Think of a great experience you’ve had as a volunteer – where you felt engaged, needed, supported, and valued. What were some of the things that made this experience so outstanding? Chances are it was due at least in part to a terrific volunteer manager.
Photo by audinou on Flickr
November 1st is International Volunteer Manager Appreciation Day, a global day when we recognize the millions of volunteer management professionals who find, match, and support volunteers in an equally wide range of volunteer opportunities. Serving a multitude of roles – from advocating on behalf of volunteers to assessing the volunteer needs of their organization – volunteer managers are a human gateway to service for millions worldwide.
Volunteer managers recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of volunteers on a regular basis. So it seems only fair we do the same for them! If you regularly volunteer somewhere, take some time today to thank volunteer managers there for all they’ve done. Want to learn more about volunteer management as a career? Visit our Volunteer Management Resource Center here.
In the latest episode in our Idealist Community Podcast series, we interview three people who had unusual summer internships in 2007. Click here to download the episode.
We met Antasia, Carolyn and Santiago this summer at our Nonprofit Networking Fiesta in New York City. Their experiences dispel some common myths about internships in the nonprofit sector, and we're happy to share their voices with you.
If these stories intrigue you, you can search Idealist for your own internship. And starting Monday, check Idealist's own profile where we'll post internships for spring 2008 (including a podcasting intern!).
For the last leg of our tour, we'll be hosting Graduate Degree for the Public Good fairs in Nashville, Greensboro, Austin, and Atlanta. If you're in the area, please stop on by and learn which graduate degrees can help you make a difference. We look forward to seeing you there!
Attendees at our Toronto fair this fall
So what is a graduate degree for the public good anyway? The short answer: any degree that will help you make the difference you envision for this world.
For some that mean earning a masters degree in sustainable international development to learn how to help areas affected by natural disasters rebuild and better prepare for the future. For others a masters in social work will provide the knowledge and skills to work with at-risk youth. Even if you're not sure yet which graduate degree(s) you're interested in and how you want to contribute to the public good, our fairs are an opportunity to discover and explore the myriad graduate degree options available.
These events are an extension of our own vision and mission in which we help connect you with the people (grad school representatives, alumni, faculty), organizations (graduate schools), and resources (information about the various programs) that will help you build a world in which all people can live free and dignified lives.
Photo by hkl on Flickr
The Volunteer Passport ( Le Passeport Bénévole), a recent innovation in France, acts both as a record and an exchange between the volunteers and managers of a nonprofit organization.
The Passport gives volunteers a unique way to show off their experience in the nonprofit sector. It allows volunteers to keep track of the organizations they have volunteered with, the projects they have participated in, and the skills they have gained as a result. Having all of this information stored in a single, recognized document can come in handy when applying for a job or seeking professional development opportunities.
But that's not all: the Passport also reinforces bonds between organizations and their volunteers. In placing such value on volunteer work, this document also helps ensure that the work is carried out well. Under the Volunteer Passport system, the volunteer's tasks must be clearly defined, and check-in meetings are held periodically to discuss the volunteer's participation in the organization.
Visit our French site, www.idealiste.org, to seek out experiences to fill up that Volunteer Passport!
It's that time of year again: time for intern wannabes to start thinking about their possibilities for the spring. We recently posted our internships and invite you to take a look and consider joining our New York or Washington, DC offices this spring. Interested in helping us help others? Take a look at the opportunities below and stay tuned for opportunities in our Portland, OR office!
In our New York, NY office:
Chinese Language Intern: http://www.idealist.org/en/internship/115964-68
Idealist Group Promotion Intern: http://www.idealist.org/en/internship/115966-134
Idealist Groups Support Intern: http://www.idealist.org/en/internship/115963-34
Podcast Intern: http://www.idealist.org/en/internship/115967-168
Portuguese Language Intern: http://www.idealist.org/en/internship/115965-101
In our Washington, DC office:
Youth Resource Center Intern: http://www.idealist.org/en/internship/116034-88
At Idealist, we spend a lot of time online. Blogs, in particular, are both a necessity to read and a guilty pleasure; most of us have favorite news, food, music, city-specific, cultural, and sports blogs that we check regularly. But there are also quite a few nonprofit-focused blogs that are indispensable. One that seems to have something for everyone is the Nonprofit Blog Exchange. It serves as an aggregator of other nonprofit blogs and has links to articles about trends in the sector, commonly asked questions, and relevant news bits.
