September 29, 2008

Good times in hard times on the agenda at the GCVC meeting in Brazil

Sarah Hayes

IAVE’s Global Corporate Volunteer Council (GCVC) held its fourth meeting in partnership with the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) in Rio de Janeiro and Teresópolis, Brazil on September 16-19, 2008. The goals of the gathering were to:

- Advanced mutual understanding of GCVC members’ volunteer programs and how they are aligned with overall business strategy
- Share best practices in program development and implementation with limited resources
- Share best practices in input, output, and impact measurement tools and procedures
- Identify next steps to foster inter-company collaboration

The meeting was a chance for GCVC members to exchange ideas, and share their experiences in managing employee volunteer and community engagement programs around the world.

IAVE’s GCVC provides a platform for multinational companies to work together, share information, and keep their employee volunteer programs relevant to changing times.

Before participants arrived in Brazil, they were asked to prepare an outline of strategies to align volunteer programs with company business, information on how their company community programs have changed during downturns, as well as ideas for GCVC company collaboration, and proposals to showcase international corporate volunteering during the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10) in 2011.

The invitation to hold the meeting in Brazil came from one of GCVC’s founding members - Vale - who also hosted breakfast on the morning of the September 17 at the Hotel Rio Pestana Atlantica.

The agenda for the following three days included discussion on issues of (1) how to keep corporate volunteering programs thriving when resources are limited, (2) how to involve company middle managers in support of volunteer initiatives, (3) how to effectively use online systems, (4) how to measure the performance of corporate volunteering programs, (5) how to improve collaboration between GCVC members, and (6) how to prepare for IYV+10.

In addition, there were plenty of networking opportunities at the meetings, as well as during meals and other free periods; and of course the chance to enjoy the exciting and beautiful country of Brazil.

GCVC members in attendance included representatives from Vale, Citi, Disney, Telefonica, American Airlines, and Monsanto.

Sarah Hayes, the director of the GCVC and corporate liaison for IAVE, said, “The meeting was informative, innovative, personal and inspirational!”