Rosemary Byrnes, Vice Chair, Committees of the Board
Felix Tapia, Vice Chair, Committees of the Corporation
Grant Mitchell, M.D., Treasurer
Amy Seiden, Secretary
Carlos Andrade
Tara Fappiano
Joseph Farrenkopf
Ed Forbes
Joshua Gaccione
Phillip Ham
Lydia Kris
Ilene Levy
Carmen L. Martínez-López, PhD
Tanya Moximchalk
Christina Nash
Daniel Patrick
Robert Pisano, Jr.
Carla Rojas
Steve Sonet
Abbe P. Stein
Deborah Thomas
Geraldine Watson
Gerrylyn Williams
Strategic Advisors
Markham F. Rollins, III
Marjorie Lang
Executive Director
Jeanette Gisbert, MPA
WELCOME FROM THE BOARD CHAIR August, 2024
Thank you so much for your commitment to serve on the Board of Volunteer New York!. I hope this experience will be personally rewarding as you take your place among a long list of business and community leaders who share a passion for fostering volunteerism and community throughout Westchester, Rockland and Putman Counties. It is essential that you, as a leader of Volunteer New York!, have a thorough understanding and working knowledge of the goals, purposes and operating functions of this great organization. To this end, as you assume your responsibilities as a member of the Board, we have developed this Board handbook to serve as a resource and reference.
For almost 75 years (we celebrate our 75th Anniversary in 2025!) , the Volunteer Service Bureau of Westchester, Inc. (d/b/a Volunteer New York!) has strategically and effectively evolved to meet the changing needs in our community, creating initiatives in collaboration with the business sector, organizing large community-wide days of service, preparing individuals for significant roles in the nonprofit sector, honoring outstanding volunteers and expanding services to engage volunteers of all ages and abilities. Last year we helped inspire more than 35,000 volunteers who contributed over 457,000 hours of service valued at nearly $17.1 million to the community.
Our success is due to the power of people: our Board, professional staff and the volunteers who choose to devote service hours directly to us. Our beliefs and values bond us together:
We value community. We value volunteerism. We believe everyone can serve. We believe volunteering is transformational. We believe relationships matter.
We all believe in the transformative power of people to make positive change.
We are a thriving organization with a new strategic plan and clear vision for how we are moving forward into 2025 and beyond. We are grateful that you will be a part of our efforts, sharing your skills and passions in so many ways. Your willingness to serve our organization is a gift and an opportunity for us. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me, our Executive Committee, fellow board members or staff at any time with any questions.
On behalf of the Board, our dedicated staff, and many office volunteers, we welcome you and thank you for answering this call to serve!
Sincerely,
Michael Welling Chair, Board of Director
2024-2025 Board Member Meetings
BOARD MEETINGS MAJOR VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! (VNY!) EVENTS BOARD ATTENDANCE REQUESTED EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
SEPTEMBER 2024 9/26 8am-9:30 am @ VNY!
(* 200 White Plains Road Conference Room)
New Board Member Orientation Tuesday, August 27th @ 4:30pm @VNY! 9/11 Day of Service Friday, September 6th and Wednesday, September 11th 9/10 8am-9am via ZOOM
OCTOBER 2024 VNY! Programmatic Overview Wednesday, October 9th 8:30am-10:30am 10/8 8am-9am via ZOOM
NOVEMBER 2024 11/14 8am-9:30am @VNY!
DECEMBER 2024 12/10 8am-9am via ZOOM
JANUARY 2025 1/16 8am-9:30am @ VNY!
FEBRUARY 2025 Business Thank You Party TBA 2/4 8am-9am via ZOOM
MARCH 2025 3/20 4:30pm-6pm @ VNY! 6-7pm Board Happy Hour
APRIL 2025
Volunteer Spirit Awards Friday, April 11th
Leadership Westchester Panel Wednesday, April 23rd New Rochelle Parks Clean Up TBA 4/1 8am-9am via ZOOM
MAY 2025 5/22 8am-10am @ VNY!
JUNE 2025 6/26 8am-9:30am @ VNY! Leadership Westchester Graduation TBA 6/3 8am-9am via ZOOM
• Meetings are held in the conference room at 200 White Plains Road, Tarrytown. The building next to Volunteer New York! headquarters.
VISION
Our Community is vibrant, resilient, and equitable.
MISSION STATEMENT
Volunteer New York! mobilizes our community to address its greatest challenges.
We value community. We value volunteerism.
We believe…
• Everyone can serve.
• Volunteering is transformational.
• Relationships matter.
Volunteer New York! History
Volunteer New York! has been evolving to meet the changing needs of our communities since it was first conceived in 1949 by a small group of committed volunteers, including Jane Schwarz and Marie Levy, who wanted to create an efficient structure for matching the needs of nonprofits to individuals interested in service throughout Westchester. In donated office space with a borrowed desk and phone, the Volunteer Service Bureau of Westchester was launched and in 1950, Executive Director Mrs. Glen Hudson interviewed and referred the first of thousands of volunteers.
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2014
The Volunteer Service Bureau, Inc. was incorporated as a 501(c)3 organization. Operation Steppingstone began to help people recovering from mental health issues transition into work.
We became one of the first agencies to run SERVE (RSVP forerunner), a national pilot program to engage people age 60+ in volunteer service.
RSVP is launched nationally and we became the local sponsor for RSVP of Westchester to engage people age 55+ in volunteer service. We also began on encouraging youth to volunteer with a focused summer program. We became part of a national network of volunteer centers and changed our focus from just matching volunteers to actively seeking our strategies to solve community issues.
We established the Business Volunteer Council as a network of interested socially responsible corporations that wanted to encourage employee volunteerism. We established a Board Bank to help nonprofits find quality board members. We begin honoring outstanding volunteers at our annual recognition event, now called the Volunteer Spirit Awards. We entered into a strategic partnership with United Way of Westchester and Putnam to foster greater volunteerism and expanded efforts into Putnam County.
We began doing business as The Volunteer Center of United Way. With support from the Westchester County Office of Mental Health we added the Volunteer Internship Program (VIP) to engage people recovering from mental health issues. We graduated the first Leadership Westchester class.
We launched online matching and established our web presence. A grant from the Helen Andrus Benedict Foundation allowed us to deepen our commitment to engaging volunteers age 55+ in Yonkers. We became part of the HandsOn Network, the largest network of volunteer connector organizations in the nation. Support from New York Life quadruples the number of youth receiving volunteer referrals. We established a Corporate Volunteer Program to help companies wishing to establish employee volunteer programs and manage company days of service.
We received the New York State Governor’s ROSE Award for Recognition of Service Excellence at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. We became one of ten regional volunteer centers designated by New York State and our coverage area will group to encompass the Mid-Hudson Valley region including Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange Ulster and Sullivan counties by 2014.
The Volunteer Center of United Way becomes Volunteer New York!, helping people of all ages engage their passions, talents and skills to address pressing local challenges, support nonprofits, and build more caring and vibrant communities.
Volunteer New York! celebrated its 65 Birthday during the month of February by bringing generations of volunteers, nonprofits and community leaders together through a viral social campaign and virtual birthday party #VNY65. Paul Schwarz, son of our late cofounder Jane Schwarz joined us at a press event at the YMCA of White Plains to re-enact the first volunteer to nonprofit connection that was made at a desk his mother borrowed at the White Plains "Y" some 65 years ago!