The Nonprofit Blog Exchange also hosts Virtual Events where there is “a list of blogs randomly assigned to exchange with another blog. The blogger can then write an entry in their blog about the blog they have visited and/or write comments in the blog they have exchanged with.” These Virtual Events are a great way to connect people in the blogosphere who have a nonprofit focus.
If you’re a socially conscious business entrepreneur who has some great ideas on how to make the planet greener, then don’t miss out on the Socially Responsible Business Plan Competition. This year the host of the contest, the William James Foundation, has teamed up with the Foundation for a Sustainable Future and added an extra special prize for eco-friendly projects.
The Sustainability Prize focuses on innovative business ideas that encourage environmental action as not just a trend, but as practical solutions that can be ingrained into our global consciousness. From energy efficiency to water security, anything that will help future generations has a shot at winning the first place prize of $2,000. Deadline for submissions is Nov. 16th.
This month, following years of discussion, debate, criticism and development, the XO-1 computer (originally known as the “$100 Laptop”) has finally arrived. A project of the organization One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), the XO-1 was developed with the goal of broadening educational opportunities for children in developing countries. With its innovative design, simple interface, and accessible programming language, proponents of the program also hope that the XO-1 will be the first big step in the long journey towards narrowing the digital divide throughout the world.
Photo courtesy One Laptop Per Child
Interested in helping to put a laptop in the hands of a child in the developing world and a child closer to home? You may want to take advantage of the Give One Get One program. From November 12 through November 26, when people in the US or Canada make a contribution to send an XO-1 to a child abroad, One Laptop Per Child will also send an XO-1 to a child in the life of the person donating. For more information about this program, visit www.laptopgiving.org.
The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers is a free resource for job seekers of all ages and is available by section as PDFs that are easy to download and email. The Guide was written by Idealist staff as well as other experts in the field of career development in the nonprofit sector, and aims to provide you with a roadmap to nonprofit success.
Today's vibrant nonprofit sector can use your unique skills and passion, whether you are a college student looking for work with meaning after you graduate, a recent graduate trying to find a foothold in an organization, or a professional looking to transition from another sector. Our goal is that this Guide will help you to identify the overlap between what you want to do and what is possible.
The first section of the Guide helps you to understand exactly what a nonprofit organization is - and the answer may surprise you. The sections that follow will help you with successful networking strategies, making yourself a stronger candidate, and ways to best present yourself both on paper and in person. And after you've landed that great nonprofit job, the Guide will even help you weigh and negotiate your salary and benefits package.
Co-authors (and Idealist staff members) Meg and Steve hope that readers of The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers find it to be a practical, comprehensive, and immediately usable guide to help them find work in the nonprofit sector. They’d also love to hear from you: please share your comments, questions, suggestions or praise, by writing to books@idealist.org.
Photo by Torchondo on Flickr
We've been blogging about blogs a lot lately: last week we posted about the Nonprofit Blog Exchange which lists over 150 blogs related to the nonprofit sector. On our Myspace blog we listed blog picks from the Idealist staff. Now we'd love to have you weigh in with your favorite blogs and podcasts related to nonprofits, community action, social justice, and related topics. Leave a comment below to let us know what blogs and podcasts you read, listen to, write, or produce.
Having trouble sifting through the numerous project management tools out there? No time to evaluate the pros and cons of different donor databases? Check out Idealware.org, which provides consumer report-style reviews of different technologies of interest to nonprofits. You can visit the Idealware blog for recent news, or attend one of the frequent online seminars. It takes the guesswork out of adopting new technologies, and saves you time. If you find a report useful, you can also make a donation to Idealware to ensure these reports are available to others.
The ability to communicate their work in multiple languages can be very useful to nonprofit organizations: they can be more inclusive of diverse communities, promote their programs to a broader audience and collaborate with groups doing similar work in other countries. Now organizations can plug into a website called Translations for Progress ( http://www.translationsforprogress.org) to look for volunteers with the necessary language skills to accomplish those goals. The website matches translators of all skill levels, whether they are language students or professionals, to organizations that need their help free of charge.
