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December 2007 - COVAA Update
Dear COVAA Delegates
and Friends,
This month we mark
the one year anniversary of the historical event that
occurred last December in Denver. The Congress was
a first-ever convening of official representatives
of existing associations of volunteer program managers
throughout the United States. Through these delegates,
over 6,000 leaders of volunteers were represented.
Since our last update, we are pleased to announce
that there has been significant progress on our mandate
to create a new national membership association. This
communication contains proposed language for a new
name, mission statement and other information related
to the status of this project.
Based on an idea that
came forward during our Town Hall meeting at the National
Conference on Volunteering and Service in Philadelphia,
the COVAA Steering Committee proposes that the name
of our new organization be called "ALIVE."This
stands for the "Association of Leaders in
Volunteer Engagement."Currently, the Steering
Committee is seeking both delegate and outside stakeholder
input regarding this recommendation. Once this input
is received and if there is concurrence, we will secure
a web domain and move historical content from COVAA.org
to the new domain.
After much discussion,
we also propose the following mission statement:
ALIVE (Association
of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement) serves to enhance
and sustain the spirit of volunteerism in America
by fostering collaboration and networking, promoting
professional development, and providing advocacy for
leaders in community engagement.
We will be publishing
a survey soon that will request your input on the
proposed name and mission statement.
As promised in Denver,
we intend to finalize our work to incorporate ALIVE
(proposed name). Towards that end we are finishing
a transition process to be implemented in early 2008.
Projects have already been underway for several months
and the associated recommendations will be published
after the holidays. These will include draft versions
of our bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, and business
plan. After much research, we are pleased to announce
that we intend to recommend incorporation in the state
of Indiana.
The Steering Committee
continues to meet on a weekly basis and has discussed
topics that have strategic implications such as:
- Structure/Organizational
- Model Incorporation
- Issues Governance/Committee Structure
- Membership: Categories, Criteria,
Benefits
- Resource Development
- Collaborative Partners
All of these discussions have served
to help inform the business planning process which
is the current focus of the Steering Committee. Final
recommendations in each area will be passed to the
new Board of Directors, when elected.
The Steering Committee appreciates
all of the enthusiasm and support we've received.
There has been much input and great dialogue about
everything from potential funding sources to collaboration
with AVRM (Association of Volunteer Resources Management)
and other potential partners. Recent opportunities
include:
- Several Steering Committee members
met the leaders of AVRM at their conference in Dallas.
We hope this conversation will continue between
the future Boards of the two organizations. The
Steering Committee is committed to avoiding unnecessary
duplication of existing resources. From our perspective,
we believe our process for developing our new entity
has been approached from a different angle.
- At the invitation of IJOVA (The
International Journal of Volunteer Administration),
COVAA submitted an article for inclusion in the
October 2007 issue.
- A presentation was given to NOVN
( the National Organizations' Volunteerism Network),
a peer learning community of volunteerism / Volunteer
Resource Management professionals who work at the
national level, for headquarters / national offices
of organizations from AARP to Volunteers of America.
This was an opportunity to receive additional feedback
regarding COVAA's work. We were pleased with their
supportive response!
COVAA's development process has and
continues to incorporate representatives of the profession
that will ultimately be served. In addition, COVAA
is looking outside of the usual sphere of volunteer
management to obtain input from other people or organizations
with a broader perspective. COVAA is especially interested
in the input of potential partners to ensure an approach
that is relevant. As a result, the new organization
that is born will be positive and sustainable.
COVAA is looking to help provide uniformity
in the field as a convener and collaborator. In addition,
there is recognition of the increasing number of volunteers
who are engaged in less formal, grassroots, community
engagement activities. The leaders of these volunteers
may not see themselves as "professional volunteer
managers", yet they would appreciate and benefit
from the support of a network like COVAA. We are exploring
how to broaden our reach to all leaders in community
engagement (paid or unpaid). COVAA is committed to
revolutionizing the field of volunteer management
and taking advantage of this juncture in the field
to create an organization that will meet the current
needs and the future needs of leaders of volunteers.
The Steering Committee and all of
the members of the different sub-committees continue
to be excited about the possibilities that COVAA offers.
Ultimately, COVAA's vision is to inspire and empower
leaders of volunteers to be an effective catalyst
for social betterment and change, and that these leaders
of volunteers are viewed as essential catalysts for
invigorating community engagement. We hope you share
this vision with us!
If you have any questions please continue
to email them to steering@covaa.org. It's been our
pleasure to serve!
Sincerely,
Joanna Johnson and Rita Chick
COVAA Steering Committee Co-Chairs
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