In 2015 we began a partnership with the Journal News Media Group and began an annual Giving Tuesday Volunteer Hat campaign. We also launched the Volunteer Hunger Relief Corps program, which was made possible by a Volunteer Generation Fund grant from the New York State Commission on National and Community Service. 2016
In 2016 we launched the RISE program, which stands for Readiness thru Integrated Service Engagement. The RISE program addresses the growing need to find meaningful community experiences for high functioning young adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
A special 20th anniversary celebration of Leadership Westchester was held after the 20th class of the program completed their graduation. This LW20 event brought together alumni from as far back as the 1st Leadership Westchester class and raised over $50,000 to support the future of the program LW20 is considered the largest celebration in the program’s history.
2017
2018
The Giving Tuesday Volunteer Hat made its debut in Rockland in late 2017. Volunteer New York! hired its first full-time Director of Development. While also building upon the success of Volunteer New York!’s Nonprofit Board Speed Dating events, Volunteer New York! partnered with Westchester Community Foundation to develop Nonprofit Board Boot Camp, to help deepen the pipeline of professional candidates seeking to volunteer on a Nonprofit Board of Directors.
Volunteer New York! opened a satellite office in Rockland County as part of efforts made possible through the 2017 Giving Tuesday Campaign
Volunteer New York! received a mobile-friendly website redesign. The Youth Volunteer Guidebook, which has been published annually as a reference desk item for many years, was turned into its own app. The Youth Volunteer Guidebook App was made for youth (parents, teachers and counselors as well) to give them easier access to local nonprofits, service and leadership opportunities.
Vision
Our Community is vibrant, resilient, and equitable
Mission
• Volunteer New York! mobilizes our community to address its greatest challenges
We do this by:
• Creating the pathways that convert good intentions into action
– Volunteer opportunity database
– Community Wide Action Days (9/11 and MLK)
– RSVP Program
– Customized Corporate Days of Service
– Volunteer New Rochelle!
– RISE
We do this by:
• Inspiring the Community to act:
Volunteer Spirit Awards
Youth and Family Program
Training Community Leaders:
We do this by:
Strengthening Nonprofits
Volunteer Manager’s Breakfast
HandsOn Connect Training
Volunteer New York! Values
Community
Volunteerism
Volunteer New York! Beliefs
• We believe everyone can serve.
•
•
We believe volunteering is transformational.
We believe relationships matter
Tagline
Strategic Plan Update
Mission and Vision
Mission: Volunteer New York! Mobilizes our community to address its greatest challenges
Vision: Our community is vibrant, resilient, and equitable.
GOAL #1
• Volunteer New York! will deepen it impact by engaging volunteers in programming that centers community needs.
STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
OUR FOCUS FOR TODAY
GOAL #2
• Volunteer New York! will increase our impact by engaging a growing number of people in service to our community
Goal #3
• Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
Goal #4
• Volunteer New York! will ensure it has a robust resource engine.
GOAL #5
• Volunteer New York! will have the team, technology, and systems to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision.
GOAL #1
Volunteer New York! will deepen it impact by engaging volunteers in programming that centers community needs.
Reach out proactively with resources and volunteer programs to meet community needs and desires.
Increase our supports for more grassroots partners and community leaders.
Ensure our partners are better stewards of volunteerism and volunteer management practices.
Current work: Goal 1, Objective 1
GOAL 1: Volunteer New York! will deepen its impact by engaging volunteers in programming that centers community needs.
OBJECTIVE 1: Reach out proactively with resources and volunteer programs to meet community needs and desires.
Brainstormed coalitions and community groups for staff to join
Presented to Feeding Westchester Partners
Current work: Goal 1, Objective 2
GOAL 1: Volunteer New York! will deepen its impact by engaging volunteers in programming that centers community needs.
OBJECTIVE 2: Increase our supports for more grassroots partners and community leaders.
Discussed and outlined a pilot program to work with these partners
• Submitted Impact 100 grant
• Developing criteria to select partners
Re-evaluating Not invited to 2nd round with Impact100
• We have proposed this pilot to Legislator Jewel Williams-Johnson and will apply for funding in the fall.
• Katie and Charles are working on a smaller pilot to move forward.
• Possible collaboration with NPW to support emerging nonprofits.
Current work: Goal 1, Objective 3
GOAL 1: Volunteer New York! will deepen its impact by engaging volunteers in programming that centers community needs.
OBJECTIVE 3: Ensure our partners are better stewards of volunteerism and volunteer management practices.
Volunteer management best practices shared in our monthly agency e-news In progress
Office hours held twice a month In progress
Hold quarterly volunteer managers meetings In progress
Attendance is low so far
Scheduled for 7/11
Reimagine Board Boot Camp In progress
New format for fall
• Freddy Garcia is speaking about recruiting diverse volunteers and creating an inclusive environment at the breakfast.
• Surveyed BBC participants who joined boards and EDs who gained board members.
GOAL #2
Volunteer New York! will increase our impact by engaging a growing number of people in service to our community.
Expand definition of volunteerism to also include broader civic engagement activities.
Increase our outreach to ensure our volunteer base reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.
Ensure that our programs are an inclusive experience for all who serve.
Task List: Goal 2, Objective 1
GOAL 2: Volunteer New York! will increase its impact by engaging a growing number of people in service to our community.
OBJECTIVE 1: Expand definition of volunteerism to also include broader civic engagement activities.
Civic Minded: MLK Day Webinar Completed 67 attendees
Social Media Campaign on Civic Circles In progress
• So far, we have focused on 2 circles: listen & learn and volunteer.
• We are planning to share civic health research for our 75th anniversary.
Civic Circle Social Media Campaign
Task List: Goal 2, Objective 2
GOAL 2: Volunteer New York! will increase its impact by engaging a growing number of people in service to our community.
OBJECTIVE 2: Increase our outreach to ensure our volunteer base reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.
Analyzed demographics of volunteers Completed
Analyzed demographics of RSVP volunteers Completed Focused on Mt. Vernon & Yonkers
Outreach events in priority neighborhoods In progress
• Withdrew Field Hall Foundation grant application after Cheryl resigned
Task List: Goal 2, Objective 3
GOAL 2: Volunteer New York! will increase its impact by engaging a growing number of people in service to our community.
OBJECTIVE 3: Ensure that our programs are an inclusive experience for all who serve.
Updated site visit procedure Completed
Staff training on new procedure Completed
Update volunteer opportunity wizard to share accessibility info and improve user experience for community partners In progress Meeting with HOC team scheduled
GOAL #3
Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
Expand the Board’s abilities to grow revenue.
Review and align committee structure with the needs of the organization.
Ensure the make up the board aligns with the needs of the organization and reflects the makeup of the community we serve.
Provide professional development, engagement, and ongoing training opportunities for Board members.
Goal 3
GOAL 3: Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
OBJECTIVE 1: Expand the Board’s abilities to grow revenue
• Held AAA Workshop •
1-1 meetings with board members scheduled
Goal 3
GOAL 3: Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
OBJECTIVE 2: Review and align committee structure with the needs of the organization.
• Re-Evaluate Development Committee (Year 2)with input from Dylan – In Progress
• LWAA Committee - Dissolved
• Finance Committee - launch in FY25
• Years 2 & 3: Assess whether Technology Committee is needed (to address web site, social media, etc.)
Goal 3
GOAL 3: Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
OBJECTIVE 3: Ensure the make up the board aligns with the needs of the organization and reflects the make-up of the community we serve.
DEI Survey - Completed
Utilized information for board recruitment process
GOAL 3: Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
OBJECTIVE 4: Provide professional development, engagement, and ongoing training opportunities for Board members.
GOAL #5
Volunteer New York! will have the team, technology, and systems to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision.
Improve recruitment and retention practices to ensure we have a strong and diverse team.
Ensure staff have access and skills to use technology and other operational tools to successfully complete their job duties.
