Advancing The Profession

Denise has been Chief Executive with Volunteer Now since August 2017 and prior to that Director of Engagement since 2010. She has extensive experience in supporting volunteer involvement. She has wide ranging expertise in public and organisational volunteering policy development, volunteering research and supporting good practice in volunteering. She is experienced in third sector governance issues through many years working at a senior level in the voluntary and community sector. Denise is an active volunteer for Portadown YMCA, Armagh Rural Transport and Belfast Central Mission. Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

Tony Goodrow, CEO of Better Impact, discusses the importance of data security in volunteer management. Topics include AI impact, safeguarding data, best practices, secure data storage, and ISO 27001 certification. The episode emphasizes the need for strong cybersecurity measures and data minimization to protect sensitive volunteer information.

Faiza Venzant, advocate for volunteer engagement, discusses diversity and equity in volunteerism, the impact of the CVA credential, ethical framework in volunteer management, and embracing community for collective healing. The podcast explores promoting diversity, building authentic relationships, and the importance of unity for overcoming differences.

Sarah Wilson, National Strategy Advisor at Volunteering Australia, discusses the importance of feeling valued in volunteering experiences and the psychological impact. She also talks about developing a new national volunteering strategy in Australia, the intersection of technology and volunteering, and the significance of research evidence in shaping these strategies.

Guest Gethyn Williams, with 20 years in voluntary sector, discusses trends in volunteering data post-2013, challenges in engaging volunteers, need for local infrastructures, diverse contributions at National Trust, expense reimbursement issues, and strategies for enhancing volunteer engagement.

Beth Steinhorn, President of VQ Volunteer Strategies, discusses funding strategies for volunteer engagement, the importance of integrating volunteer engagement in grant applications, the impact of community connections on volunteer involvement, and embracing volunteer engagement as strategic leadership. The conversation highlights the need for investment in infrastructure and systemic change in volunteer engagement.

Explore toxic volunteer cultures, founder syndrome in nonprofits, and values-based recruitment in this episode. Learn how to navigate toxic dynamics and promote climate activism in volunteer engagement roles. Join the host in a conversation with Martin J. Cowling on impactful change, leadership, and volunteering.

The podcast discusses evolving volunteer practices post-pandemic, exploring informal volunteering during the pandemic, developing a national strategy for volunteering in Ireland, enhancing diversity and inclusion in volunteer strategies across Europe, and concludes with encouraging engagement and feedback.

Vanessa Theed is currently the Volunteer and Apprenticeship Strategy Manager at the Natural History Museum and Vice-Chair for the Heritage Volunteering Group (HVG).   Having worked in Volunteer Management for the last 16 years.  Vanessa has a wide variety of experience across different sectors as well as leading on the Investing in Volunteers (IiV) accreditation for best practice for several organisations.  Vanessa hosted one of the first HVG regional network events along with one of the first HVG Volunteer Conferences.  She has developed and supported HVG Inspire events working with local regional networks and has provided Volunteer Management Masterclasses at the Museum and Heritage Show.   Vanessa has lots of energy and enthusiasm and is extremely passionate about volunteering and all that it can bring to both volunteers and volunteer managers.  She doesn’t dwell on the negatives and likes to find solutions to problems and find new ways of working, developing initiatives that can support those we engage with and building collaboration across the sector.  The Heritage Volunteering Group can be found online at http://heritagevolunteeringgroup.org.uk Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com

This episode's guest, Karen Janes, has a special offer for ATP listeners. Karen is offering a free online monthly mindfulness session, on the first Friday of every month, from 12.30-1pm GMT. Sign up to learn the benefits of mindfulness and practice in a small and friendly group setting. You will come away with tools you can use straight away to help you to manage stress, build resilience and bring more calm into your day. These are secular, trauma sensitive and workplace appropriate sessions that are accessible to complete beginners as well as existing practitioners. Click the link below to register and you’ll receive a reminder every month. Just sign up here - https://thekjway.ck.page/freemonthlysessions and come along whenever you can! >>>>> Karen Janes is the owner of The KJ way, delivering workplace mindfulness solutions to help organisations and their people to flourish and thrive. Before setting up The KJ way, Karen had a 20-year career in the charity sector working in senior volunteering engagement roles. She knows well some of the challenges people face, and that busy diverse teams need quick and easy practical tools and solutions they can integrate into their working day, and into the organisational culture, to enable them to be effective and to perform at their best. Mindfulness has been transformational in Karen’s life and she’s now passionate about bringing the benefits of mindfulness into the workplace so other people can experience them too. Karen now teaches organisations powerful evidence-based mindfulness tools that help their people to reduce their stress, increase their resilience, and enhance their focus, effectiveness and personal wellbeing. Through her workshops, talks and programmes, Karen shares practices people can immediately start using, both in their professional and personal lives, to create positive and meaningful change for themselves and their teams. All the practices she offers are secular, trauma sensitive and adapted to the workplace and suitable for people with or without previous mindfulness experience. To find out more Email – karen@thekjway.co.uk Call – 07919 561446 Visit the website – www.thekjway.co.uk Join the mailing list to receive weekly tips and tools, as well as invites to free monthly mindfulness sessions – https://thekjway.ck.page/register Follow on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thekjway/ Follow on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MindfulnessTheKJway/ Music by Zen_Man from Pixabay Thanks to Awesome Panda for their work editing this episode. Find out more at https://www.awesomepandauk.com