Volunteer Screening Blog

Tom’s of Maine is a natural care products company that was started back in 1970, by a couple who wanted to simplify their lives. Unable to find the unprocessed foods and pure personal care products they desired, the decided to make their own. Their simple philosophy was that their products would not harm the environment.

Now part of Colgate-Palmolive, Tom’s of Maine still practices the business acumen that made them successful—listening to customers’ needs and coming back with natural, sustainable solutions.

Tom’s of Maine also works with its customers to fund deserving nonprofit organizations (NPOs). This year, they are inviting NPOs to nominate their community programs for a chance to share in a $100,000 Community Action Fund award. To involve more of the community, nonprofits can rally their supporters to vote for them.

This year, Tom’s of Maine is taking the program a step further—and getting volunteers involved, too! Partnering with VolunteerMatch, the online volunteer recruiting and sign-up website, nonprofits can describe their volunteer needs when applying for the Community Action Fund awards.

Through July 2, any qualifying nonprofit with a budget under $2 million can apply online at www.50statesforgood.com. Nonprofits are encouraged to explain how they will use volunteers to benefit their communities. The 50 States For Good program is designed to make it easier for people to find out what charity organizations in their communities need help. Connecting with others and spreading the word about the chance for funding and volunteers is also part of the fun.

40 finalist organizations (in honor of Tom’s of Maine’s 40th anniversary) will have their project and volunteer request showcased on the company’s website. Then in August and early September, voting begins. Five programs will each receive $20,000, to be announced in October.

Tom’s of Maine has always donated 10% of its profits to its community and offers employees paid time off to volunteer in their local communities—up to 12 days per year!

For more information, visit www.50statesforgood.com.

FedEx strives to be “a great place to work, a thoughtful steward of the environment, and a caring citizen in the communities where we live and work.” The entire company’s passion for improving the quality of life around the world is evidenced in these programs:

For the Environment: FedEx incorporates responsible environmental practices into daily operations and always looks for ways to increase efficiency while reducing waste. They recently introduced the company’s first all-electric truck.

EarthSmart Outreach directs volunteer efforts in support of environmental challenges that cities face. FedEx is teaming up with the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation to help six non-profits recreate six urban spaces across the U.S. Almost 300 FedEx team members will help out, ensuring that a little more green space can be enjoyed by thousands of their fellow citizens. This month, they’re planting trees in Memphis and Pittsburgh, cleaning the Los Angeles River, helping young people plant a green roof in New York City, and developing an outdoor living classroom in Washington D.C.

For the Needy: Employees all over the world volunteer in their local communities, from teaching children to be safe pedestrians in Korea, to collecting food from restaurants and bakeries to donate to needy people in Germany .

Each fall, FedEx staff members help out the United Way in their local communities during FedEx Cares Week. Last year, days of service held all across the U.S. allowed more than 2,100 FedEx team members to volunteer in their communities. Some of the projects they participated in were organizing local food banks, painting child-care centers, and building playgrounds.

For Education: Trucker Buddies is a pen-pal program that pairs FedEx drivers with kids from grades 2 through 8. Kids love the special attention from these caring adults, which helps them learn while having fun writing back and forth to their buddy. Trucker Buddy International has helped more than 1 million school children.

For Cancer Research: Throughout the month of March, FedEx employees volunteer to help with the American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days. They pack, sort and deliver millions of daffodils to help in the fight against cancer. Nearly $3 million was raised in 2008 in New England, as FedEx team members delivered more than 400,000 daffodils around Boston.

For Local Non-Profits: FedEx Special Delivery was launched in 2004 to help collect and transport food, clothing, and toys to needy kids and adults throughout the U.S. and Canada. FedEx partners with local non-profit organizations and donates transportation services and manpower to help them serve their clients.

FedEx team members busily volunteer their time throughout the year, helping the environment and their fellow citizens—and they’re supported by their employer, too, because “FedEx believes it is important to give back to the communities we serve.”

