The MaytreeFoundation 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.

• DiverseCityOnBoard focuses on helping recruit and train qualified culturally diverse leaders for governance roles on non-for profit boards, public sector agencies, boards and commissions.
• DiverseCity Onboard is also working on helping NFPs prepare to include more diverse members on their boards.

Download 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 for staff and volunteers who work with newcomers.
• Account toolkit 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 led a project to improve the capacity of voluntary community organizations in Ontario’s 905 and 519 regions to be reflective and inclusive of the diverse cultural groups in their communities. Community dialogues were held in eight centres. Project results included:

• The Statistical Profiles and Maps of the Immigrant and Visible Minority Populations in Selected 905 and 519 Regions in Ontario
• Local and regional reports for the Advancing Cultural Diversity in Volunteer Management in the 905 and 519 Regions in Ontario project.
• An inventory of resources for NFP organizations, developed in collaboration with the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network.

Ontario Volunteer Centre Network: Fifty-four representatives from 23 Volunteer Centres across Ontario took part in a conference to discuss ways to improve support for small organizations and increase engagement of volunteers, particularly newcomers, throughout the province. Contact 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 Networking 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 – a philosophical framework that can help voluntary and non-profit 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 A Working Model for Ontario, produced these tools and products:

• The website VolunteeringEh.com which includes downloadable resources such as a live play entitled Volunteering, Eh? based on the experiences of and challenges faced by newcomer youth in volunteering in Ontario, and a research report  that documents current newcomer youth volunteering practices and key strategies to attract newcomer youth 
• A Newcomer Youth Volunteerism Kit,  to help youth connect to volunteer opportunities, help parents understand the value and benefits of volunteering, and help teachers, guidance counsellors and non-profit organizations address barriers to youth volunteering
• A documentary highlighting experiences of youth volunteering in their communities. 

ChangeTheWorld Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge: The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration partnered with the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network and volunteer centres across Ontario for the 2011 ChangeTheWorld: Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge – a way for Ontario teens to make a difference in their lives and communities through volunteering.

The goal was for 10,000 Ontario youth to volunteer for three hours during National Volunteer Week. The result: 14,922 young people volunteered 69,845 hours. More information about the challenge can be found at the links below.

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

The Catholic Immigration Centre of Ottawa developed and tested activities 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. These two resources are a result of that project.

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