Summer Focus Group Series
Where
Connecticut Forest & Park Association16 Meriden Road
Downstairs Meeting Room
Rockfall, CT 06481
Driving Directions
Contact
Amy Blaymore PatersonCT Land Conservation Council
860-685-0785
abpaterson@ctconservation.org
2014 Focus Group: Volunteer Recruitment
Volunteers are our lifeblood: More than 1 of 4 Americans volunteered in 2013 for a total of 7.9 billion hours. But what is the secret of attracting and retaining the best volunteers - the volunteers who will not only help protect land but also provide financial support and bring in new members? What are your peers doing? What are new models? And how can we sustain and do better?
On behalf of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC) Training & Education Committee (TEC), we invite you to explore the answers to these questions at CLCC’s 2014 Focus Group, the latest in a series of consultant-led roundtables for Connecticut land trust officers, board members and committee chairs held annually each summer.
This year’s focus group will be for any officers, board members, committee chairs or others in your land trust who focus on volunteer recruitment.
The purpose of the CLCC Focus Group Series is twofold: (i) to provide peer-to-peer networking for a group of individuals serving in a similar capacity in diverse land trusts who otherwise might not get the opportunity to meet and talk; and (ii) to gather information and gain a better understanding of how Connecticut’s land trusts use their boards, staff and volunteers to increase organizational capacity.
We have scheduled the Focus Group for Friday, August 1 from 9:30am to 2:30pm at the Connecticut Forest & Park Association headquarters in Rockfall (just outside of Middletown). The discussion will be facilitated by CLCC Training and Education Co-Chair Connie Manes.
Participants will explore effective strategies for engaging volunteers work and creating a meaningful volunteer experience. Discussion topics are expected to include:
- Components of a successful volunteer program
- Balancing volunteers’ needs and land trust needs – “keeping it fun while getting it done”
- Trends in volunteer recruitment – making use of technology
- Tracking volunteer work
- Volunteer appreciation
- Correlation with membership and donations
- Micro-volunteering and social networking
- New models of volunteerism
Ultimately we hope to be able to draw conclusions and make recommendations regarding the successes and challenges of land trusts in their volunteer recruitment, as well as the human resource needs of land trusts in order to improve their capacity. We will be producing a written report and will present our findings at the 2015 Connecticut Land Conservation Conference in March.
Lunch will be provided. Space is limited to 25 participants so please reserve your space as soon as possible. Cost is FREE for CLCC members and $25 for non-members.
Please direct any questions to me at abpaterson@ctconservation.org. We hope you will join us for this important initiative and look forward to receiving your reply.
Very truly yours,
Amy Paterson, Executive Director
Cost:
CLCC Member: Free
Non-CLCC Member: $25
Lunch will be provided.
Experience Level:
All
Facilitator:
CLCC Training & Education Committee Co-Chair, Connie Manes