Courtesy of Houston Zoo

A non profit website that caught our eye recently is the Houston Zoo. Take a look and you’ll see why! The site is colorful, but not cluttered, organized perfectly and highly interactive.

Visitors to the site can easily find upcoming events for adults and kids, all the latest zoo news (including updates on soon-to-be-born baby elephants!), videos and activities. The site is updated daily, plus features a live Twitter stream. Following the zoo on Twitter, becoming a fan on Facebook, and connecting to the Zoo’s Flicker photostream and You Tube Channel are as easy as clicking your mouse on the home page buttons.

Interested in supporting or volunteering at the Houston Zoo? They make it any easy. Of the seven main navigation tabs, one is “Make a Donation.” You can see how important fundraising outreach is to the zoo. From that tab, one can choose from a variety of options:

• Donor Clubs: the zoo offers several tiers of support level, from the Flock, aimed at young professionals, to the Asante Society for higher-level givers. All supporters receive special perks and invitations to private tours and parties.
• The African Forest: This special project gets its own area of the site, fully explaining the vision and soliciting support to make it a reality.
• Fundraisers: Large-scale events and smaller family-oriented parties are highlighted, with photos from past years and “mark your calendars” information about this year’s dates.
• Corporate Support: Clear details on how corporations and businesses can sponsor events and volunteer at the zoo make getting involved a no-brainer. Plus, the content is obviously written with the reader’s motivation in mind, answering the question, “What’s in it for me?” Answer: visibility, brand enhancement, exposure, and wide appeal.
• Corporate Volunteer Program: this area of the site is well-writeen and appealing, outlining the ways business gourps can become involved, the commitment required, and how to get started with becoming a volunteer.

Finally, the zoo’s Annual Fund Drive and Other Ways to Give tabs make it easy to do just that.

Other ways this site is a winner:

• The site creates instant credibility by featuring the Zoo’s accreditations at the bottom of the home page, along with a Better Business Bureau seal;
• Hours, prices, directions, zoo maps and newsletter sign-up are at the top of each page;
• An interactive “Ask us a question” form and the event calendar appear on all 2nd- and 3rd-tier pages; and
• A big “Donate Now” button shows up on most 2nd and 3rd tier pages.

Non profits can learn a few tricks from Houston Zoo’s website. Even if your non profit cannot manage the high-level programming and graphics that this site has, you can still borrow most of the outreach ideas. Clear content that answers visitors’ questions and keeps them coming back are easily achievable website goals!

Nonprofit volunteer managers are sometimes inundated with offers from corporations—especially around volunteer “holidays” like The National Day of Service and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. While no NPOs we know would turn down volunteers who are willing and qualified to help, sometimes too much of a good thing can make for headaches.

Every volunteer manager has had unusual requests from corporations. From custom-designing a volunteer opportunity just for them, to dictating who will show up and when, and what their employees will and will not do, companies can be “overeager” with their requests.

Some companies want only group activities—are they working on their team-building? What if you have more tasks that require only one person or two-people teams to complete?

Other companies want opportunities that will teach their employees a skill, or enhance their existing skills. What if your needs do not match this desire?

NPO managers are not required to satisfy their corporate volunteer programs’ needs. NPOs do not have to invest tasks and projects to meet their requirements. If you have work that matches what a company wants for their employee volunteers, then great. Let them go get it done! If not, offer an alternative.

You’re in charge—there’s no need to fill someone’s made-to-order volunteer desires. Ask for their help in getting your goals met. Offer alternatives that might make both sides happy. Break up large projects into smaller ones that can work over a longer term. Alternatively, group smaller projects into a work day that a corporate team can attend together.

Finding ways to fulfill both sides’ needs is important when corporate volunteer programs come calling. NPOs can’t alienate supporters, but they also shouldn’t let them dictate the terms of engagement.

