A Resource for Nonprofits. A Partner for Philanthropy.
ESC's Volunteer Impact Program and VIP Manager, Wendy Graff, were featured in an article discussing the opportunity for hunger organizations to assess and improve their volunteer management programs. VIP is offered in collaboration with and funded by United Way of King County's Volunteer Center.
Nancy Long was part of the panel discussion at this year's Jefferson Awards, which honor ordinary people who do extraordinary things for others. See the links below for more information on the discussion and the 2009 winners.
The Promise and Challenges of Service: the 2009 Jefferson Awards Discussion
Nancy presented on "Recruiting (and Using) Executive Volunteers" at the Mental Health Corporations of America, Inc. Summer Conference on August 20, 2009. Visit our Resources page to watch the presentation and download supplemental materials from the workshop.
ESC mourns the passing of John, who died in his Dallas home on July 8, 2009 of complications related to cancer. John and his wife, Sandy, joined ESC in 2000. Together they received the John Pehrson Award for their outstanding strategic planning work with Page Ahead Children's Literacy Program in 2002 and 2003. His work with Page Ahead was just one example of John's commitment to education; his obituary in The Dallas Morning News reflects his long history of volunteer work. Memorials to John may be made to St. Simon's After-School Program, P.O. Box 700324, Dallas, Texas 75370.
ESC client organization Jolkona Foundation was featured along with another local nonprofit in a front-page article about making philanthropy more personal.
Jolkona allows potential donors to choose a specific project to fund, and then provides detailed information on the impact of the contributions made. The organization targets young people, primarily aged 15 to 35, showing them the power that even a very small donation can have.
Co-founder and Executive Director Adnan Mahmud approached ESC for assistance when the organization was just getting off the ground. Consultants Doug Petrie, Neha Khandelia, and Kim Heuss have been working with Jolkona since September 2008 on a business plan and long-term strategies for success.
ESC Executive Director Nancy Long spoke about skills-based volunteers at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service this week. The conference was the largest in history and skills-based volunteerism was one of the "buzz topics." While the Executive Service Corps movement has existed for over 30 years - and ESC of Washington was founded 20 years ago - the field of volunteerism is rediscovering this high impact form of volunteerism. Nancy partnered with Alison Carl White, executive director of Seattle Works, an affiliate of the HandsOn network, reinforcing the point that professionals of all ages are interested in providing pro bono service with its focus on time-limited engagements guided by a clear scope of work. The Skills-Based Volunteerism presentation and Readiness Assessment tool she presented can be found here.
Read Nancy's blog posts from the conference on the Philanthropy Northwest website, including information about Michelle Obama's keynote speech.
The Boeing Company recently announced a $20,000 joint award to
Shunpike and ESC. The funding will support a collaborative effort
between Shunpike and ESC to explore enhanced programs for mid-sized arts
groups looking for strategic development support. Shunpike's
Sustainable
Organizations program targets these groups with customized services,
and ESC serves these groups through its cohort-based
Springboard
program. Together, Shunpike and ESC will work to meet the needs of
mid-sized arts groups. Members of the service corps will also have
opportunities to work with Shunpike staff to support arts and cultural
organizations.