Home » G-CVC MEETING, OCTOBER 4-5, 2007, AT UNV, BONN, GERMANY SUMMARY REPORT
October 16, 2007

G-CVC Meeting, October 4-5, 2007, at UNV, Bonn, Germany SUMMARY REPORT

IAVE IRC

The first official meeting of the IAVE Global Corporate Volunteer Council was held October 4 and 5 at UNV Headquarters in beautiful Bonn, Germany, along the banks of the Rhine River. By all accounts, it was a very interesting and informative meeting, and allowed for some stimulating discussion! A special dinner was also held for G-CVC member company representatives the evening of October 3.

A special thanks to Donna Keher and Valentin Alexandru, of UNV, who made all the arrangements in Bonn and without whose help the meeting could not have come off successfully!

Attending the meeting:
IAVE: Liz Burns and Sarah Hayes
UNV: Ad de Raad, Donna Keher, Mae Chao, Robert Leigh, Marco Van der Ree, Dagmar Schumacher, Bernadette Pham, Fabienne Copin, and Joyce Yu
Citi: Claudia McNamee (also IAVE Board Member) and Oliver Zilcher
Marriott: Barbara Powell
Vale do Rio Doce: Monica Galiano
Disney: Tammy McFeggan
BD: Bette Scott
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer: Karina Fletcher
UNICEF: Anne-Marie Grey
The Red Cross: Lars Linderholm and Jonas Prawitz

Day One
Day one began with a welcoming presentation by Ad de Raad, the Executive Coordinator of UNV, who spoke to the overlap of interests between the sectors and the importance of collaboration. Liz Burns then spoke to the history of IAVE and its purpose of supporting, promoting and celebrating volunteering in all of its manifestations, and also to the interesting routes by which people and organizations come to IAVE! She also talked about the growing importance of the IAVE World Volunteer Conference as a strong platform for corporates to showcase the good work they are doing through their volunteers and areas of focus. The word collaboration again came up as Liz said that there is no possible way for the Millennium Development Goals (the MDG’s) to be reached without collaboration between the sectors and everybody doing their part.

 Day one presented two panels with discussion afterward. The first, Going Global - Structure and Implementation, offered insights into how companies take their employee volunteer programs (EVP’s) global, what are the challenges, how to secure buy-in from those needed from different levels of the company as well as the many cultures in which the business operates. Different structures and ways of administering the programs were presented, as well as the pros and cons of “Global Service Days, Weeks or Months.” Discussion ensued around Volunteering as it fits into a CSR Strategy, global partnerships, focus areas and the relationship of the EVP to the company’s Foundation.

 The second panel, Measurement for Impact, pursued the all important topic of measurement - what gets measured, what you can’t measure, and how do you really know if your programs are actually having impact. The discussion wrapped around the different ways companies measure and track - from numbers of employees involved and projects completed, to the much more complex themes of employee recruitment and loyalty as it relates to the EVP, and the effect - positive or negative - on the NGO’s involved, and actual community or focus area improvement. While we clearly do not have all the answers to these questions, this discussion was stimulating to all and became a thread of interest throughout the rest of the meeting. In keeping with the theme of measurement, the first day finished with a thought-provoking presentation by Monica Galiano on the “Performance Indicators for World Class Corporate Volunteering”, a survey tool to help companies to assess the inherent viability of their EVP’s globally. The proposal is that G-CVC companies will use this tool and collaborate in offering it externally as a G-CVC product. More to come on this.

 Some comments from participants after the first day included “very fruitful”, “great frank and honest discussion”, “this information will help in building our structure globally.”

 The day concluded with some folks taking the beautiful walk along the Rhine, followed by a delicious dinner at El Bistro-ante, which everyone enjoyed along with more conversation - and quite a lot of laughter!

Day Two
Day two began with a panel of our UNV and NGO friends, with the theme International Volunteering and Corporate Sector Partnerships. This lively session brought the helpful view of those who work with companies and their EVP’s - and the joys and the challenges that lie therein. Topics discussed included types of corporate volunteer projects and the implications to the NGO around them, talking honestly and openly from the very beginning on initiatives and projects, setting expectations and managing them. Good examples were shared - from both the NGO and the company side, and everyone agreed that these kinds of open discussions are important and necessary to foster successful partnerships around volunteering in the future and really make an impact on world needs. Donna Keher’s (UNV) presentation on this panel topic can be found on IAVE’s website.

 Mae Chao, UNV, did a very interesting presentation entitled Promotion of Volunteerism Nationally: Building a Beijing Olympics Legacy. With 100,000 volunteers expected to be in service before, during and after the Beijing Olympics, there is much to be learned from their process. Mae’s presentation can also be found on IAVE’s website.

 The afternoon panel on Day Two centered on Volunteer Centers, CVC’s and Brokering Organizations. National and local Volunteer Centers can play a very important role in helping corporate EVP’s connect with the cultures and communities in which they do business. Examples of successful collaborations with Volunteer Centers, such as in the U.K., the Netherlands and Singapore were touched on, as well as how in the EU some volunteer centers are being used for employee trainings. All in all, it was a very informative and thought-provoking session.

 The meeting ended with the “Blue Sky Sessions - Forging the Way Forward”, where participants discussed the big issues that will be affecting global EVP’s as we move forward, what are some key dates ahead, and what will be the role of the G-CVC going into the future.

Some “big issues” identified:

  • Climate Change - EVP’s will need to address the multiple issues that are currently - and will continue to be - arising from this major global problem.
  • Economic issues - potential depressions and other impacts
  • The likelihood of serious pandemics throughout the world
  • Baby Boomers retiring - Retiree Programs will be on the rise

Key Dates relating to IAVE and the G-CVC:

  • December 5 - International Volunteer Day (yearly)
  • IAVE World Volunteer Conference - April 2-5, 2008 - Panama
  • U.N. General Assembly - Fall, 2008 - there will be follow-up on the International Year of Volunteers (IYV).G-CVC will be asked for a contribution to the report from UNV.
  • IYV + 10 - 2011, the next IAVE World Volunteer Conference will likely be the kick-off for the celebrations around this milestone.
  • 2014 - the MDG’s deadline

Other Key Discussion Points:

  • Building the “business case” for NGO’s to partner with companies
  • Capacity-building for volunteer-receiving organizations
  • Capacity-building for volunteers in building their own projects
  • Measurement - improving the way we measure impact - and the differences between outputs and impacts
  • Ways to mark IYV + 10
  • Tying our programs to employee retention
  • Skill-building volunteerism
  • The importance, value and need for the three sectors to talk openly and frankly, without a pre-conceived idea of what an outcome should be

Where the G-CVC fits in:

  • A key player in “bringing the three sectors together”
  • A Reference/Commentary for the corporate volunteering arena
  • An advocate for volunteering to be included in CSR programs and strategies
  • A “champion” for corporate volunteering - adding a voice at the highest levels
  • A platform for employee volunteering interests at the World Volunteer Conference

“Volunteering is an unstoppable force” remarked Liz Burns, as we closed the meeting. All participants agreed that we must our best to create an environment where the spirit of volunteerism can succeed!

Thanks to everybody who participated!

Sarah Hayes
IAVE Corporate Liaison, Director of G-CVC

P.S. Those interested in being a presenter in the Corporate Volunteering Forum in Panama need to let me know. Also, we need to hear from you in terms of conference sponsorship opportunities and the kinds of things you are interested in supporting. Panama is not too far away!