article Virtual Volunteering 101 in Knowledge Base

article Virtual Volunteering 101 in Knowledge Base https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/Knowledge-Base/Virtual-Volunteering-101/ta-p/126 <DIV class="lia-message-template-question-zone"> <H2>Question</H2> <P> </P> <P>How can my employees and I donate time when we can't all be together in person? What are fully remote companies doing to volunteer?</P> <P> </P> </DIV> <DIV class="lia-message-template-answer-zone"> <H2>Answer</H2> <P> </P> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">While it may seem overwhelming at first, working remotely actually </SPAN><I><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">expands</SPAN></I><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;"> the way that teams can volunteer their time. </SPAN></P> <P> </P> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">Here are a few tips for building a virtual volunteering program for your company. For a deeper dive, check out our <A href="https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/tkb/workflowpage/tkb-id/knowledge/article-id/9" target="_self"><STRONG>Virtual Volunteering Playbook</STRONG></A>. To learn more about volunteering in general, check out this <A href="https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/tkb/workflowpage/tkb-id/knowledge/article-id/4?prePageCrumb=TkbDashboardPage" target="_self">Time Donation 101 post</A>. <EM> [Note: Some assets (such as playbooks) and functionalities are only available to Pledge 1% members. To join, <A href="https://info.pledge1percent.org/pledgenow" target="_self">take the pledge</A> today!]</EM></SPAN></P> <P> </P> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">Some of these examples are larger companies, but the concepts are relevant for any company size, even solo entrepreneurs.</SPAN></P> <H2> </H2> <H2><STRONG>1) Explore Multiple Types of Virtual Volunteering</STRONG></H2> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;"><BR /></SPAN><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">As you can see from this <A href="https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/Playbooks/Virtual-Volunteering-Playbook/ba-p/31" target="_self">Virtual Volunteering Playbook</A> snippet, there are multiple types of virtual volunteering. Your team can pursue group activities, solo opportunities, or even get the family involved! They can do something completely unrelated to their job (ex. making cards), use their professional skills, or even learn more about issues in a nonprofit-led session that combines education with action.</SPAN><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;"><BR /><BR /></SPAN></P> <P><STRONG><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;"><EM>[Note: Some assets (such as playbooks) and functionalities are only available to Pledge 1% members. To join, <A href="https://info.pledge1percent.org/pledgenow" target="_self">take the pledge</A> today!]</EM></SPAN></STRONG></P> <P> </P> <P> </P> <span class="lia-inline-image-display-wrapper lia-image-align-inline" image-alt="Lindsey_P1_0-1627858611274.png" style="width: 999px;"><img src="https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/83i6DAF405C26D6ABBE/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999" role="button" title="Lindsey_P1_0-1627858611274.png" alt="Lindsey_P1_0-1627858611274.png" /></span> <P> </P> <P><LI-WRAPPER></LI-WRAPPER></P> <P> </P> <BR /> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">As you consider your options, here are some questions to ask yourself:</SPAN><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;"><BR /><BR /></SPAN></P> <UL> <LI style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">Do I want to emphasize team bonding, individual flexibility, or a combination of both? </SPAN></LI> <LI style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">Are there particular causes our company wants to support or professional skill sets that we want to share?</SPAN></LI> </UL> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">The answers will help shape your overall virtual volunteering strategy. There’s no one single answer! Many companies experiment with offering a variety of options (ex. group and solo activities). </SPAN></P> <P> </P> <H2> </H2> <H2><STRONG>2) Find Relevant Volunteering Opportunities</STRONG></H2> <P> </P> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">Once you’ve decided on an overall approach, you can research virtual volunteering activities. Consider reaching out to your local nonprofits or organizations that you may have worked with previously. Many nonprofits now offer virtual opportunities.</SPAN></P> <BR /> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">To get you started, we’ve compiled a few opportunities in our <A href="https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/Playbooks/Virtual-Volunteering-Playbook/ba-p/31" target="_self">Virtual Volunteering Playbook</A> (below). Please download the playbook itself for clickable links.