Honda’s commitment to its communities is reflected in the large numbers of employees (associates) who volunteer to serve their fellow citizens. The company says it “believes that volunteering shows the power of the human spirit and proves that by working together, we can build a better world.”

Honda’s Community Action Team (CAT) serves as the face of American Honda to the community. Every November, Southern California families in need receive a box with all the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal through Honda’s Corporate Community Relations Department and CAT’s Thanksgiving in a Box project. Honda associates personally collect the food and assemble the boxes, which are distributed to families from several youth and family services nonprofit organizations.

The Special Olympics of Southern California and the Madrona Marsh Preserve also benefit from CAT activities. Honda associates volunteer and assist at the Special Olympics gymnastics event—which has been sponsored by American Honda for years. And American Honda volunteers help with restoration work at the Preserve – home to rare plants and animals in Torrance, CA. Each year associates assist with planting, weeding, and picking up trash on Habitat Restoration Day.

Honda Heroes rewards associates, spouses and retirees who support nonprofits in their communities. Volunteer hours are rewarded with “Dollars for Doers” grants. More than 198,000 hours volunteered by Honda associates has resulted in grants totaling more than $400,000 since 1995!

National programs sponsored by Honda America include Nation Youth Project Using Minibikes (NYPUM), Ride for Kids for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, and Little League Baseball. The NYPUM helps disadvantaged kids from 10 to 18 by engaging them in fun and challenging activities with positive adult role models. The Ride for Kids helps children with brain tumors by linking motorcycle enthusiasts with fundraising events—and more than $34 million has been raised since 1984.

Finally, kids all across America benefit from Honda’s dedication to Little League Baseball. Honda is the official sponsor of Little League Baseball and supplies the vehicles, creates an interactive display and gives out collectible pins at the LL World Series. Honda also contributes $100,000 annually to help create or renew baseball leagues in urban areas by helping find and build baseball diamonds and teaching parents how to run a league in their community.

Alcoa Foundation exists to serve the global company’s communities. Founded in 1952, its mission is to invest in residents’ quality of life.  In 2008, Alcoa and the Alcoa Foundation gave over $50.6 million to communities in 35 countries, while the company’s employees volunteered over 705,000 hours to community service projects.

Here are a few ways Alcoa improves lives all over the world:

The Foundation is committed to improving opportunities for women and girls. In the US, Alcoa works with Girls Inc., Boys and Girls Clubs, Girl Scouts and Big Brothers and Big Sisters. The goal is to empower young women to reach their full potential through programs in health, science, math, technology, economic and financial programs, and leadership skills.

In Europe, Africa, and Asia, Alcoa Foundation continues this goal with vocational training and skills-building workshops, gender and equity training for teachers of young girls, encouraging female engineering students to continue in their fields, and providing basic health care services.

Climate Change: Alcoa Foundation has provided $22 million in grants to build awareness and inform public policy. The Foundation partners with community organizations and funds outreach programs that address sustainability, energy use, water management, and development.

Month of Service: The Alcoa Volunteers program encourages every employee to help make the world a better place. And they do: each October, Alcoa dedicates time for employees to perform community service. In the past three years, nearly 53,000 employees volunteered in over 2100 events in 36 countries. Activities range from planting trees, to serving meals, to repairing community facilities and helping students in local schools.

Disaster Relief: Alcoa donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Red Cross in China after last May’s earthquake. They encourage employees to give, and make it easy to do so on their website.

Alcoa and the Alcoa Foundation does good all around the globe, from Australian volunteers building and providing kids with wheelchairs, to helping community programs train and employ at-risk youth in the United States.

Alcoa helps build bridges, both physical and metaphorical, in virtually every country in the world, and its impact on those communities is huge.

Here’s an impressive statistic: since 1946, Target has been giving 5% of its income through community grants and programs that support education, the arts, social services, and volunteerism. Target’s giving totals $3 million per week—both to local community and national organizations.

