Notes from the May 28, 2024 CPA Ambassador conference on Volunteer Management Systems.

1. Post-Conference Notes
2. Video Notes
   1. Video 1: Introduction
   2. Video 2: The Birkie and the VMS Landscape
   3. Video 3: DIY vs a Commercial VMS
   4. Video 4: Volunteer Lifecycle
   5. Video 5: The Full May 28 VMS Conference
3. Further Reading and Other CPA Ambassador Conferences
   1. Previous CPA Ambassador Conferences
   2. Concepts Used in this Conference
   3. Further Reading on VMS Software
   4. Comparisons of VMS

Post-Conference Notes

The problem with conferences is that unless you attend and take copious notes, the learnings are lost… except for this one!

• Download the Slide Deck.
• Biographies of Speakers and Panelists.
• Who Volunteers to Comes to a VMS Webinar? Profile of registrants.

Video Notes

While each video is stand alone, it is suggested you watch them in sequence.

Video 1: Introduction

The first of five videos; it provides the concepts used throughout this series.

Video 2: The Birkie and the VMS Landscape

An overview of what is the Canadian Birkebeiner and how a NAIT student group conducted a review of the VMS industry. The VMS Landscape summarizes the first part of this group’s research. This video referenced the following resources:

• The VMS Landscape download the VMS landscape Google Sheet the NAIT Students developed.
• Canadian BIRKIE Ski Festival 2020 (Cross-Country Ski) – YouTube (thank you Myles!)

Video 3: DIY vs a Commercial VMS

Low code technology, such as a Google Form, has made it easy to stand up tools to support the Volunteer Lifecycle. Where is the tipping point, however, between building a VMS and buying the decades of experience from a vendor such as VolunteerLocal? This webinar explored this question by examining the ‘auto-manual’ solution created by Flying Canoë Volant. This video referenced the following resources:

• What is a Google Form (google.com)
• VolunteerLocal
• Flying Canoe (thanks Jeff)
• CANOE RACES!! – Flying Canoe Festival 2020 (thanks Myles)

Video 4: Volunteer Lifecycle

A volunteer lifecycle is designed to help a non-profit strategically plan its resourcing strategy. As discussed in the original blog, Lucky 7’s in LAST VeGA, there are a number of different models available. LAST VeGA is used because it incorporate features that other models often over look, such as Governance.

Video 5: The Full May 28 VMS Conference

The full conference in case you missed it. Not included in the above videos is the question and answer period which covered the following topics:

• What should the Birkie Do? 70% of respondents recommended the Birkie investigate a commercial VMS solution such as VolunteerLocal.
• Privacy. A discussion on privacy and trusting your volunteer information to a VMS.
  • Alberta Personal Information Protection Act – Overview
  • Alberta CIP Operating grant
  • Definition: gamification – Merriam Webster

Further Reading and Other CPA Ambassador Conferences

Previous CPA Ambassador Conferences

• Notes About a Safe Space – OHS and the Non-Profit
• 2020-11-18 – CPA Ambassador – Budgeting for Non Profits

Concepts Used in this Conference

• Lucky 7’s in LAST VeGA
• The Burden of Volunteering
• Paying your Volunteers Well
• A Poor Man’s (non-profit’s) Volunteer System
• (A) Typical Volunteer
• Volunteering Definitions

Further Reading on VMS Software

• Who Volunteers to Comes to a VMS Webinar?
• Questioning VMS’s
• Systematically Herding Cats and Volunteers on May 28, 2024.

Comparisons of VMS

• Note the Gartner is the parent company to the following three sources
  • “Volunteer Management Software – Review Leading Systems.” www.capterra.com.
  • Find the best Volunteer Management Software (softwareadvice.com) and
  • Volunteer Management Software (getapp.com)
  • The Best Volunteer Management Software (softwareconnect.com).
• Best Volunteer Management Software (g2.com)
• https://sourceforge.net/software/volunteer-management/