Increase the sustainability of our work by reviewing systems and documenting practices that build institutional knowledge.
Develop and Implement a Financial Strategic Plan.
Volunteer Mobilization
General
• Discovery – post known quality volunteer opportunities across multiple channels
• Connection - make it easy for interested people to get started with community partners
This includes active and continuous relationship building and management to ensure opportunities and other key information is current and actionable
• Curated discovery and connection … and … project scoping and implementation support for specialized and specific audiences, examples:
• Corporations,
Volunteer Mobilization Specialized
Community
Partner Capacity
Builder
Community Leader and
Expert on People Power
• Seniors,
• People with special needs,
• Open board positions
• Leadership training for specialized volunteer roles
• Training on volunteer management, especially for small and/or emerging community partners and new volunteer managers
• Project scoping support – what roles and responsibilities are good for vols and what is needed to get started
• Project management support to host corporate groups or other specialized populations
• Volunteer recognition support
• Aware of key issues facing our community and the other entities that are working to address them
• Actively cultivating relationships with the experts and community leaders of influence in our community
• Actively working to have people power be integrated into all appropriate decision making ‘tables’
What this does NOT include for VNY! (at least for the foreseeable future)
Creating ‘managed projects’ for the general public
Thought Leader
• Ensure community is aware that people power makes a difference
• Ensure community is aware there are needs for people power all around them
• Summarize impact and potential of people power on critical community issues
• Board volunteer support beyond initial matching and board basics training
Does saying something about skills based vols need to be here?
• Help getting 501c3 status
• Provide support for staff hiring (posting jobs)
• In depth nonprofit board training
Notes
• An expert on specific issues beyond people power
Why do we do specialized? 2 reasons?
1) Specific community has more barriers to civic engagement than general population
2) Specific community can pay and provide resources grow our larger mission
Connections to other community organizations is done occasionally at the discretion of the team, but not to the point where it is diverting resources from key services.
• Seeking to do original research on our own (would consider with a partner)
DEFINITIONS
Term
Community Partner
We are intentional in using both community and partner in this label
VNY! Definition Notes
• Any organized group or individual that is working to meet the needs of the community they serve
• This often is a 501c3 and can also include government partners, local community groups that are not nonprofits, schools, and community leaders who work with us on initiatives.
Organizations that:
• Typically don’t have a lot of infrastructure (often by design)
Grassroots
Project Scoping
• Tend to be smaller (not all)
• Are more hyperlocal
• Tend to be led and run by people directly from the community they are serving
• Helping community partners identify volunteer opportunities that help them meet their mission and goals, sometimes includes direct support in how to implement
Partners of VNY! must:
• Be inclusive
• Go through VNY! vetting/approval
• Not an individual seeking a volunteer for personal support
VNY! is trying to be more intentional about working with partners directly from the communities they serve
This is required for any project that requires VNY! staff.
Situational Analysis
JANUARY 2023
Gisbert, Executive Director
Jeanette
The Volunteer New York! Board of Directors launched a strategic planning process in March of 2022 Collaborating with consultant Gary Bagley, the management team gathered feedback and input from Board, staff, and external stakeholders (community partners, corporate, foundation, government, and individual supporters). This feedback, together with analyses of the external environment and internal operations, produced the following findings:
VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! IS HELD IN HIGH REGARD BY ITS STAKEHOLDERS THERE WAS CONSENSUS THAT VOLUNTEER NEW YORK!:
• Offers a tremendous number of volunteer opportunities in a variety of issue areas while serving a wide geographic area in the Lower Hudson Valley;
• Expands its Community Partners’ capacity with its mission-critical volunteer programs;
• Connects its stakeholders masterfully – engaging individuals, nonprofits, companies, and community leaders though its programs and bringing those constituents together to celebrate the power of volunteerism;
• Responds resourcefully and flexibly, especially during emergencies and crises, like the pandemic;
• Manages its resources strategically, providing deep insights into what motivates people to volunteer and making wise and careful choices as to what opportunities it should pursue;
• Leads with a spirit of optimism that is refreshing and energizing.
TO IMPROVE ITS WORK, VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! SHOULD:
• Refine its definition of and ability to measure and communicate impact by moving beyond its current focus on outputs as evidence of its success;
• Consider linking its impact to a stronger focus on certain issue areas or in specific geographic areas;
• Expand awareness of its core offering – volunteer programming. Only those who engage directly with Volunteer New York! volunteers would be considered knowledgeably aware.
• Identify and communicate the thread that connects programs – such as the Volunteer Spirit Awards, Leadership Westchester, and its Days of Service on 9/11 and MLK Day – to its core mission; and
• State its commitment to equity and social justice and then elevate the stories of its partners, its own expertise, and provide education and training for its volunteers
VOLUNTEER NEW YORK’S UNIQUE ROLE
The following four elements of Volunteer New York’s! work, taken together, define its unique role in the nonprofit sector in the Lower Hudson Valley as well as a framework for where to focus its efforts in defining and measuring impact:
• A wide geographic reach
• Multiple issue areas
• Achieving volunteering at scale
• Its ability to connect across sectors
Before laying out strategies for the coming five years, the staff and Board dedicated time to redefining the vision and mission of the organization
VISION
OUR COMMUNITY IS VIBRANT, RESILIENT, AND EQUITABLE
MISSION
VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! MOBILIZES OUR COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS ITS GREATEST CHALLENGES
VOLUNTEER NEW YORK ACHIEVES THIS BY: CREATING THE PATHWAYS THAT CONVERT GOOD INTENTIONS INTO ACTION INSPIRING THE COMMUNITY TO ACT
● Volunteer opportunity database
● Community Wide Action Days (9/11 and MLK)
● RSVP
● Customized Corporate Days of Service
● Volunteer New Rochelle!
● RISE
● Volunteer Spirit Awards
● Youth and Family Programs
TRAINING COMMUNITY LEADERS STRENGTHENING NONPROFITS
● Leadership Westchester
● Board Boot Camp and Speed Dating
● Volunteer Manager’s Breakfast
● HandsOn Connect Training
During the process of crafting new mission and vision statements, Board and staff affirmed that the Organization’s values, beliefs, and tagline continue to be a strong foundation for its work.
VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! VALUES
COMMUNITY
VOLUNTEERISM
VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! BELIEFS
WE BELIEVE EVERYONE CAN SERVE
WE BELIEVE VOLUNTEERING IS TRANSFORMATIONAL.
WE BELIEVE RELATIONSHIPS MATTER
TAGLINE
CONNECT, SERVE, GROW
FIVE-YEAR GOALS
Building on its new mission and vision statements, Volunteer New York! Board and staff have adopted the following goals for the coming five years:
1. VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! WILL DEEPEN IT IMPACT BY ENGAGING VOLUNTEERS IN PROGRAMMING THAT CENTERS COMMUNITY NEEDS.
2. VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! WILL INCREASE OUR IMPACT BY ENGAGING A GROWING NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY
3. VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! WILL BUILD THE BOARD’S CAPACITY TO SUPPORT GROWTH AND ENSURE SUSTAINABILITY
4. VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! WILL ENSURE IT HAS A ROBUST RESOURCE ENGINE
5. VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! WILL HAVE THE TEAM, TECHNOLOGY, AND SYSTEMS TO ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSION AND ACHIEVE OUR VISION
Braggables
Executive Director’s Report to the Board of Directors
September 21, 2023
• The stats are in for fiscal year 2023. Last year we inspired over 35,000 volunteers who gave 445,000 hours of service in support of 300 nonprofits, which is valued at $15.6 million
• The 13th Annual 9/11: Serve + Remember was a success! 728 volunteers gave 1,024 hours over 3 days. Highlights include:
o Over 300 volunteers from the community and Monroe College packed over 50,000 meals. Alex created fantastic reels and shared wonderful pictures on social media.
o 56 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) served alongside their 23 support staff. This included: members of the RISE street team, who posted 9/11 flyers throughout the county and accessed reserved slots; RISE partner I/DD agencies who signed their participants; and families/another program outside of RISE that signed up. It was a true testament to our belief that everyone can serve.
o 54 people donated blood, which will have the potential to save 138 lives.
o 56 people were trained in hands-only CPR.
