Support for Nonprofit Organizations

The Maytree Foundation is working on DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project with the Toronto City Summit Alliance. The goal of this major project is to improve the cultural diversity of leadership throughout the GTA. 

DiverseCity onBoard, one of DiverseCity’s initiatives, focuses on helping recruit and train qualified culturally diverse leaders for governance roles on nonprofit boards, public sector agencies, boards and commissions. DiverseCity Onboard is also working on  helping nonprofits prepare to include more diverse members on their boards. You can download this initiative’s Board Mentoring Manual and Diversity in Governance Toolkit

The Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI), along with some of its members, developed these materials to encourage community engagement and participation by new Canadians:

• A list of “ how to” tools that can help organizations become more inclusive
• Profiles of six community service providers, including their roles in facilitating community engagement of newcomers.
•  A practical and easy-to-use Facilitator Guide to Encourage Newcomer Volunteerism for staff and volunteers who work with newcomers.
• A Count Me In! Toolkit from to help organizations become more inclusive.
• A bibliography of research materials and documents on newcomer integration and social inclusion.

The Social Planning Council of Peel prepared The Statistical Profiles and Maps of the Immigrant and Visible Minority Populations in Selected 905 and 519 Regions in Ontario report for the Advancing Cultural Diversity in Volunteer Management in the 905 and 519 Regions in Ontario project. The goal of this report is to improve the capacity of voluntary community organizations in the 905 and 519 Regions in Ontario to be reflective and inclusive of the diverse cultural groups in their communities.

Ontario Volunteer Centre Network. Fifty-four representatives from 23 Volunteer Centres across Ontario took part in a conference to come up with suggestions on how organizations and individuals can improve support for small organizations and increase engagement of volunteers, particularly newcomers, throughout the province. Contact your local volunteer centres for the following resources and training:  

• Inventory: Resources related to engaging new Canadians as volunteers. This has over 130 resources on the engaging New Canadians as volunteers. It suggests 13 of its most useful, practical and reader-friendly suggestions as a starting point for readers. You can find these resources in the on-line searchable database created by the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network in partnership with the Social Planning Council of Peel.  
• Toolkit: Volunteer Readiness for Newcomers to Canada is a training manual for Ontario organizations or groups that serve newcomers to Canada. It introduces newcomers to the concept of volunteerism in Canada and provides them with basic knowledge to succeed as a volunteer. It has lesson notes, PowerPoint slides and handouts. The Ontario Volunteer Centre Network produced this toolkit in partnership with the Volunteer Action Centre of Kitchener-Waterloo and area.
• The Guide for the Cultural Competency Application of the Canadian Code developed in 2009. This Guide provides a framework and practical tools for a cultural competency application of the Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement – a philosophical framework that can help voluntary and nonprofit organizations involve volunteers at the governance, leadership and direct service levels. To develop this Guide, the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network reviewed each part of the Code (such as its values, principles, standards) with a cultural competency perspective, and developed implications and practical applications. Organizations and individuals can use it to help them make volunteer programs and organizations more inclusive and responsive to diverse communities.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre project Engaging Youth from Diverse Ethno-cultural Communities has produced these tools and products:

• The website Volunteering Eh. It includes a play, also called Volunteering Eh!, on the experiences of and challenges faced by newcomer youth in volunteering in Ontario. You can view this play online.
• The research report Engaging youth from diverse ethno-cultural communities. This report documents the current newcomer youth volunteering practices, perceptions about volunteering, and key strategies to enhance newcomer youth engagement in volunteering.
• A Newcomer Youth Volunteerism Kit, scheduled to be finished in Spring 2010. This kit will help youth connect to volunteer opportunities, help parents understand the value and benefits of volunteering, and help teachers, guidance counsellors and nonprofit organizations address barriers to youth volunteering.

ChangeTheWorld Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge

The ministry has partnered with the Ontario Volunteer Centre network and volunteer centres across Ontario for the 2012 ChangeTheWorld Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge – a way for Ontario teens to make a difference in their lives and communities through volunteering.

Help us meet our goal of 25,000 Ontario youth volunteering for three hours over 3 weeks: April 15-May 6, 2012.  Find out how you can be a part of the Challenge.

• What is ChangeTheWorld?
• Check us out on Facebook
• Watch celebrity volunteer messages on YouTube
  

The Catholic Immigration Centre of Ottawa has produced:

• Engaging 50+ Volunteers: A Resource Guide for Agencies and
• The toolkit “Attention Boomers!  Change the World….Again.  A Toolkit to Meaningful Volunteering”

These two resources are a result of this agency’s work in developing and testing volunteering opportunities that can bridge the gap between volunteer options traditionally available in the voluntary sector and opportunities sought by soon-to-retire and recently retired volunteers.