RespectAbility Marin Overview

Service should be a part of the mix of post-retirement activities. Healthy aging means staying involved, being creative and making new relationships.

Civic Engagement Leadership Team of Marin
Overview
Background

One out of every four persons living in Marin County is over the age of 55. With more and more 55 to 60-year-olds retiring, there is a tremendous opportunity for nonprofit organizations in Marin to tap into the wealth of knowledge, skill and life experience that this population represents.
A focus group of boomer retirees hosted by the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership in May 2007 validated this perspective. Participants wanted to volunteer if they see that by volunteering they are performing important work, if they are learning new skills and if they are making a vital contribution to the quality of life in their community. They also expressed the desire to retain control of their time and to have flexibility in their schedules. But what was clear was that volunteering is not just a time-filler.
The highly successful older volunteer program, Legacy Leadership Institute, developed in 1999 by the University of Maryland’s Center on Aging to promote lifelong learning and meaningful civic engagement found, in post-evaluations of Institute participants, that 86% said the number one reason they chose the Legacy Leadership Institute was “because it would expand their knowledge and skills.”

National Council on Aging Grant 2007-2009

In May, 2007, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) awarded a total of twelve, two-year $40,000 grants to a diverse group of organizations in nine states. The purpose of the grant was to develop new professional- and leadership-level volunteer programs for 55+ individuals. There were over 200 applicants. The Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership (Center) is proud to be a recipient of this prestigious grant and is thrilled to be part of this national demonstration. It will assume a leadership role in tapping into the wealth of experience and skills that the boomer generation in Marin offers. Recent research has shown that nonprofits are generally not taking full advantage of the extraordinary pool of talent represented by adults 55+ who want meaningful and purposeful volunteer opportunities.
With its grant from the NCOA the Center is launching the Civic Engagement Leadership Team of Marin (CELT) as part of its RespectAbility Marin Initiative. CELT will consist of professional master volunteer advisors for projects that increase the organizational capacity of nonprofits in Marin. Members of CELT will be at the heart of the Center’s mission: to promote volunteerism and to strengthen the delivery of services by nonprofits in Marin.

Service should be a part of the mix of post-retirement activities. Healthy aging means staying involved, being creative and making new relationships. The development of the CELT offers another meaningful volunteer opportunity for older persons in Marin. Marin can only benefit from this rich social resource.

Civic Engagement Leadership Team (CELT) Model

The CELT will consist of approximately twenty-to-thirty professional master volunteers for projects that increase the organizational capacity and infrastructure of nonprofits in Marin in the areas of human resources, executive and management issues, training, board development and business/strategic planning. CELT will help nonprofits develop more challenging opportunities and work with nonprofits to become more competent in working with highly skilled volunteers. CELT volunteers will also be invited to educational forums around issues impacting the nonprofit community in Marin. For more information, contact Liz Rottger, CVNL, 415-448-0334, lrottger@cvnl.org.

Potential Sample Projects for the CELT

1. EXECUTIVE COACHING
Assist executives in establishing their personal goals and support them in achieving these goals. A coach would give the executive one-on-one personal time on a regular basis.

2. HUMAN RESOURCES
? Assist a nonprofit in areas involving benefits, training and staff development, compensation and/or legal issues;
? Develop job descriptions, defining position requirements and compensation range and setting performance review procedures;
? Prepare policy and procedure manuals;
? Determine appropriate policies, procedures and tools to enhance an effective volunteer program, including evaluating staff attitudes and organizational climate.

3. BUSINESS PLANNING
Work with an organization to assess its structure against present and future requirements, including job descriptions, the compensation system and possibly reporting relationships. Develop micro-enterprise business plans for specific projects.

4. STRATEGIC PLANNING
Facilitate and lead a strategic planning process to ensure that an organization has a clear purpose, sense of direction, and sound roadmap for getting where it wants to go.

5. RESEARCH
Research and perform “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats” (SWOT) organizational analyses through community and key informant surveys.