Active citizen engagement that creates change in communities is reliant on effective leadership of volunteers. The Congress of Volunteer Administrator Associations (COVAA) is committed to galvanizing leaders of volunteers and inspiring innovation by being a catalyst for change into the 21st century.

COVAA began as an event. Held in December 2006 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. A two day process of thoughtful dialogue ensued which was carefully facilitated.

During the Congress, delegates voted to create a national entity that will serve as a membership association. The group’s vision was that the new organization would be an advocacy organization on behalf of the profession, a standard bearer, and a developer of leaders for our communities.

The immediate goal of the Congress was to create a working network of associations with a designated steering committee to, in turn, carry the organization work forward. Part of the Steering Committee’s mandate is to establish a formal association quickly, while taking the time to do it well.

COVAA is following a broad, inclusive path that will lead to a strong professional association. The 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 and organizations with a broader perspective. As a result, the new organization will be relevant, positive, and sustainable.

The goal is to complete organizational development and hand off the new association to its first board of directors by January 2008. The work of birthing the new, national association is being performed by dozens of leaders in volunteer management from around the country. All of these leaders are donating their expertise and time by serving on a sub-committee. The sub-committees are led by the volunteer steering committee with the assistance of a paid project strategist.

In early June 2007, the Steering Committee held a retreat to finish the discussion from the Congress event of last December. At the recent retreat, they worked on organizational identity as a foundation to the business plan and developed project timelines and work plans to ensure sub-committees have a clear picture of the next steps required to build the COVAA foundation. The Steering Committee is working very thoughtfully to ensure that the new organization has a solid foundation.

The following information is a result of the dialogue that took place at the recent retreat. Some of the pieces are not finalized yet. However, the following does articulate the vision and direction of this new organization. The Steering Committee and the entire delegation are very excited about the potential of this new national association to revolutionize the field of volunteer management.

Value Proposition: What needs does our organization satisfy?
" Leadership
" Representation and collaboration on a national level
" Advocacy - Positioning of the profession
" Continuing education and linkages to education opportunities, including certification
" Resources and linkages to existing resources
" Networking

Intended Functions/Benefits for Members: What products/services do we offer?
" Advocacy
" Support
" Linkage
" Resources
" Education
" Training
" Networking

Constituency/Members: What market do we serve?
Everyone interested in volunteerism, volunteer issues, and volunteer management.
" Leaders of volunteers - (paid or unpaid, formal or informal, grassroots, neighborhood)
" Non Profits
" Corporations
" Educational institutions
" Community organizations
" State associations of volunteer managers/volunteer centers
" Local and regional associations of volunteer managers/volunteer centers
" Government (local, regional, federal)
" Volunteers
" Consultants
" Vendors

What is unique about our organization?
COVAA is a professional association of leaders of volunteers. COVAA is representative and inclusive. It is a member driven organization of people on the ground who lead volunteers on a daily basis. COVAA defines and practices the best in volunteer management.