</SPAN></P> <BR /> <P> </P> <span class="lia-inline-image-display-wrapper lia-image-align-inline" image-alt="Lindsey_P1_1-1627858611519.png" style="width: 999px;"><img src="https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/82i9D2A0B017D89C819/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999" role="button" title="Lindsey_P1_1-1627858611519.png" alt="Lindsey_P1_1-1627858611519.png" /></span><SPAN style="font-family: inherit;"> </SPAN> <H2> </H2> <H2> </H2> <H2><STRONG>3) Encourage Team Participation</STRONG></H2> <P> </P> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">Next, you’ll want to invite your team to get involved! Encouraging virtual volunteering is a little trickier than putting up signs on the water cooler. Here are some ways to inspire your team to participate. </SPAN></P> <BR /> <H4><STRONG>Add Urgency</STRONG></H4> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">Establish volunteering part of your company culture by making it part of the rhythm of your business. Give employees a reason as to why they should take action </SPAN><I><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">now </SPAN></I><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">versus next month. </SPAN></P> <BR /> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">For example, one of our members, Rock Content, has a Global Week of Service, where they emphasize team volunteering opportunities. Another one of our members, a ten-person law firm, encourages more employees to volunteer on their own. However, each internal newsletter includes relevant volunteer opportunities for the month (ex. environmental volunteering options for Earth Day). The goal is to make virtual volunteering part of the “rhythm” of your business versus something that people intend to do (but forget about). </SPAN></P> <BR /> <H4><STRONG>Involve Leadership</STRONG></H4> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">If virtual volunteering is important to your executives, it becomes important for everyone else! We recommend that executives get actively involved whenever possible. Here are some tips on how to make it easy for executives to participate. </SPAN><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;"><BR /><BR /></SPAN></P> <P> </P> <span class="lia-inline-image-display-wrapper lia-image-align-inline" image-alt="Lindsey_P1_2-1627858611407.png" style="width: 999px;"><img src="https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/84i971A0310E63B2A0B/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999" role="button" title="Lindsey_P1_2-1627858611407.png" alt="Lindsey_P1_2-1627858611407.png" /></span> <P> </P> <H4> </H4> <H4><STRONG>Find Your Rallying Agents</STRONG></H4> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">Virtual volunteering will naturally excite some employees more than others. Identify these potential champions and empower them to spread the word! Social impact programs provide leadership opportunities for team members who may not otherwise have them in the day-to-day responsibilities. </SPAN></P> <BR /> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">You can also highlight active participants in your publications (ex. email newsletter, blog or recruiting page), or give them facetime with executive leadership. </SPAN></P> <BR /> <H4><STRONG>Gamification</STRONG></H4> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">Who doesn’t love a good competition? Rock Content used gamification to get employees to sign up and show up. </SPAN></P> <P> </P> <P> </P> <span class="lia-inline-image-display-wrapper lia-image-align-inline" image-alt="Lindsey_P1_3-1627858611347.png" style="width: 999px;"><img src="https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/85iD94A7C354A422274/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999" role="button" title="Lindsey_P1_3-1627858611347.png" alt="Lindsey_P1_3-1627858611347.png" /></span> <P><LI-WRAPPER></LI-WRAPPER></P> <P> </P> <H4><STRONG>Make it fun! </STRONG></H4> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">For group activities, add something extra to engage your team. You could send out a relevant article or video ahead of time, or come prepared with a list of icebreaker questions. Some companies even like to make a collaborative Spotify playlist to set the mood!</SPAN></P> <BR /> <H4><STRONG>Measure Your Impact</STRONG></H4> <P><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;">Nothing is more motivating than seeing how much a difference your participation makes. Work with your nonprofit partner to showcase the outcome of your efforts (ex. number of people helped). You can also use internal metrics to highlight participation (ex. number of employees, dollar value of each employee’s time). Some companies even combine these metrics into a ratio: amount of social impact per time donated.</SPAN></P> <P> </P> <BR /> <H2><STRONG>Want more info?</STRONG></H2> <P><STRONG><A href="https://f.hubspotusercontent10.net/hubfs/3013166/Pledge%201%25%20Virtual%20Volunteering%20Playbook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><BUTTON type="button">Download the Virtual Volunteering Playbook</BUTTON></A></STRONG></P> <P> </P> <P><STRONG><SPAN style="font-weight: 400;"><EM>[Note: Some assets (such as playbooks) and functionalities are only available to Pledge 1% members. To join, <A href="https://info.pledge1percent.org/pledgenow" target="_self">take the pledge</A> today!]</EM></SPAN></STRONG></P> <P> </P> <P>You can also watch our case study on <A href="https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/tkb/workflowpage/tkb-id/knowledge/article-id/20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Salesforce's Virtual Volunteering Strategy</A>.</P> <P> </P> <P> </P> </DIV> <DIV class="lia-message-template-answer-zone"> <H2><STRONG>What About You?</STRONG></H2> <P>Does your team do virtually volunteering? How has that been going? Let us know in the comments below!</P> </DIV> <DIV class="lia-message-template-answer-zone"> </DIV> <P> </P> <P> </P> <P> </P> Wed, 06 Oct 2021 23:42:26 GMT Lindsey_P1 2021-10-06T23:42:26Z Virtual Volunteering 101 https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/Knowledge-Base/Virtual-Volunteering-101/ta-p/126 <P>Even though more and more employees working remotely, you can still engage them to volunteer time! Here is an overview on everything that you need to know about virtual volunteering.</P> Wed, 06 Oct 2021 23:42:26 GMT https://community.pledge1percent.org/t5/Knowledge-Base/Virtual-Volunteering-101/ta-p/126 Lindsey_P1 2021-10-06T23:42:26Z