1. Employee Volunteer Program (EVP) 101
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About Us
Founded 1992
Purpose
Membership
Programming
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What is an EVP?
An employee volunteer program (EVP), sometimes referred to as a workplace volunteer program, is a planned, managed effort that seeks to motivate and enable employees to effectively volunteer under the official sponsorship and leadership of the employer.
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Business Goals
Recruitment
Training/Development
Marketing/Brand Identity
Communications (External/Cross-Company)
Productivity/Morale
Government Affairs/regulatory
Leveraging philanthropy
These are all well documented by current research and the CVC provides these resources to members. We can also provide ongoing training and resources for those in your workplace on topics such as:
“Greening Your volunteer Program”
“Board Service”
“Connecting your message with the Media”
“Motivating Volunteers” and more.
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Why do EVP’s Matter?
EVP’s boost corporate performance
EVP’s bolster cost efficiency
ROI of $2,400 per employee
See 2 POL fact sheets
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Where do they fit?
33% internal units that are externally oriented (Community Affairs, Corp Citizenship)
21% community oriented functions (Foundation/Corp. Philanthropy)
8% internally focused departments (HR, Diversity, Work/Life)
46% departments that combine internal and external orientations (Marketing, Community Affairs, Corp Communications)
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Supporting Programs
Dollars-for-doers
Matching grants
Flextime or release time
Vacation/PTO
Team project grants
Outstanding volunteer recognition
Charitable Walks/Runs/Races
Resource Allocation (product donations, etc)
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Getting Started
Business
Employee
Interest
Community Needs
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Employee Interests
Surveys
Creative voting
Focus Groups
Professional Associations
Other?
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Work With Partners
Other CVC member companies
Business partners/Clients
Local Federations and Nonprofits
Vendors
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Choosing Focus Areas
What does company hope to accomplish by implementing an EVP?
Consider board relationships, potential business conflicts, funding recipients, policies (nondiscrimination, etc), and 501(c)(3) status of potential partners
Considerations in selections
Refer to goals: increase sales/brand awareness, attract and retain employees, improve environmental image or something for everyone
Criteria for selections
501(c)(3) Guidestar.com
Policies (Nondiscrimination, etc.)
Board relationships or funding recipients?
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Building Your Program
Management Support
Mission/Goals/Strategies/Objectives
Tasks
Timelines
Communication Plans
Budgets
Evaluation
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Policies Overview
Release time or flex time?
Disaster Volunteerism
Skills Based, Direct Support or both?
Micro-volunteering
Family Volunteering
Risk Management
Employee Relief
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Release Time
Flex time or paid time off?
Who is eligible?
How allocated and monitored?
What constitutes as volunteer time? 
Which organizations qualify?
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Disaster Relief
Take care of employees first
Consider partners in advance
What unique resources/skills can your company contribute to bring relief?
Partner in advance
Red Cross needs to be able to call on volunteers and respond ASAP
Others longer term
Facilitating other involvement
Examples: Engaging business partners, housing, food deliveries
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Friends and Family
Do you count company supported projects done on company time by employees only?
Family volunteering
Consider age limits/liability
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Risk Management
Check on insurance
Good Samaritan laws vary by state
First Aid, Crisis management
Background checks
Waivers/Photo releases
Good Samaritan laws are laws or acts offering legal protection to people who give reasonable assistance to those who are injured, ill, in peril or otherwise incapacitated. In some cases, Good Samaritan laws encourage people to offer assistance. The protection is intended to reduce bystanders’ hesitation to assist, for fear of being sued or prosecuted for unintentional injury or wrongful death.
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18. Recruiting & Retention
Volunteer motivations
Generational recruiting
Building on success
Staff Development
Recognition – from coffee mugs to performance reviews
Motivations are important! Only 1 in 3 volunteers gets involved when given the chance at work.
Generational recruiting:
Millenials – Here’s how you can volunteer remotely, and you can register using your Galaxy phone.
GenXers – “Just a few hours”…no big deal
Baby Boomers – Every Wednesday from 10am – Noon
Civics or “The Greatest Generation” – What is convenient for you? Your participation will ensure the long term success of this program.
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Project Planning
Engage your employees
Determine project scope & budget
Timeline, # of Volunteers Needed
Contingency Plans
Metrics
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Communications
Set communications plan & schedule
Types & frequency
Link to corporate citizenship initiatives
Vary channels based on audience
s, VM, flyers, posters, rallies, sign up sheets, ambassadors/team captains
Target hard to reach employee groups
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Communications
Engage Executives
“peer to peer” ask
give them an assignment
Post-event Communications
follow up surveys
“impact” communication
newsletter articles, posters with photos from the day, etc.
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Recognition
Old Faithfuls: t-shirts, pins, mugs, etc.
Post Photos (website or social media), office bulletin board
Send thank you notes
Share partner thank you notes
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Evaluation
What is the ROI?
How does your performance compare to others?
What is the aggregated effectiveness and impact across EVP’s?
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24. Budget
EVP budgets vary greatly, investing anywhere from <$15 to >$800 per employee (not per volunteer)
On average - Excellent EVP’s invest $179/per employee
Information courtesy of the 2010 Trends of Excellence Series
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Expenses to consider
Daily operations including website design/maintenance, printing, communications, travel, t-shirts, food, recognition items and supplies
Exclude salaries and community grants such as dollars-to-doers
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Keep it fresh!
Share ideas with other companies through the CVC of Atlanta!
Consider partners like VolunteerMatch, Generation On, and Pebbletossers as you plan opportunities.
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Skills Development
You are building skills. Track and share on your resume/performance review!
Consider professional development opportunities that support your work (Leadership Atlanta, RLI, LEAD, etc)
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Questions?
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Contact Us
Cheryl Kortemeier
Executive Director, CVC of Atlanta
1100 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 2800
Atlanta, GA 30309
or (cell)
Special thanks to Katy Elder, Points of Light for her support of this presentation.
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