Because of the company’s belief that the arts bring communities together, celebrate cultural diversity, and help people see a perspective that may differ from their own,
Target supports arts activities, music festivals, and concerts all across the country. Thousands of children and adults who might not otherwise have access to museums and theaters take advantage of free or reduced admission days, sponsored by Target.

Education is a high priority for Target’s giving programs—because it’s a high priority for the company’s customers (which Target calls “guests”). TO that end, Target seeks programs that combine art with education, such as those bringing arts into schools or that make it affordable for youth and families to experience cultural activities like symphony performances, artists’ workshops, and theater.

Target’s education initiatives put the focus on teachers, classrooms and early childhood reading. Take Charge of Education® and Target Field Trip Grants are national school fundraising programs that awarded more than $18 million to schools across the country since January of this year. Take Charge of Education provided $14.7 million in undesignated funds—so they can be used for whatever school need most. Target Field Trip Grants give 440,000 students the chance to learn outside the classroom—in places as unique as convalescent homes.

Target also sends volunteers to revamp school libraries, filling them with new furniture, shelves, computers and books. Additionally, Target’s 1,700 stores grant $500 book awards to schools in their communities. From cash grants to reading and writing contests, Target places a high priority on getting kids to read early and often!

Target’s belief in strong communities has led to a commitment to fund programs that strengthen the families that every community is made of. Target has chosen three core areas for support—family violence prevention, disaster preparedness, and relief and safeness—and provides badly-needed cash to The Salvation Army, American Red Cross, and the United Way.

Another way Target supports families in need is through providing apartments free of charge to families of children facing major health challenges. Just this week, a 10-year celebration will be held at Target House, a housing facility for families of patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Celebrities such as Shaun White, Scott Hamilton, and Amy Grant will help former and current Target House residents celebrate in style. Families are allowed to stay as long as they need, with some residing in Target House for as long as three years.

The list of Target’s volunteer and community giving goes on. Team members have volunteered literally millions of hours to programs in their communities. The company provides opportunities to team members at each stage of their employment. Delivering food to the needy, responding to disasters, and helping renovate school libraries are just three examples of the thousands of ways Target’s employees work in their towns and cities.

Target embraces service to its communities as a core reason for being in business. Through cash grants, volunteer hours, and innovative programs, the company helps improve the lives of millions of kids and adults across America.

The Home Depot Foundation was created in 2002. It is dedicated to building healthy homes that families can afford to own. The Foundation encourages home developers to use durable, sustainable materials, to make sure the homes are energy and water efficient, and have good indoor air quality.

Since it was founded, The Home Depot Foundation has granted $120 million to nonprofit organizations—and has supported the development of more than 65,000 affordable, healthy homes.

Last year, The Home Depot Foundation partnered with Habitat for Humanity International in an initiative called Partners in Sustainable Living. Through this initiative, thirty Habitat affiliates built more than 260 green homes—meeting Energy Star or other green building standards.

The pilot program proved that the upfront costs of building to green standards, about $2,000 extra for the pilot program houses, will be recouped through energy bill savings. Reports on the new homes show energy savings of between 15 and 30 percent already!

It makes sense that an organization that builds affordable housing for those in need would also want the homes’ energy bills to be as low as possible—it’s better for the homeowners and for the planet.

This week, The Home Depot Foundation and Habitat for Humanity International announced that the Partners in Sustainable Living initiative will be expanded nationally. More than 120 Habitat affiliates in 45 states have been selected to participate this year. $30 million in funding and resources over five years will help build 5,000 homes that meet Energy Star or other recognized green standards.

The affiliates will be granted $3,000 for each home built to Energy Star standards, and up to $5,000 for each home built to a higher green standard. By the end of 2010, nearly 1,500 sustainable homes will be built.

According to Kelly Caffarelli, president of the Foundation, “The Home Depot Foundation believes green building techniques are not a luxury—they aren’t exotic or expensive.” By helping more people live in green homes, The Home Depot Foundation is demonstrating a commitment to the communities in which they do business and to the environment we all share.