•  What is your organization mission statement and values?

Volunteer Manitoba supports groups and individuals in the voluntary sector to develop and enhance their capacity to anticipate, understand, celebrate, and meet community needs in Manitoba. Our vital contributions to the community include connecting people with volunteer opportunities, promoting volunteerism, and providing leadership and counsel in the non-profit and voluntary sectors.

• What types of programs, services or events is your organization currently offering?

Volunteer Manitoba is the only volunteer centre in the province and for over 40 years we have connected people with volunteer opportunities, promoted and celebrated volunteerism, and provided leadership and support to the non-profit and voluntary sectors.

Our Community Outreach allows us to connect with individuals and groups and share information on volunteerism, how to get involved, and advocate for the non-profit sector. We help people find volunteer opportunities, and we work closely with organizations to help promote positions within their volunteer programs.

We run a program called Board Connect, which helps facilitate matches between boards and individuals who want to serve, and the VM Youth Program raises awareness in youth and young adults about the value of volunteerism, and works with agencies and communities on ways to engage the next generation of volunteers.

Over the years, we’ve become known for our training in board governance, volunteer management, and capacity building for groups and individuals. We have workshops, group training, distance and online courses, and webinars! VM’s training is offered in a variety of formats, our most popular (and right now the only) options being virtual and online. We also have lots of resources and supports available so please check out our website for more info on that.

And last, but certainly not least, our Annual Volunteer Awards. We celebrated virtually this year on September 23, and it may have been our most-watched and most popular volunteer awards to date! You can check that out on our website as well.

• Are there any upcoming programs, projects, or event your organization would like to share?

We are currently in the middle of our Fall Training Calendar and we are busy preparing for our Winter courses. We are also launching a new youth program later this fall, and we are really excited about that project. Our volunteer referral program continues to see a lot of traffic, which tells us that people are getting back to volunteering in-person and are eager to give back to their communities.

• How many employees are currently employed in your organization?

We have 6 employees at VM – a small, but mighty team!

• What are the biggest challenges your organization face?

Probably our biggest challenge right now is navigating the pandemic and finding new ways to support the non-profit and voluntary sector during these times. We recognize that technology is essential to maintaining our programs and services, and we’ve been working hard to adapt all we do so we can continue to connect with people and work towards achieving our vision.

Website: www.volunteermanitoba.ca

Facebook: VolunteerManitoba

Instagram: @volunteermanitoba