Focus the Volunteer Center; check. Build programming; check. Advocate for volunteerism; check check. Develop a logic model; check.  Increase Volunteer Center membership; check. Fund the Volunteer Center; check. Create awareness about volunteer opportunities; check check check.

When we took over the Volunteer Center about a year and a half ago, we had to think long and hard about the direction of our programming and really decide who our “client” was/is.  Are volunteers our client? Or is the corporation looking for team building volunteer projects our client? Or… is it the nonprofit organization?

After lengthy discussions and considering why we have developed programming that includes events like the Volunteer Fair, the Board Education Workshops and the upcoming Spirit of Sheboygan County Volunteer Awards, and not to mention the continuation of the annual Day of Caring, the answer became crystal clear…the nonprofit community is our “client.” They are the reason we have worked so hard in the past year to increase awareness about volunteerism publically, privately and inside the corporate world.  Nonprofits cannot achieve their missions without volunteers! It’s that simple.

The development of our logic model was key to creating the overarching goals of the Volunteer Center.  It’s easy to get bogged down in details but another thing that is relatively simple is this: The United Way of Sheboygan County Volunteer Center is positioned to do three things: 1) Ensure our community knows how to get involved 2) Increase community engagement (volunteerism)  3) Help member agencies operate efficiently.

Don’t get me wrong, there is much that currently goes into setting the stage to succeed at achieving those short, intermediate and long-term goals, but we are well on our way.

Just last Thursday we had 150 people show up for a Board Education Workshop, presented by BoardStar out of Milwaukee,  which Kohler Company and United Way sponsored.  We felt strongly about investing in capacity building for our nonprofit community.  It was a fantastic, well-attended event and the feedback we have gotten has been nothing but positive.  There is more to come in 2016… so stay tuned.

One small thing we are doing beginning in January is to eliminate the $75 annual Volunteer Center membership fee. Although it’s a small fee which helped pay for our annual expenses associated with the Get Connected volunteer software, it seemed imperative that we remove any barrier a nonprofit might have to membership.  If you are a nonprofit and reading this now, go to uwofsc.org/volunteer and register your agency.

On February 4 we are launching the first annual Spirit of Sheboygan County Volunteer Awards at Blue Harbor.  The nomination link is now live on our website at uwofsc.org/events/spiritawards.  As a volunteer center, we felt it to be extremely important to have one large community event dedicated to honoring volunteers. All nonprofits are encouraged to nominate those that have had a significant impact on your organizations and clients.

So, with all as it should be for now, I am trading in my 16 years of nonprofit marketing and fund development work at the end of the month to move into the for-profit world at The Blind Horse Winery & Restaurant as their Brand & Business Development Manager.  It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. What a perfect place to channel my skills and be a part of what I believe to be the most unique, beautiful and rapidly growing business in Sheboygan County- not to mention being surrounded by wine on a daily basis isn’t so bad either!

Until my replacement is found, Emily Rendall-Araujo will be the person here to connect with regarding the Volunteer Center, marketing or fund development. She is the person to keep it all moving forward and can be reached at emily@uwofsc.org.

I’d like to encourage interested and qualified individuals to check out the job description for my  Director of Community Development role. It’s on our website and trust me, it’s one cool job with an amazing cast of characters!