Photo by theimacguy on Flickr
On a related note, the Idealist Language Project is our volunteer-based effort to make Idealist available in the world's major languages. If you're an experienced translator and are interested in getting involved, visit the Language Project page to learn about the different opportunities available.
We’ve all been there. You’ve always kind of thought you’d like to work as a filmmaker, a zookeeper, or maybe a teacher. You even do a little search through the job postings to see what it would take to land your dream job. Creativity…check! Attention to detail…check! Dedication…check! Then you scroll to qualifications: 3-5 years experience necessary. And you’ve never worked as a filmmaker, zookeeper, or teacher a day in your life.
Photo by ctsnow on Flickr
It’s a classic conundrum: How do you gain experience if no one wants to hire you without it? Enter Idealist’s Gateway to Dreams (more commonly known as our Volunteer Opportunities database)! With a few simple clicks you can connect with organizations that are looking for volunteers with your talent and enthusiasm (check!) and are willing to work with people who have little or no experience in the field. By volunteering, you can gain the valuable, hands-on experience you’ll need to enhance your resume so that you're a strong candidate when you apply for your dream job.
To try your hand at being that filmmaker, zookeeper, teacher, or anything else that strikes your fancy, visit our volunteer opportunities database. And use the comments link below to let us know what other cool volunteer opportunities you find!
A little while back we blogged about Ubuntu, the free, open-source operating system. As the posting was one of our most viewed, we thought we’d update you on their newest version, 7.10, released earlier this month. Otherwise known as Gutsy Gibbons (and preceded by other alliterated iterations such as Feisty Fawn, Dapper Drake and Breezy Badger), this upgrade includes enhanced security, improved printing, free upgrades and a devoted corps of developers offering technical support.
Photo by DraXus on Flickr
Ubuntu comes with OpenOffice.org (Microsoft Office substitute), Firefox (Internet Explorer or Safari substitute), GIMP (a light version of Photoshop) and an ever important Sudoku game. For those of you looking to upgrade an aging operating system or cut software costs, Ubuntu is worth considering.
Over on our French site, we just blogged about La Semaine de la Solidarite Internationale, or International Cooperation Week, which takes place this week in France. Organizers have invited French citizens to join in a celebration of work being done by international NGOs around the world. Over 5000 events, demonstrations and activities are taking place across the country. Participants include nonprofit organizations, associations, collectives, schools, universities, unions and business groups who are joining together to promote human rights, fair trade, international volunteering, protecting the environment and general awareness of the work that is being done on these issues.
Seems like this is a big idea that could be implemented in other countries as well. Do you know of other examples of national initiatives like this one? Leave a comment below and let us know.
If you're on the prowl for related information en francais, visit our French site: www.idealiste.org.
It’s Thanksgiving in the United States this Thursday, a time for friends and family to gather over turkey, pumpkin pie, and other regional favorites. It’s also a time when many people give thanks by giving time: volunteering. And while there are lots of different opportunities to volunteer this weekend, many involve cooking and serving meals on Thanksgiving Day to communities in need, including homeless shelters, hospitals and hospices, and senior homes.
So if you’re in the U.S., here’s your chance to make this year's Thanksgiving a happy and helpful one by volunteering as a family or group. You can find opportunities to get involved in your area here.
If you won't be celebrating Thanksgiving, then why not consider the weekend another great opportunity to volunteer?
Do you ever have a hard time explaining to someone the benefits of a wiki or the fun of social networking websites? Are you in the dark about these topics yourself? Sachi and Lee LeFever have developed videos using a technique they call "Papercraft" to demystify confusing tech concepts. Their videos are short and clever -- the perfect thing to watch, learn, and forward to friends and family.
To see the videos, visit their website, The Common Craft Show.
Most people don't associate poor, urban communities with solar panels, hybrid vehicles, or organic products. In fact, environmental and economic issues are often described as in conflict with each other. But we prefer to highlight some of the more holistic approaches that work across issues in innovative ways.