Red Flags
• Volunteer New York! has been without a Development Director since the end of May. The team has done a great job of staying on track with grant deliverables and managing relationships and fatigue is kicking in. We are looking forward to having a new team member in place soon.
Board Member 1-2-3 Punch
1. ANNUAL APPEAL – Are there friends, family members or connections that you feel should receive Volunteer New York!’s annual appeal? We start building the mailing list mid-October. Please reach out to Natasha Weinstein, Operations and Development Manager, (natasha@volunteernewyork.org) so that we can ensure your folks are on the list. For your reference, I’ve attached last year’s annual appeal letter.
2. GIVING TUESDAY – November 28th, 2023 – we will operationalize our 9th Annual, nationally recognized, Giving Tuesday Campaign. We are grateful for the continued partnership with The Journal News/LOHUD that makes this campaign possible. Please think about local businesses, especially small-
and medium-sized ones, who would benefit from connecting to other small businesses and the external visibility. Connect them to Jennifer Machuca, Director of Corporate Partnerships, (jennifer@volunteernewyork.org) via email.
3. VOLUNTEER NEW YORK! PROGRAMS OVERVIEW – The Programmatic Overview for the board will take place on Wednesday, October 4th, 8:30 – 10:30 am at the Volunteer New York! office. Katie will send a calendar invite. 8:30 – 9 am is an opportunity to mingle with the staff and grab coffee/tea. Brief conversations about each program will begin at 9 am. Everyone is welcome and new board members are encouraged to attend. If you would like to participate, but cannot attend in person, please contact Katie Pfeifer, Senior Director of Programs, katie@volunteernewyork.org; we can provide a Zoom link.
Calendar
• Wednesday, October 4th, 8:30 - 10:30am – Volunteer New York! Programmatic Overview at Volunteer New York! offices – 220 White Plains Road, Tarrytown NY
• Tuesday, November 28th, 8:30 - 10:00am – Giving Tuesday @ Million Air – 136 Tower Road, West Harrison
Programs
General:
• Through our participation in the Westchester COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster) we had the opportunity to include a flyer about youth volunteering in the 500 backpacks for high schoolers given out by The Sharing Shelf. We have shared flyers with schools in the past, but this was a chance to reach families outside of our network. The flyer is included in the board packet.
• We received a $5,000 grant from the New York Community Trust to participate in a year-long cohort of 30 organizations across Westchester, Long Island, and New York City on a platform called Resilia. The platform gives our whole staff access to resources, including storytelling, board development, impact measurement, program management, and more, as well as coaching on these topics. We see this as professional development opportunity and a strategy for implementing goal 5 of the strategic plan: Volunteer New York! will have the team, technology, and systems to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision.
• Over the fiscal year, everyone on staff will participate in the Undoing Racism Workshop through the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. This 3-day workshop is a highly recommended professional development course to help level set and build our foundation of knowledge. Regeneron has agreed to underwrite the cost of sending the entire Volunteer New York! team.
RISE:
• Patti is collaborating with Westchester Institute of Human Development (WIHD) and will cofacilitate a 10-month leadership development program for adults with developmental disabilities. The program provides accommodations for various learning needs in a small group cohort. Sessions will be held once a month, in person, running September 2023- June 2024.
• Our Program Officer at the Taft Foundation, the RISE program funder, conducted a site visit on August 2nd to see the RISE group in action at Summer Reading Buddies in the pre-school
program. Our report was accepted by their board and they approved our payment for year 2 of the grant.
• This year’s 9/11: Serve + Remember included the participation of several RISE groups at both Feed the Funnel Meal Packing and the County Center Hub. We were pleased to welcome Kerry Mauger of The Arc National on Monday, 9/11. She came from Washington, DC to see our program in action. As a reminder, we received a $5,000 grant from The Arc to mobilize people with and without disabilities in support of 9/11 and emergency preparedness.
RSVP:
• On July 20, RSVP members participated in an intergenerational mentoring program at the Lifting Up Westchester (LUW) summer camp in White Plains. The mentors distributed “Last Stop on Market Street” Literacy Kits to the LUW “Rainbows”, each in a backpack with a copy of the book, reading comprehension exercises and a hand stuffed pup, all lovingly prepared by volunteers at Regeneron that were donated to LUW. The Rainbows are elementary school age children with caregivers experiencing a period of homelessness and staying in a local shelter. The program was part of our RSVP Lost Learning initiative to help local students impacted disparately by the pandemic and funded by an American Rescue Plan augmentation grant.
• New Director of RSVP, Guadalupe Fishman, made her rounds this summer hosting two meet & greets for our nonprofit partners and members. They provided an opportunity for people to meet her as well as a way to share information about prohibited activities.
• As we are in year three of our three-year grant cycle, we are up for re-competition and need to submit a new grant application by the end of October. We are working with our grant writer, Alison Paul on the proposal.
Corporate:
• New hire Abby Fuirst has had a busy summer of corporate volunteerism. Recent highlights include a project at Access Equestrian for the summer interns at PKF O’Connor Davies, a second Take Your Kid to work day at PepsiCo, and a bike build project for Morgan Stanley employees at the Children’s Village. Children of PepsiCo employees assembled 180 birthday bags for Hillside Food Outreach clients and Morgan Stanley volunteers worked alongside youth at the Children’s Village to build bikes. Afterwards, they enjoyed a ride and some ice cream.
• Thanks to a new Corporate Day of Service engagement with M&T Bank in April, the Rockland County Farm Alliance secured a new board member when one of the volunteers wanted to continue to stay engaged. The day of service mobilized 30 M&T Bank employees at the Rockland County Farm Alliance in New City and 30 employees at Our New Way Garden in White Plains.
• Since January 2023, Volunteer New York! has partnered with several new companies for employee activation:
o Coca-Cola Liberty Bottlers, Elmsford, NY
o Million Air, White Plains, NY
o Rethink Capital Partners, NY, NY
o Starr Insurance, NY, NY (Now a Corporate Champion at the $5,000 level)
o TodayTix Group, NY, NY (Now a Corporate Champion at the $5,000 level)
o Yankwitt, LLP., White Plains, NY
New Rochelle:
• The City of New Rochelle has hosted weekly concerts since the end of May for their Summer Sizzle Series. Volunteers support this effort and since May, we have recruited 45 volunteers who have filled 288 shifts.
• Charles helped organize a city-wide backpack distribution day in August. It was the first attempt at a city-wide effort instead of each individual organization hosting their own event. While overall it was a positive event, there were a few challenges: too many departments tried to take leadership and several organizations still hosting their own events because they wanted to ensure their families received the assistance they needed.
• So far 6 volunteers have been recruited and will be trained to hold office hours at the library and assist residents in completing applications for affordable housing. The city is witnessing a lot of development that includes affordable housing units. The volunteers are working to ensure those most in need of this housing are included in the lotteries (only complete applications are included in the lotteries).
Leadership Westchester and the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association
See attached report from the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association.
