This year, the theme of International Volunteer Manager Day is ‘Many Backgrounds – One Profession – Stronger Together.’ Not only do Edmonton volunteer managers work with diverse teams, they come from a broad range of ethno-cultural and career backgrounds. Across Canada, 77% of non-profit workers are women, 47% are immigrants and 35% are Indigenous and/or racialized people. Non-profit sector workers tend to be older and better educated than the economy-wide average.
Prior to the pandemic, close to half of all Canadians volunteered billions of hours of unpaid work to causes they believe in, enabling organizations to tackle important work in their community. For most organizations that rely on volunteers, the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted how volunteers were recruited, how they contributed, and how they were retained. A challenge that very much remains and one that has meant volunteer managers are once again asked to take on even more work, with fewer resources at a time when the demand for services is increasing.
So today, on November 5th, International Volunteer Managers Day, the ECVO would like to say thank you! On behalf of the entire ECVO team, the community, and the city, thank you to all the volunteer managers, volunteer coordinators, and volunteer engagement specialists who have demonstrated resilience and resourcefulness throughout a challenging few years. We appreciate all that you have done to support volunteers in our community. We are immensely grateful for your hard work and dedication to your profession and for the diverse ideas, backgrounds, and lens that you bring you your work. Your contributions to the non-profit sector are immeasurable.
Now more than ever, it is important for volunteer managers to stay connected. You don’t have to navigate the changing volunteer landscape alone. The ECVO offers a community of practice called InVESt, which is designed for volunteer managers and volunteer engagement specialists to connect with each other and learn the latest news, best practices, and how to navigate challenges together.
If you are interested in connecting with other volunteer engagement specialists and want to be part of a supportive learning community? Join the InVESt mailing list. Once you have signed up you’ll also receive notifications about capacity-building opportunities designed for volunteer engagement specialists and their teams.
To connect with fellow volunteer managers involved with inVESt, join the inVESt mailing list by contacting volunteerism@ecvo.ca.
For a list of capacity-building courses throughout the year, subscribe to the ECVO’s Capacity Builder and visit the ECVO events page at https://ecvo.wildapricot.org/events.
Written by guest blogger, Julianna Lokshin, ECVO program and engagement specialist