Photo by Brooke Anderson on Flickr
A notable example is the Green-Collar Jobs Campaign led by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, California. The campaign creates job opportunities for low-income people and people of color in the field of environmental sustainability. This strategy aims to solve several local and global issues at the same time, by increasing job opportunities and skills training, creating alternatives to incarceration, and working towards a healthier planet.
Do you know of any other initiatives that unite two causes that are usually pitted against each other? Leave a comment here to share an example.
Last week in Atlanta, GA, hundreds of scholars and nonprofit professionals gathered to discuss new research and trends in the study of philanthropy, volunteer engagement, and nonprofit sectors worldwide at the 2007 Conference of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).
Photo by thombo2 on Flickr
To learn more about recent research in the field, visit the ARNOVA website here. If you are a student, check with your school's library to see if they subscribe to the the Nonprofit and Voluntary Service Quarterly, published by ARNOVA.
One of the many exciting developments of recent ARNOVA conferences has been the emergence of a special networking group called Pracademics, which allows academics and on-the-ground nonprofit professionals to collaborate to bridge theory and practice.
Similarly, an Idealist Group was recently formed to marry research with action: Research with a Purpose seeks to connect scholars, scientists, and NGOs in order to foster collaboration around “projects, volunteering, networking, and dialogue.” To get involved in the effort to connect research findings with on-the-ground strategies, visit their page on Idealist.
There are a lot of tools on the internet meant to help bring people and communities together across the world for good. But do any of these tools make a real impact? Can they be used to build trust between people despite the anonymity of the Internet?
In this episode, we look at Pledgebank, a project of the UK-based organization mySociety. With Pledgebank, users promise to take an action as long as a certain number of others do too. We explore how the site has connected the Bakul Foundation of Bhubaneswar, India with people from around the globe to introduce local youth to colorful literary characters like Pippi Longstocking.
Click here to listen to the episode.
For more information on Idealist podcasts, click here.
Do you want to make a difference while exploring a new part of the world? Is there an amazing trip you've been dying to take, but haven't been able to afford? Here's your big chance: head on over to Razoo.com and enter their Good Travels contest. Razoo has teamed up with responsibletravel.com to give one lucky winner the chance to go "anywhere in the world to learn, connect, explore, and give back." The winner will be selected on January 18th. Details on how to enter can be found here.
Photo by The Wandering Angel on Flickr
Even if you don't win, there are many options available for volunteering or working outside of your home country. Be sure to check out our list of organizations promoting global volunteering, as well as these resources on working abroad.
WITNESS, an organization that "uses video and online technologies to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations," has launched The Hub, an online space where anyone can view and contribute media footage related to human rights. Visitors can search the site for footage according to topic or country of origin. After watching, anyone can take action by participating in a related campaign, attending an event, perusing a video advocacy toolkit, and exploring a library of resources related to human rights.
Photo by Bryan Fenstermacher
If you're interested in taking additional action, try plugging words like "human rights" into the search bar at the top of this page. You might find your dream job, volunteer opportunity, or Idealist Group.
Here are two good websites for budding philanthropists: Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) and Future Leaders in Philanthropy (FLiP).
EPIP is dedicated to strengthening "the next generation of grantmakers, in order to advance effective social justice philanthropy" through programs designed to build leadership, advocacy and networking skills. The EPIPhanies blog includes musings on topics ranging from the best career background for a foundation program officer to what needs to happen to keep young people committed to a lifetime of philanthropic work.
On the FLiP blog, which is "dedicated to creating a community and a network where other future leaders can meet, learn, exchange ideas, and contribute to each other's success," contributors profile young philanthropists through in-depth interviews. In addition to the "Meet-a-FLiP!" feature, you can explore their links and news digests to learn more about the philanthropy landscape.
In a few hours, December will be upon us. For many nonprofits, that means it's time to scramble and finish (or start) planning an end-of-year giving campaign. OneWorld and Care2 have posted an easy-to-read Procrastinator's Guide to Year-End Fundraising, which you can download for free. Included in the guide is a list of "Ten Steps to Better Online Fundraising," and ways to "blaze trails to your Donate page." Perhaps most importantly, they offer tips for how to avoid procrastinating next year.
For additional resources on tapping into the holiday giving cycle for your great cause, visit the Fundraising page of our Nonprofit FAQ.
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