Strategic Plan
Volunteer New York! Board and staff have adopted the following goals for the coming five years:
1. Volunteer New York! will deepen its impact by engaging volunteers in programming that centers community needs.
2. Volunteer New York! will increase our impact by engaging a growing number of people in service to our community.
3. Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
4. Volunteer New York! will ensure it has a robust resource engine.
5. Volunteer New York! will have the team, technology, and systems to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision.
Board Professional Development Opportunities
BoardLead: Building a Foundation: DEI and its Value to Nonprofit Boards
First Session
Second Session
Password for both: NPLSDEI
Funder Engagement
Senior Director of Development Search
We have completed final interviews for our new Senior Director of Development. We have two very strong candidates. We expect an offer to be made shortly.
Giving Tuesday
Now in its 9th year, and very likely its penultimate year, Volunteer New York! will launch its Giving Tuesday Hat Campaign fundraiser on September 26th. The campaign concludes on Giving Tuesday which this year is Tuesday, November 28. The campaign encourages businesses and individuals to contribute $555 in exchange for a Volunteer New York! branded hat. NEW this year: hats will be donated by Spectrum Designs. Wearers also get their photos (wearing the hat), names, corporate titles, and companies in the Journal News print and online editions on Sunday, November 26th. On Giving Tuesday, hat wearers will be invited to an exclusive networking breakfast with an opportunity to join in on a meaningful volunteer project. Participants will be strongly encouraged to attend the “Community Champion Breakfast” and Volunteer New York! staff will deliver a copy of paper to the Hat Wearer’s offices so they can participate in our social medial campaign. Participants will also receive a complimentary headshot. Please think about local businesses, especially small- and medium sized ones, who would benefit from connecting to other small businesses and the external visibility and contact Jennifer Machuca, Director of Corporate Partnerships, at jennifer@volunteernewyork.org with their details.
Community Champion Breakfast
Tuesday, November 28th at Million Air 136 Tower Rd, West Harrison, 8:30-10:00am. All board members are welcome.
Donation Levels and Benefits:
• $555 per hat / 5 for $1,000
o Coverage in lohud and The Journal News showcasing their commitment
o A premium 2023 Volunteer New York! hat, which will be provided to hat wearers for their photo in the Journal News.
o Complimentary professional headshot
o Exclusive invitation to our Giving Tuesday Community Champions Breakfast (this is an opportunity to connect with liked mind business professionals and to volunteer together)
o Social media coverage/shoutout
Development Committee
The Development Committee is currently on pause while we finalize the hiring of our new Senior Director of Development.
Marketing and Communications
• For August, we’ve had a 15.4% increase in page views and a 9.1% increase in unique visitors to our LinkedIn page compared to our previous month. Since our last board report, we’ve increased our followers by over 340 (23% compared to our previous reporting), landing around 4,340 followers. Our total LinkedIn Impressions for August was over 9k (9,035), with YTD impressions around 70k (70,296). On Facebook, our page reach for August was around 9.6k (9,665), with our Instagram reach scaling to 3.1k (3,117), a 96.5% increase on Instagram compared with last month.
• YTD, we have sent 1.1M emails while holding a steady open rate of 40%. For August, we sent over 87k emails with an open rate of 39%.
• In August, our website had 12k users, over 53k page views, and 16.7k sessions. YTD, our website had over 454k pageviews with 101.3k users and 143.3k sessions.
• Leading up to our 9/11 Serve and Remember event, we launched paid social ads on Facebook/Instagram and conducted outreach to news outlets.
o The Facebook/Instagram ads comprise two campaigns: One campaign focused on amplifying coverage for our Feed the Funnel initiative, and the other steering a generic message for the entire event.
Our Feed the Funnel ad campaign resulted in 50.4k impressions with 547 link clicks. Our CPC (cost per click) was around $0.73 and reached around 20,543 accounts.
Our generic ad campaign resulted in 28.9k impressions with 340 link clicks. Our CPC (cost per click) was around $1.10 and reached 14.4k accounts.
o We partnered with Westchester County, City of New Rochelle, Monroe College, and Feeding Westchester to conduct outreach for our 9/11 Serve and Remember event. See below for the coverage we received as of September 12th.
Coverage:
• Pix 11 Coverage
• Pix 11 Coverage
• Pix 11 Coverage
• News 12 Coverage
• WAMC Coverage
• Lohud Coverage
Social Media
Please like, share, and comment on posts from Volunteer New York! to encourage engagement and show your support. (We are @volunteerNYnow on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram)
Volunteer New York! Vision
• Our community is vibrant, resilient, and equitable.
Volunteer New York! Mission
• Volunteer New York! mobilizes our community to address its greatest challenges.
Volunteer New York! Values
• We value community.
• We value volunteerism.
Volunteer New York! Beliefs
• We believe everyone can serve.
• We believe volunteerism is transformational.
• We believe relationships matter.
Braggables
Executive Director’s Report to the Board of Directors
November 16, 2023
• Yaribeth Peralta joined Volunteer New York! on November 6th as the Community Engagement Manager. She is bilingual and has a background in connecting people to resources through the NYC Department of Education. At Volunteer New York!, Yari will be focusing on volunteer recruitment and supporting our community partners. Filling this open role helps to expand capacity so that we can move forward pieces of the strategic plan. We are excited to have her on the team.
• The 7th Annual Day for Doing Good with Regeneron was a huge success! The positive energy of the volunteers and the impact they made was tremendous. While the team is still finalizing the numbers, here are some preliminaries:
o 3,515 volunteers
o 9,373 hours
o 147 projects with 103 partners
o 3,587 Students impacted with STEM Education
o 286 Students impacted with College/Career Readiness programs
o 1,072 veterans impacted through Outreach
Red Flags
• Volunteer New York! has re-started our search for a new Senior Director of Development. The team has done a great job of staying on track with deliverables including a refreshed Giving Tuesday campaign, sending the year end appeal to the printer on time, and managing key donor relationships We continue to explore ways to bring on temporary project specific capacity in support of the team.
Board Member 1-2-3 Punch
1. 2024 Volunteer Spirit Awards: Planning for 2024 has begun! The VSA’s are not only the region’s largest volunteer recognition event but also Volunteer New York!’s only event fundraising. Please start thinking about how you will engage and support the event. Here are a few suggestions:
• Award Nomination – Do you know of an amazing volunteer that should be recognized? The nomination deadline is November 17th. Here is a link to all of the information: https://www.volunteernewyork.org/awards
• Award Sponsors – We are actively looking for 2 new Award Sponsors. Please reach out to Jeanette with any suggestions. The deadline to confirm support is January 5th.
• Invitation Lists: Do you have friends, family members, or connections that should receive an invitation to the Volunteer Spirit Awards? Please reach out to Natasha (natasha@volunteernewyork.org) so we can ensure your contacts are on the list.
•
2. Are you 55+? Please complete an RSVP membership form. Your board service hours count towards the volunteer hours we report to our funder! PLUS, you’ll be invited to all of our events and receive the newsletter, You’re Invited: RSVP.
3. BOLO – Be On The Lookout - for new opportunities for volunteerism, new prospects for board members and new sources of philanthropic support.
Calendar
• Friday, November 17th - Volunteer Spirit Awards Nominations Deadline
• Tuesday, November 28th, 8:30 - 10:00am – Giving Tuesday @ Million Air – 136 Tower Road, West Harrison
• Tuesday, December 5th 8-8:30am – Executive Committee Meeting – VIA ZOOM
• Wednesday, December 13th, 6-7pm – AAA (Ambassador, Advocate and Asker) Workshop @ Volunteer New York! Offices – 220 White Plains Road
• The stats are in for fiscal year 2023. Last year we inspired over 35,000 volunteers who gave 445,000 hours of service in support of 300 nonprofits, which is valued at $15.6 million.
