12 June First Annual Skills-Based Volunteerism Training Academy June 12, 2019 By rverhoffkiss General, Volunteer Engagement 0 ServeOhio is pleased to welcome nine organizations into the first annual Skills-Based Volunteerism Training Academy (SBV Academy). The SBV Academy is a 12-month training program that equips Ohio nonprofits with the skills, tools, and resources to effectively engage skills-based volunteers in their organization. What is Skills-Based Volunteering? Skills-Based Volunteering (SBV) is the practice of lending one’s specific professional expertise to community organizations in a way that helps them affect social change. SBV differs from other, more traditional forms of volunteering in that volunteers are engaged in activities that leverage their professional expertise and experience – such as marketing, finance, or human resources. Skilled volunteer support is typically focused on operational or administrative functions - activities that a nonprofit might otherwise have to hire or pay for specialized support. Why Skill-Based Volunteering? Limited funding exists for nonprofit business infrastructure such as strategy, marketing, technology, and finance. In fact, the average nonprofit reports spending only 2% of its total budget on overhead compared to the 35% average traditionally spent by companies to build a strong infrastructure. Skills-Based volunteers can help organizations build internal capacity, providing services that strengthen or expand an organization’s operations or infrastructure – resulting in an improved or enhanced ability to deliver on the organization’s mission. Learn more about SBV here. Skills-Based Volunteerism Training Academy While the impact of SBV is well-known, many nonprofits still encounter significant challenges in effectively engaging skills-based volunteers, including identifying appropriate projects, ensuring internal buy-in, and managing engagements. ServeOhio is partnering with Common Impact, a national leader around skills-based volunteering, to implement the SBV Training Academy. The goal is to equip Ohio nonprofits with the skills and tools needed to lead impactful SBV projects that make a lasting organizational impact. The SBV Academy kicked off with a 2-day SBV Boot Camp in May where participants did a deep-dive into all things SBV. Over the next 12 months, participants will receive ongoing support and training from ServeOhio and Common Impact as they implement their SBV projects. At the end of the 12 months, all participants will have implemented at least one SBV project in their organization. Who are the Participants? The following organizations are participating in the 2019 SBV Academy: Cincinnati Arts Association, Cincinnati Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development/Senior Corps Division, Athens Freestore Foodbank, Cincinnati Girls on the Run of Central Ohio, Columbus Hannah’s Treasure Chest, Centerville Nature’s Nursery, Whitehouse ServeOhio, Columbus St. Joseph Orphanage, Cincinnati Teach for America Greater Cleveland, Cleveland How can your Organization Get Involved? Funding for the SBV Academy comes from a 3-year Volunteer Generation Fund grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service. ServeOhio will engage 3 cohorts in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The application for the 2020 cohort will be released this fall, so check the website or sign up for our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss the notification. Related Posts 2019 Year in Review As we ring in the New Year, it is a great time to reflect on our work and all the amazing accomplishments in service and volunteerism we saw in our state over the past twelve months. Read more for just a few highlights of our work this year. 5 Reasons to Attend the 2018 Ohio Conference on Service & Volunteerism On the fence about attending the 2018 Ohio Conference on Service & Volunteerism on November 14th? Here are 5 reasons why you should register NOW. Year in Review: Bright Spots from 2020 It has been a tough year. Like organizations across the country and the world, ServeOhio made major shifts to our programming in 2020 and transitioned to a virtual office. While the challenges were great this year, it was also a year where we saw incredible resiliency, passion for service, and new opportunities. As we prepare to ring in the new year and hope for a brighter 2021, we wanted to take a minute to reflect on the good stuff from 2020. A First-Hand View of Impact At their annual retreat, ServeOhio Commissioners got a closer look at the extraordinary service AmeriCorps members provide to high school students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. 25th Annual MLK Day of Service The 2020 MLK Day of Service is almost here – and Americans across the country are rolling up their sleeves in service. Here in Ohio, thousands of volunteers will serve in their communities and turn their day off work into a day on for service. ServeOhio is proud to support ten service projects across the state which will engage 2,286 volunteers dedicated to improving their community. Learn more about the projects. The Impact of the Volunteer Generation Fund ServeOhio is the proud recipient of funding from the Volunteer Generation Fund through the Corporation for National and Community Service. Our project focuses on training/coaching nonprofits to engage skills-based volunteers and providing grants to support volunteer mobilization efforts across the state! Comments are closed.