1. InformOntario Symposium June 20, 2014

2. VISION To create a dynamic online volunteering community that will motivate, inspire and celebrate volunteering in Ontario.

3. Volunteer Gateway What is it? The Volunteer Gateway will be:  A tool for prospective volunteers to find available volunteer positions in the province.  An online library of resources for volunteers and volunteer management professionals.  A way to showcase volunteering in Ontario and to engage the overflow of volunteer interest for the Pan/Para Pan Games (100,000 anticipated volunteers/20,000 volunteer positions)

4. Primary Objectives - MCI 1. Offer one-stop access volunteer matching services - enhancing volunteer experience and organizational impact. 2. Provide the private sector with opportunities to access corporate volunteer opportunities - strengthening the sector and corporate interest in supporting it. 3. Facilitate access to volunteer resource materials - building capacity by creating a one stop place to find much needed resources. 4. Connect Pan/Parapan American Games volunteers and overflow volunteer applicants with other volunteer opportunities - leveraging this enthusiasm and opportunity to the benefit of communities across Ontario.

5. Partnership Objectives 1. Foster coordination and collaboration within the not-for-profit sector and beyond for public benefit; 2. Build not-for-profit sector capacity; 3. Support new ways to reinvigorate Ontario's tradition of volunteering; 4. Leverage technology to breakdown silos, increase transparency and share information/resources; 5. Leverage and build upon existing not-for-profit sector strengths; 6. Building sustainable solutions within the not-for-profit sector.

6. Project Timeline

7. Our Partners  5 of 7 - 211 Provincial Partners:  Community Connection  Community Information Centre of Ottawa  Findhelp Information Services  Information Niagara  Lakehead Social Planning Council  Ontario Volunteer Centre Network (OVCN)  Ontario 211 Services

8. Our Partners  Sport4Ontario  York University & Ryerson University  Collège Boréal  Ontario Coalition of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI)  Others Pending

9. Our Collective Strength  211: network of 30 plus partners across Ontario & database of almost 60K human and social services  OVCN: network of 8,400 organizations; 2,500 member agencies through 24 OVCN members  Sport4Ontario: membership of 50 plus sport networks and organizations connecting to Ontario’s 6,500 plus sport groups  OCASI: network of 230 organizations in Ontario reaching Ontario’s newcomers  Collège Boréal: network of 43 satellite offices, engaging Ontario’s Francophone community

10. Who will do the work?  Findhelp: Existing management team members to ensure we meet timelines.  Part-time secondment from OVCN through Liz Dennis, Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington  Part-time consultant from the volunteer sector - Lianne Picot  Leadership from other partners on working groups including Ontario 211 Services and York University  Others to be determined

11. Partnership Principles Commitment to:  Leveraging existing skills in the sector and within our partner organizations.  Utilizing this initiative to further enhance partner and sector skills. Partnership Agreement:  A collaborative of partners with strong values and principles, that participants are pleased to be a part of.  A process that focuses on the value and assets of the participating organizations based on open communication, mutual respect and productivity.  Commitment to effective communication, mutual respect and productivity.

12. Why Now? One of the key recommendations of a recent pan-Canadian study on volunteering recommended that greater online engagement would help to improve the volunteer experience. “…fostering meaningful volunteer engagement in Canada today is not just a capacity issue, but also a strategic one that must evolve with the trends to meet the needs of both organizations and volunteers themselves.” (Bridging the Gap, Volunteer Canada, 2010)

13. Why Now?  The next step in the development of collaborative partnership between 211 Centres and Volunteer Centres  Has potential to expand upon a previous collaborative project: 211 and Volunteer Centre Services Report and Tool Kit  Gateway grew from consultations between Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and the volunteer sector

14. 211 and Volunteer Centre Services Report and Tool Kit Report Highlights:  online volunteer opportunity databases and a repository of information about volunteering would support volunteering in locations without volunteer centres Project partners agreed that: those interested in volunteering and organizations wanting to share information about volunteer opportunities should be provided with a pathway to do so

15. Findhelp & 211 Interest  Leverages the skills and abilities of the sector and project partners: o Builds the technology capacity of the sector, leveraging Findhelp’s experience and capacity supporting provincial initiatives o Leverages the 211 provincial database of almost 60,000 programs and services o Showcases and leverages the experience of OVCN and it members (not intended to compete with this)  Positive and proactive response to funder pressures to collaborate (integrate, merge, amalgamate) in order to achieve system “efficiencies”  Aims to maximize the impact of the non-profit sector for the benefit of Ontarians, building our sector’s reputation as a solutions provider and building public benefit

16. OVCN Interest  Two Pan-ParaPan Am Games and Legacy projects support core aspects of the work of the OVCN and Volunteer Centres o Recruiting and Retaining volunteers (Gateway) o Recognizing volunteers (PREB Ontario)  Offers an unprecedented opportunity to profile volunteering in Ontario  Leveraging Technology to provide support for volunteers, particularly in regions not supported by a Volunteer Centre Service  Opportunity to demonstrate the value added by systems/capacity supporting organizations to the nonprofit sector.

17. Volunteer Gateway Project – Next Steps Engagement Activities: Blog to engage our stakeholders in the development of the Gateway Recruit Community Champions Content strategy that will showcase volunteering in a new way and market opportunities effectively Storytelling to share impact of volunteering

18. Questions/Comments?

19. Thank You!