school children are of particular interest. Target will accept grant applications until May 31, 2007 for programs taking place between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008. Most grants average between $1,000 and $3,000.

For more information visit: http://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-001818

CVS/pharmacy Community Grants
Community Grants target effective and innovative programs that align with CVS philanthropic values and criteria. The 2007 Community Grants Program will focus on two key areas. Consideration will be given to programs that provide healthcare services for uninsured people, or programs that target children under age 18 with disabilities that address any
of the following:

• Public schools promoting a greater level of inclusion in student activities and extracurricular programs
• Health and rehabilitation services- to promote independence among children with disabilities including physical and occupational therapies, speech and hearing therapies, assistive technology and recreational therapies
• Creating opportunities or facilities which give greater access to physical movement and play

Proposals will be accepted through October 31, 2007. For more information visit http://www.cvs.com/corpInfo/community/community_grants.htm.

Family-Friendly Volunteering: A Guide for Agencies
This Points of Light Toolkit publication is a comprehensive self-study guide, covering both the theory and practice of family volunteering, as well as providing planning worksheets and sample materials. As with all aspects of volunteer involvement, the specifics of program design must be adapted to fit the needs and shape of the organization. The intent is to provide examples and information to enable the creation of a family volunteering effort that will best serve the cause and clients or an agency, as well as meet the needs of volunteering families.

Six Ways Nonprofits Can Leverage Technology Investments
In this second part of his excerpt from "The Accidental Techie," Eugene Chan focuses on ways nonprofits can leverage the resources they have at hand to lay the foundation for effective and compelling technology funding requests.
http://www.techsoup.org/howto/articles/funding/page4247.cfm

Working with Technical Volunteers: A Manual for NPOs
Many nonprofits and schools don't have the time, money, or funding to use technology in all the ways they would like. Technical volunteers can fill the gap by tackling the projects that in-house staff cannot handle, and that do not require paid consultants. Yet even groups that have successfully involved volunteers in their other work have run into problems when asking volunteers to work on technology issues. Recruiting and managing technical volunteers can be intimidating, especially when staff members do not fully understand the work that techies do. Additionally, organizations must balance the benefits of technical volunteers' help with the need to establish sustainable, consistent computer support.

CompuMentor has developed an effective methodology for recruiting, matching, and managing technical volunteers. You can use this downloadable guide to assess your technical needs and identify areas where volunteers can help; recruit technical volunteers and assess their skills; manage technical volunteers; document their work; and find resources that will help your volunteers throughout the process.

Dowload the manual:
Working with Technical Volunteers (528 KB PDF)
http://www.techsoup.org/binaries/Files/TechVolMan2001v1.2.pdf

Does your Volunteer Center have a great story or event planned to keep students engaged over the summer? Submit your photos and stories to the Volunteer Centers of Michigan and you could be featured in future editions of this resource and other publications of the ConnectMichigan Alliance. Submit best practice articles and pictures for the July issue to Brandon Seng, no later than June 15, at bseng@connectmichiganalliance.org.

Tell us what you think! Send your feedback on this newsletter to Brandon at bseng@connectmichiganalliance.org.