MLK Day:
• Join us for MLK Day on Saturday, January 13th at 10 am. Volunteer New York! will host a virtual, one-hour, interactive learning experience that introduces participants to the concept of civic engagement and what it means. We will discuss the ways people show up in the community and connect it to Dr. King’s vision for a more equitable world. Registration will open in early January.
• We received a $10,000 grant from Arc National in support of hunger relief and MLK Day. This is a combination of budget relieving dollars and new dollars in support of the strategic plan. The project kicks off with MLK Day and will mobilize 40 volunteers with and without disabilities between January and September.
Youth:
• On October 17th, Jess, Charles, and Katie spent the lunch blocks at New Rochelle High School pre-registering students to vote. Through the efforts, we delivered 50 forms to the board of elections and these students will be already registered when they turn 18. We offer a monthly voter pre-registration workshop through the Youth Civic Engagement Program and wanted to try
an in-person event. With this success, we will repeat the effort in the spring and are looking to expand to the other schools.
RISE:
• RISE Program Manager, Patti Colombo, and Brendan Klein, Westchester Institute for Human Development and LW ’21, were in DC earlier this week, presenting a poster at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities national conference. The topic is the Foundations to Leadership Pilot Program for self-advocates with developmental disabilities. The poster is at the end of this packet.
• One of the goals of the RISE program is to promote community inclusion and one of the strategies of this is to create integrated volunteer projects. During Day for Doing Good with Regeneron, we had 8 integrated projects; volunteers were asked to complete pre- and postproject surveys. 45% of respondents shared that they had no previous/recent way to engage with individuals with I/DD. After the projects, 97.4% of volunteers reported feeling a stronger sense of community to those with an intellectual or developmental disability (compared to 71.5% prior to the projects).
RSVP:
• On October 26th, we submitted our 3-year renewal for the RSVP program. The grant application is a huge lift and grant writer Alison Paul, Guadalupe, Geoff, and Katie worked together to ensure we submitted a strong application. AmeriCorps recognized the struggles that RSVP programs have had through covid and worked with grantees to right size programs to current volunteer levels. Education remains our primary focus area. We will hear back in March.
• RSVP member, Joan Mincello, was selected as one of this year’s Westchester County Senior Hall of Fame honorees. She leads a sewing program at the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau. She will be honored on December 1st.
• Please see attached RSVP Director report.
New Rochelle:
• We are working with the Parks Department and Chamber of Commerce to support the volunteers for the Annual Thanksgiving Parade on Saturday, November 18th. The flyer is at the end of the packet.
Leadership Westchester and the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association
See attached report from the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association.
Funder Engagement
Giving Tuesday
Now in its 9th year, Volunteer New York! has launched its Giving Tuesday Hat Campaign. The campaign encourages businesses and individuals to contribute $555 in exchange for a Volunteer New York! branded hat.
NEW this year: hats will be donated by Spectrum Designs. Wearers also get their photos (wearing the hat), names, corporate titles, and companies in the Journal News print and online editions on Sunday, November 26th Participants will also receive a complimentary headshot. On Giving Tuesday, hat wearers will be invited to an exclusive networking breakfast with an opportunity to join in on a meaningful volunteer project. Participants will be strongly encouraged to attend the “Community Champion Breakfast.”
Community Champion Breakfast
Tuesday, November 28th at Million Air 136 Tower Rd, West Harrison, 8:30-10:00am. All board members are welcome.
Totals
As of November 6, the campaign has raised $20,500 of the $30,000 goal. A total of 39 hats have been sold. In 2022, 40 individuals participated in the campaign. We have five new companies joining the campaign this year
Stay tuned for more details on how the board can help the Giving Tuesday call to action on Giving Tuesday.
2024 Volunteer Spirit Awards
Award Sponsor Update
We are happy to report that Regeneron renewed its combined Presenting and Award Sponsorships for $25,000. Expected award sponsor renewals are Con Edison, PCSB Community Foundation, WMCHealth, and PKF O'Connor Davies. Regeneron has given us permission to “sell” their award for additional support. As such, we are hoping to find two new award sponsors by the end of the calendar year.
Legacy Award Honoree
Valerie Mason Cunningham, former Volunteer New York! Board Member and Board Chair has agreed to serve as this year’s Legacy Honoree. Thank you to Ally Gallin and Chris Nash who joined Jeanette in making the ask. Valerie is excited and very humbled to receive this recognition. Valerie has deep connections in both the business and nonprofit communities as well as with key Volunteer New York! supporters
Additional Support
We have hired Kelli Teglas, an event planner with fundraising experience to assist with the 2024 Volunteer Spirit Awards. Natasha and Jeanette held a kickoff meeting with Kelli on 11/6. Her scope of work is from November – April, with flexibility built in should we find a new Senior Director of Development more quickly than expected. Many thanks to Rosemary Bynes for making the introduction.
Annual Appeal
Included in the Board packet you will find the 2023 Winter Appeal. The letter will be mailed to 1,400 individuals. The list comprises of donors, Leadership Westchester, RSVP, and other key constituencies. The target delivery date is the week of Thanksgiving. In addition, weekly e-mail appeals will be delivered throughout December.
MISC
Volunteer New York! was once again selected by Stop & Shop in Tarrytown as the recipient for the Community Bag Program in November. For every reusable bag purchased for $2.50 at this location, we will receive $1. YAI volunteers stopped by the store to take a picture for us with the bags.
Marketing and Communications
• For September and October, we’ve had a 20.2% increase in page views and a 19.1% increase in unique visitors to our LinkedIn page compared to July and August. Since our last board report, we’ve increased our followers by over 166, landing around 4,347. Our total LinkedIn Impressions was over 19k (19,938), with YTD impressions nearly at 90k (88,257). On Facebook, our page reach was around 39k (39,781), with our Instagram reach scaling to 12.8k (12,882) due to our 9/11 ads that continued into September. In total, we spent nearly $800 on paid digital ads that helped us reach 33k (33,992) unique visitors and gain 82k (82,043) impressions.
o *Note: We have been informed Threads will soon allow its users to gain access to analytic tools to measure growth. Once this is allowed, we will add some stats around our Threads account. Currently, the platform continues to run on beta, with new features in the works.
• For September and October, we sent over 335k emails with an open rate of 41%. YTD, we have sent nearly 1.4M emails while holding a steady open rate of 40%. We have seen a steady increase in new emails signing up for newsletters, with an average of 200-250 added monthly.
• For September and October, our website had 25.7k users (25,700), over 83.2k page views (83,214), and 36.9k sessions (36,967). YTD, our website had over 472.9k page views (474,974) with 120.8k users (120,840) and 174.4k sessions (174,494).
o *Note: We are going to work with HOC (Website provider) on a possible SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refresh to help us go into 2024 with a strong search engine rating. Along with the refresh, we will evaluate our website’s strength compared with other neighboring nonprofits.
• We were fortunate to receive one of the first Top-Rated Awards of 2023 from GreatNonprofits. GreatNonprofits is the largest donation website where people share stories about their personal experiences on more than 1.6 million charities and nonprofits. The recognition is only for nonprofits determined by those who have direct experience with the charities.
• Merch Store: We have begun the process of building the Merch store and plan to send more details closer to Thanksgiving. Our goal is to send the board a social media guide to assist us in promoting the merch to the public and aligned supporters. The date of our Merch Store launching will be December 5th. Lastly, we will have a discount code available for board members who are interested in purchasing merch.
