The Junior League of Tucson: A Superior Investment for YOU ! Vicki Clark Building the Capacity of Organizations Memphis, TN- veclark@aol.com

Volunteerism: Alive & Well 2012 Volunteering and Civic Life in America Report www.volunteeringinamerica.gov 26.5% of residents volunteer. 32.4 volunteer hours per resident. 64.5 million volunteers. 7.9 billion hours of service. $175 billion of service contributed. 51.0% of residents donate to charity. 9.0% of residents participate in public meetings. 25.8% of residents over age 55 volunteer.

VOLUNTEERING IS A GATEWAY TO A BETTER YOU Unspoken benefits and life’s lessons from volunteering Get out of your “rut” Get over yourself and learn Become part of a bigger mission Discover the pleasure of learning and working with others Volunteers can “really accomplish great things

The Volunteering/Health Threshold The definition of considerable volunteering has been variously defined by studies as 1) volunteering with two or more organizations; 2) 100 hours or more of volunteer activities per year; and 3) at least 40 hours of volunteering per year. (Oman et al., 1999, Lum and Lightfoot, 2005; Luoh and Herzog, 2002; Musick et al., 1999)

Intangible Benefits of Volunteering Pride, satisfaction, and accomplishment—are worthwhile reasons to serve. In addition, when we share our time & talents we: • Solve Problems • Strengthen Communities • Improve Lives • Connect to Others • Transform Our Own Lives

Mission Driven Membership The Junior League of Tucson is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.  Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.   

What we do best is develop the potential of women Member Engagement As the strategic roadmap delved into our three part mission What emerged is that the lever of our mission-what we do best-is develop the potential of women While all parts of our mission are important, the focus of our mission is civic and community leadership development Which means aligning community work with member development In the changing landscape of non profit organizations that offer volunteer opportunities, civic and community leadership development is what differentiates the Junior League and offers something to our members that they cannot find in any other organization We want to develop women leaders who are knowledgeable about critical issues facing our communities, including how and where community decisions are made, understanding the approach and capacity of involved stakeholders, and joining networks of actors around a specific issue. To give an example: in a project-based approach, a League member (Judy Junior League) fills her volunteer shift by reading to a child; with an issue-based approach, she understands the adult literacy rates in her community, the factors that negatively impact the literacy rate, how education and policy affect those factors, that literacy interventions prior to 4th grade improve adult literacy outcomes And that her involvement with one literacy program is complementing related programs in the community to create a multi-pronged approach to the issue. What we do best is develop the potential of women “A network of women, developed as community and civic leaders, creating community impact.” 7

Invest in the League invest (ɪnˈvɛst) 1. to lay out (money or “capital” in an enterprise, esp by purchasing “shares”) with the expectation of “profit” 2. to devote (effort, resources, etc, to a project) 3. to install formally or ceremoniously (in an official position, rank, etc) 4. to place (power, authority, etc, in) or provide (with power or authority): 5. to provide or endow (a person with qualities, characteristics, etc):

Invest in the League: The League Invests in YOU! Your Junior League: ARRAYS members in the symbols of honor & affiliation FURNISHES each member with power or authority GRANTS members control/authority COVERS/ENVELOPS each member with opportunities and like minded women SURROUNDS members with friends and support ENDOWS each member with a quality experience INFUSES each member with confidence and pride

Junior Leagues: Developing Community & Civic Leadership through…

COMMUNITY IMPACT DIRECT SERVICE INDIRECT SERVICE CAPACITY BUILDING ADVOCACY

“IN LEAGUE” The dictionary always says it best: “an association of persons or groups united by common interests or goals: an informal alliance” associate, band (together), club, coalesce, cohere, confederate, conjoin, cooperate, federate, ally, unite collaborate, gang up, hang together, team (up); incorporate, organize, affiliate; amalgamate, combine, conglomerate, consolidate, converge, group, join, merge; knot, link, tie, wed

THE MEMBERSHIP CONTINUUM The Membership Continuum is a framework for thinking strategically about your relationship with your League. It consists of three stages:   Philanthropic<……>Transactional<……>Integrative

3 KEY MEMBERSHIP INFLUENCES : KNOWLEDGE-TIME-MOTIVATION Knowledge is influenced by: A woman’s past volunteer, paid, life experiences The amount of formal training a volunteer has had The quality of those experiences The value she places on continuous learning and how effective she feels the League experience is at delivering training Other experience/training received related to her placement

KNOWLEDGE-TIME-MOTIVATION Time is influenced by: The amount of time a woman has to devote to volunteering and her own development. This can vary widely from year to year, sometimes with very little notice. How the person prioritizes the Leauge experience. How important the mission, is to the member and what she ‘wants’ from her membership experience.

KNOWLEDGE-TIME-MOTIVATION Motivation is influenced by: How well the member understands the connection between the placement experience/job and the mission-issue of the League. How long he/she has been a volunteer How he/she understands and values volunteerism and leadership development

4 GENERATIONS OF WOMEN UNITED IN SERVICE & LEADERSHIP BIRTH YEAR 1922-1945 Traditionalists, Veterans, Silent Generation 1946-1964 Baby Boomers, The Sandwich Generation 1965-1980 Gen Xers, Generation Xers, Xers 1981-2000 Millennial’s, Gen Y, Nexters

What the Generations Have In Common Flexibility and regard/respect for lifestyle is important Success is finding an issue/cause that has real meaning Being trusted and treated as a valued contributor is the number one factor that defines satisfaction Most volunteers want to learn, grow, and have a variety of positive and rewarding opportunities and experiences.  

THE JUNIOR LEAGUE EXPERIENCE Provides a place to deepen your understanding of: issues challenging your community leadership development nonprofit/volunteer management philanthropy YOUR role as a civic and community leader

Change vs. Transformation Change fixes the past. Transformation creates the future. ~~ ~~ ~~ Junior League members are compelled to do both at the same time.

Transformation Causes A “New You” to Emerge A butterfly is a transformation, not a better caterpillar.

Reflections on “MISSION”: Your Life’s Journey “When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.” W. Clement Stone "You make the world a better place by making yourself a better person." Scott Sorrell