>Welcome!

>Hello all, and welcome to the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership’s volunteer blog! This is a place for us (and you!) to share volunteer stories, and for volunteers to connect. Let’s start by introducing you to the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership. It’s kind of a mouthful to say, I know. It’s even more of a mouthful (handful?) to type! So from now on, we shall abbreviate it to CVNL.

Here at CVNL, we aim to strengthen nonprofits, promote volunteerism, and enhance community leadership in Marin County, California. We do this in two ways: through our Programs Department, and through our Volunteer Services Department. The Programs Department offers nonprofit management services and works toward building nonprofit capacity by offering trainings and workshops. The volunteer services department (that’s us!) works towards engaging volunteers in meaningful service. In other words, we want volunteers to love volunteering! We maintain a database of volunteer opportunities throughout the county, and we also offer our own volunteer programs: Flex, 1:1, BOMA, and CELT. The Flex program offers one time volunteer opportunities, with no commitment or training- it’s an incredibly easy way to give back! Our 1:1 program is a service for volunteers who know they want to volunteer but are unsure of what they want to do. A member of our MVP team (Master Volunteer Program) will arrange to sit down with you and learn what it is you like, what it is you don’t, as well as any time constraints you may have, and they will then come up with a list of volunteer opportunities that they think will match. BOMA, which stands for ‘Board Match’ is a program for those who are interested in serving on the board of a nonprofit. And last, but certainly not least, our CELT program (which stands for Civic Engagement Leadership Team) offers skill-based volunteerism. This is a way for professionals and retirees to put their skills to use in a nonprofit- so if you are a marketing expert and wish to use your expertise to help a nonprofit, then CELT is the program for you!

Make sense? I know, it’s a lot of information to take in at one time. If you are still confused, then please visit our website: http://www.cvnl.org, or e-mail us at: info@cvnl.org. We are more than happy to answer any questions you have about our organization or the programs that we offer.

Now back to the good stuff! Like I said before, this is a way for us and for you to share stories on volunteering! We want to show the world just how important and inspiring volunteering is, and believe that there is no better way to do so than by sharing through volunteer stories. If you have something to share, please e-mail me, Holly, at: hbearden@cvnl.org. I would love to hear from you!