• We’ve been fortunate to receive coverage in two leading publications honoring Jeanette's contributions to Volunteer New York!.
Please like, share, and comment on posts from Volunteer New York! to encourage engagement and show your support. (We are @volunteerNYnow on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram)
Strategic Plan
Volunteer New York! Board and staff have adopted the following goals for the coming five years:
1. Volunteer New York! will deepen its impact by engaging volunteers in programming that centers community needs.
2. Volunteer New York! will increase our impact by engaging a growing number of people in service to our community.
3. Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
4. Volunteer New York! will ensure it has a robust resource engine.
5. Volunteer New York! will have the team, technology, and systems to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision.
Volunteer New York! Vision
• Our community is vibrant, resilient, and equitable.
Volunteer New York! Mission
• Volunteer New York! mobilizes our community to address its greatest challenges.
Volunteer New York! Values
• We value community.
• We value volunteerism.
Volunteer New York! Beliefs
• We believe everyone can serve.
• We believe volunteerism is transformational.
• We believe relationships matter.
Braggables
Executive Director’s Report to the Board of Directors
January 25, 2024
• Our new Senior Development Director, Dylan Pyne, will start February 12th. A Leadership Westchester grad, he brings curiosity, energy and a passion for community and volunteerism. We are excited to have him join the team!
• In the first year of the Youth Civic Engagement Program, we exceeded our goals of 200 participants and 160 of them with positive youth development outcomes. In 2023, we served 267 youth and 208 of them had improved outcomes. Our Youth Bureau Program Manager did a site visit during a recent presentation at Mount Vernon High School and was impressed with the presentation and Jessica Friedlander’s ability to engage students, while minimizing their disruption when arriving late to class.
• We have recruited 115 volunteer mentors for the RSVP American Rescue Plan (ARP) Augmentation Grant. We exceeded our goal to recruit 102 unduplicated volunteer mentors, and met it early. Well done, Cheryl Brandwein, for leading these efforts!
• In 2023, 4,594 corporate volunteers gave 10,844 hours of service through projects developed and managed by Volunteer New York!. This was a 17% increase in the number of volunteers and a 22% increase in the number of hours compared to 2022.
Red Flags
• Con Edison has recently undergone a shift in their funding focus areas. This change is a departure from the many years of stable support that Volunteer New York! has enjoyed. The team is already working diligently to understand the specific changes in ConEd's priorities and to tailor our pitch accordingly. That being said, it is unlikely ConEd will sponsor a Volunteer Spirit Award in 2025.
Board Member 1-2-3 Punch
1. SHOW UP. Note the upcoming calendar events and make every effort to attend. Take advantage of those that offer an opportunity to introduce Volunteer New York! to others.
2. DIG IN. Review your contacts and reach out to any potential event sponsors for this year’s Volunteer Spirit Awards. See attached updated sponsorships opportunities form.
3. RECRUIT. We are starting our efforts now to begin the process of recruiting new Board members for the next fiscal year/term. Think about your networks and refer anyone you think might be a good fit to the Committee. You can also use this form to submit your recommendations: https://www.cognitoforms.com/volunteernewyork1/volunteernewyorkprospectiveboardmembe rform
Calendar
• Thursday, March 21, 2024 - Board Meeting and Happy Hour – Location TBD
• Thursday, April 18, 2024 - Leadership Westchester Discussion Panel
Programs
General:
• On January 4th, we presented information about Volunteer New York! and our online database at Feeding Westchester’s monthly partners meeting. About 50 people attended the virtual meeting and two people from Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry chimed right in to share their appreciation for partnering with us to recruit volunteers. Immediately following the call, three organizations reached out for assistance. The presentation was the work of several months. Staff attended Feeding Westchester’s Agency Partners Conference in September and learned that many of the pantries listed volunteers as a top need. An email to CEO Karen Erren and a couple meetings led to the presentation. Moving forward, we will reach out to everyone invited to the partner meetings and are working to set up meetings with 12 organizations identified as high priorities by Feeding Westchester.
• Tuesday, January 23rd will be Nicole Lowrance’s last day in the office; she is relocating to Washington, DC for her husband’s job and will continue in a remote capacity until a new staff member is trained. Nicole has been with Volunteer New York! for over 5 years and will be missed. Nicole was transparent about her plans, so we were able to post for the position at the beginning of December. We are in the midst of second round interviews and hope to have a decision made soon.
• Volunteer New York! submitted a breakout room proposal for the United Way’s Nonprofit Leadership Summit, taking place on April 9th. The topic is “Best Practices in Creating Diverse and Inclusive Volunteer Engagement” and will be a panel discussion moderated by Katie. Panelists include Shannon Shafiroff, 914Cares; Daniela Valdovinos, Neighbors Link; Nancy Lyons, Feeding Westchester; and Patti Colombo, Volunteer New York!.
o Session description: Volunteer programs that are inclusive and diverse are good for your organization and make you more effective in achieving your mission. Yet, it can be difficult to recruit enough volunteers with the skills and experiences needed, and once you recruit the volunteers, how do you engage them? In this session, learn best practices in volunteer management from Volunteer New York! and hear from a panel of nonprofit volunteer managers as they discuss how they engage volunteers with a range of perspectives and experiences, breakdown tasks for people of all abilities, and successfully create inclusive volunteer spaces.
• The MLK Day of Service took place on Saturday, January 13th. Abby and Nora led the virtual, interactive session focused on the importance of civic engagement and ways that individuals can influence change in our community, using the Points of Light Civic Circle® as a framework. 67 people participated in the event. 24 people filled out the feedback form and all, but 1 person said they were likely or extremely likely to recommend this learning session to a friend or colleague.
o Feedback from a volunteer: " The content was informative and interactivity kept me engaged and helped me to learn. One of the best points made came at the end that being actively engaged is a form of POWER and that individuals can feel more hopeful and drive positive change by exercising their power of civic engagement. It's good for you as a person and for our community. Well done!”
RISE:
• Patti completed a 1-year training as a Certified Creative Journal Expressive Arts Institute™ (CJEAI™) Instructor and is using this interactive modality in the leadership training program she facilitates with WIHD.
• Employment alert: Two of the new leaders in the leadership training program have been offered part time jobs that support their mission to be advocates in the community. A RISE volunteer had a recent job interview with Aramark for food service with the Bedford Central School District.
RSVP:
• The Fall issue of You’re Invited: RSVP was mailed in late November. The digital edition can be found at www.volunteernewyork.org/rsvp.
• An integrated project between RISE and RSVP, held on December 11, 2023, was a success. Twenty-four (24) winter warmth packages (hat, gloves, scarf, lip balm) were made for the Emergency shelter program. 17 RISE volunteers, 2 RSVP Volunteers and 2 staff members participated in this event. Thank you, Ilene Levy, for joining this project and brining your mom.
• On January 3rd, Patti Colombo, Cheryl Brandwein and Gianna Mosca presented a small thank you to YAI RISE volunteers, who make and mail birthday cards to RSVP volunteers each month.
• Please see attached RSVP Director report.
New Rochelle:
• In 2023, 511 New Rochelleans registered on our site, which was a 12% increase from last year. 1,119 New Rochelleans signed up for volunteer projects, which exceeded our goal of 935 referrals.
• The Annual Thanksgiving Parade in New Rochelle was a success! 126 volunteers held balloons and banners, gave out hot chocolate, and assisted at the starting line. A huge thank you to Steve Sonet for assisting at the end of the parade.
• Charles has worked with the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCADD) for a series of six Community Conversations in different neighborhoods in the city to continue to the work started at the Opioid Forum last June. The final two conversations with be with Hope Community Services and the high school in January and February.
