Did you know that Habitat for Humanity builds all of their homes using volunteers? Since 1976, they have built over 400,000 homes throughout the world, sheltering over two million people using only volunteers. They have volunteers that manage volunteers. What can’t be done with volunteers, they hire or subcontract using donations. Do you know their trick? They are organized. They have broken down the construction of homes into a clear, concise plan.
For organizations that are seeking to bring external advisors in to assist with the development of a plan to become more Sustainably Green, a Sustainability Advisory Council is a great way to get great advice and experience. It also connects senior people in the community to your work.
One successful Advisory Council that was established at the YMCA of Greater Toronto had three purposes:
- The Support of Knowledgeable and Experienced Professionals that will help you build a strategy and provide credibility to your organizations’ sustainability initiative.
- Access to Well-Placed Corporate Professionals who have a network to assist with fund-raising and corporate partnerships. These individuals usually sit on committees that place donations. This does not mean that this council will be donating money, but helping to facilitate and create access to potential funds and foundations.
- Creation of a Network of Sustainability Professionals who will learn from each other and create their own connections between themselves. This creates an opportunity for you to be a fly on the wall as they build relationships and share best practices.
I have a few simple principles for managing volunteers:
- Maximize the volunteers’ time to be productive in the task or event you are asking them to be involved in.
- Respect their time by sticking to the schedule you set – end on time! If you need more assistance, arrange a future volunteer time.
- Ask them how it went, what could be improved and ensure they felt like they made a contribution.
- Thank them. Be positive, you want them to come back!
This is crucial to keeping high-level volunteers. Do not ask them to do required homework, use their precious time wisely – they are likely working 60+ hour weeks and have families. They want to contribute to a local charity or NFP to give back in a meaningful way using their knowledge – they don’t need a second job.
As you start to build a Sustainability Advisory Council, you need to have a clear plan for what you are asking of the members. Do you want their feedback on something? Do you want their opinions on next steps? Do you want them to share their successes and failures? Do you want them to share their resources? Would you like them to review something?
Always think: How will these volunteers be experiencing this? Would I like that?
They should be able to walk into a room with their peers, be greeted, thanked for giving their time, and then given an opportunity to offer their valuable knowledge and experience. They should leave the meeting feeling appreciated for the contribution they made, and have a clear understanding of their next engagement.
Hosting the meeting: When setting up a meeting agenda stick with the “KISS” approach – “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” Mornings seem to work best with corporate volunteers – 90 minutes max. Keep the agenda brief and focus on one meaningful concept or task. Something that they can discuss off the top of their heads and offer opinions and recommendations.
Size of the Council: This depends on your preference, experience and how quickly you are able to move. For the YMCA, we charted a fast course and started with 12 members. Normally, I would recommend 3 to 5 key people to help polish up the policies and strategy. As you start to network with different organizations, it is nice to have capacity to offer a seat at the Sustainability Advisory Council as an element to a strategic partnership between your organization and a corporate donor. Most organizations want to engage both financially and through volunteerism, so this is something to consider.
When you are deciding which industries to include be as broad as possible. Don’t fret over putting competitors together, it will make the conversation livelier.
Day of the Meeting: Be organized, prepared and punctual. For the presentation, I recommend you have five slides or pages, and no more than eight.
- One slide that defines the agenda and to have each member talk about one or two things they are currently working on within their organization
- One slide to recap what has happened on a strategic level in your organization since the last meeting with one or two cool highlights
- One to three slides to present your main topic for discussion
- One closing slide to discuss next steps
Be careful not to spend their time justifying what you have done; show them the progress, shut up and listen. Once you build trust in a group, you will be amazed to see them brainstorm together and come up with incredible ideas that will benefit your organization. You are witnessing them filtering their knowledge and experiences to your needs.
Stick to the agenda, watch the time, and facilitate the meeting. Try to keep everyone engaged in the meeting. Did I mention not to keep them too long? Protect their time and get them on their way.
Frequency of Meetings: I have found that meeting quarterly is a reasonable frequency as it gives you time to make/show progress, and it isn’t too much of a commitment from these busy professionals. Sending a preview of key documents before or after the meeting is reasonable, having a coffee with some of the members individually is a great way to keep continuity and seek additional feedback.
Follow-Up and Next Steps: After the meeting is over, it is important to give feedback, confirm the next date and establish action items, and thank them. If someone has offered to provide a contact, or meet with you to dig into something more deeply one-on-one, then follow up with a tactful reminder email that they can respond to. The easier you make it for them to be involved, the better engaged they will remain. The creation of an online presence where they can continue the conversation, such as a LinkedIn Group or Google Plus group.
People want to volunteer to give back to their communities in order to contribute their time or talents, but not disrupt their lives. Every volunteer experience is a combination of the individual giving and getting, not just giving. Going into a volunteering experience, people derive a lot of personal satisfaction by helping and want to feel that they are having an impact. What they often don’t realize is that they get a lot more than they bargain for. They might meet another like-minded person who becomes their best friend, they might find a future employer or employee, or they might hear a story or witness a situation that is life-altering. They might even quit their job and decide that their talents are best suited to help achieve their favorite charity’s mission. I have witnessed all of these happen and it gives me goosebumps!