Posted By Melina Condren, Director of Engaging Organizations,
January 19, 2016
Updated: January 19, 2016
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Grassroots groups are an incredible resource for communities across Ontario. They’re powered by passion and dedication to a cause—a group of people who come together in their free time to spark social change. These amazing volunteers often don’t have access to the same resources and support that larger non-profits have, so about a year ago, Volunteer Toronto set out to help them.
But we weren’t sure where to start. So we asked, we listened, and we learned some important lessons. Through focus groups, a survey, and a series of case studies, we got to know grassroots groups in Toronto and across Ontario. We learned that they’re often formed casually, when a group of friends or neighbours see a problem that needs to be solved. We learned that they’re generous not only with their time, but also with their money, since many of them are self-funded. We learned that they’re resourceful, resilient, and innovative. And we learned that they face challenges that keep them from reaching their full potential—challenges that we hope to help them overcome.
Here's only a handful of the challenges they face and the solutions we've come up with to help.
All this barely scratches the surface of what we learned and how we plan to offer support. To learn more, you can read our research report, sign up for a workshop, or like us on Facebook to stay up to date on everything the project has to offer.
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Melina oversees all of Volunteer Toronto's services for organizations, including our training program, volunteer management conference, subscriptions program, and new Grassroots Growth project. Her priority is to ensure our services are effectively helping non-profits build capacity through volunteer involvement and continue to meet the
ever-evolving needs of the voluntary sector. |
Tags:
Burnout
Challenges for Grassroots Organizations
Free Access To Online Volunteer Opportunity Databa
From The Bottom Up Research Report
Grassroots
Grassroots Growth
Identifying Grassroots Resources
Isolation From Other Grassroots Organizations
Mentorship
Networking
Volunteer Recruitment
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