Leadership Westchester and the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association
See attached report from the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association.
Funder Engagement
2024 Volunteer Spirit Awards
See attached Financial Update as of 1/11/24
Annual
Appeal
The Annual Appeal totals were lower than expected - $9,865.65 in total. In 2022, the Annual Appeal totaled $11,460.39. Additional analysis will be completed to explore all of the reasons why.
Marketing and Communications
• From November 1st through January 11th, we’ve had 19k in page views (19,039), a 15.5% increase in unique visitors, and a 23.6% increase in page views to our LinkedIn page compared to September and October. Since our last board report, we’ve increased our followers by over 158, landing around 4,493. In 2023, we saw nearly 106k (105,596) impressions, 12k clicks (12,399), and an increase of 1.2k (1,222) in followers. From November 1st through January 11th, our Facebook page reach was nearly 14k (13,958), with our Instagram reach scaling to 5.6k (5,569). Content Interactions for Facebook was 1.5k (1493), and Instagram was 1.1k (1,098). In 2023, we reached 75.3k (75,257) on Facebook with 6.9k (6,914) in content interactions. Our followers increased by 270. Facebook saw a 98.9% increase in reach overall (compared to 2022). On Instagram, we had a reach of 42k (41,987), 3.6k (3,598) in content interactions, and an increase of followers of 665. Instagram saw a 327.6% increase in reach overall (compared to 2022).
• Email Marketing: From November 1st through January 11th, we’ve sent 631k emails with an open rate of 38%. In 2023, we have sent nearly 1.9M emails while holding a steady open rate of 40%. We have seen a steady increase in new emails signing up for newsletters, with an average of 200 net new contacts added monthly in 2023. Our goal for 2024 is to refine our targeting approach to increase our open rate and decrease unsubscribes.
• Web Analytics: From November 1st through January 11th, our website had 31.2k users (31.253), over 103.1k page views (103,183), and 45.1k sessions (45,154). In 2023, our website had over 563.2k page views (563,245) with 147k users (147,036) and 174.4k sessions (212,259).
• RSVP: We’ve launched two ad campaigns for our RSVP Lost Learning Program to increase signups of potential mentors. Our campaign consisted of a target digital buy with Black Westchester that will run for the remainder of January and a social media ad campaign until January 26th. We chose these two strategies based on the desired targeting:
o Geographic: Mount Vernon, Yonkers, and White Plains
o Age: 55 and up (Based on RSVP requirements)
• MLK Day: This year, we took a different approach for MLK Day by focusing on an Interactive Webinar to discuss strategies for addressing local challenges through civic engagement. Our event occurred on Saturday, January 13th, from 10:00 AM to 11:15 AM. Promotion efforts focused heavily on direct outreach to agency partners, targeted e-blasts, social media posts, and a $50 boosted post campaign on FB/IG.
• YEA: We wrapped up our Year End Appeal campaign with a 2023 Recap video of our organization's accomplishments. We focused heavily on highlighting our new organizational stats. The video was shared in a final e-blast in 2023 and across social media.
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUMe05pXDuM
• Holidays: Our Holiday campaign ran from November 1st until December 31st and consisted of creating a Holiday page filled with holiday volunteer opportunities, targeted e-blasts, social posts, and our partnership with Patch.com to highlight top opportunities across the Hudson Valley.
o For our Patch.com partnership, we highlighted over 25 opportunities from December 1st to December 25th and worked with the Patch team for a final editorial sharing a holiday message from our team: https://patch.com/new-york/yorktown-somers/25-days-holidayvolunteering-day-25-helping-community-2024
• Web store: Our Web store officially launched on December 5th with a launch campaign consisting of 3 targeted e-blasts, 3 social media posts (including photos of supporters with our new merch), and targeted outreach amongst board members, Volunteer New York! staff, and agency partners. Our store can be visited at: https://store.volunteernewyork.org/
o Current Figures: Net Revenue: $1,721; Commission $797
• POL: We’ve been asked by the SVP of Digital Marketing and Customer Experience at Points of Light to speak in two upcoming webinars surrounding Global Volunteer Month. Our focus will be highlighting our strategy in promoting Global Volunteer Month through our partnerships with the City of New Rochelle and county government and our Volunteer Spirit Awards. The goal is to highlight our success in aligning our top tentpole moments with a global initiative that garners coverage.
• Interns: We are finalizing two intern descriptions/postings for our Marketing and Communications and Corporate Partnerships teams. These internship opportunities will be available for the spring and summer seasons.
• Media Coverage: We’ve been fortunate to receive coverage during the holiday season.
Please like, share, and comment on posts from Volunteer New York! to encourage engagement and show your support. (We are @volunteerNYnow on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram)
Strategic Plan
Volunteer New York! Board and staff have adopted the following goals for the coming five years:
1. Volunteer New York! will deepen its impact by engaging volunteers in programming that centers community needs.
2. Volunteer New York! will increase our impact by engaging a growing number of people in service to our community.
3. Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
4. Volunteer New York! will ensure it has a robust resource engine.
5. Volunteer New York! will have the team, technology, and systems to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision.
Volunteer New York! Vision
• Our community is vibrant, resilient, and equitable.
Volunteer New York! Mission
• Volunteer New York! mobilizes our community to address its greatest challenges.
Volunteer New York! Values
• We value community
• We value volunteerism.
Volunteer New York! Beliefs
• We believe everyone can serve.
• We believe volunteerism is transformational.
• We believe relationships matter.
Braggables
Executive Director’s Report to the Board of Directors March 21, 2024
• Welcome Carrie Nagle to the Corporate Partnerships team! Carrie joins us after stepping away from the corporate world to focus on her family. Prior to that she successfully managed and directed events for The EventAve, Craft Can Travel/Holland Malt USA, Match Catering and Eventstyles, Bratskeir & Company, and Save the Date. Carrie is also a consummate volunteer with the Sharing Shelf in Port and Soul Ryeders.
• On April 18th Chuck Newman will receive the Chester A. Smith award which honors those who have demonstrated community spirit, philanthropy, and dedication to Peekskill. Congratulations Chuck!
Red Flags
• Our long time Senior Director of Finance and Planning, Geoff Schmit’s last day will be March 29th. We have hired an interim CFO, Laura Perozo, to provide support during the transition. Wishing Geoff only good things in his new role.
Board Member 1-2-3 Punch
1. CELEBRATE: The 44th Annual Volunteer Spirit Awards – April 12, 2024, at Westchester Marriot
2. RECRUIT: 2024-2025 Leadership Westchester Class Participants – the “official” class recruitment season kicked off on March 12th with an information session lead by program facilitator David Severance. If you know someone who you think would be a good fit for Leadership Westchester, please email Jeanette (jeanette@volunteernewyork.org) their name and contact information so that we can ensure they receive the application.
3. AMPLIFY: Continue to like, comment and share posts from Volunteer New York! and team members on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Not active on social media? Email, phone or in person conversations still work as effective means of communications.
Maximizing your Major Donor Pipeline - April 10, 2024
To build or enhance your major donor pipeline, you need a deliberate and thorough plan. In this interactive training, Larry Raff will teach skills for relationship and rapport building, quantitative and qualitative methods to capture critical insights about potential donors, the donor relationship management process, and how to determine the amount to request and prepare to confidently make the ask. This session will:
1. Provide specific strategies and tools to identify, engage, and manage key donor relationships
2. Illustrate key principles for major gift success through donor stories
3. Help you discover your unconscious competencies and how to use them intentionally
4. Prepare you to calculate the size of a major gift ask
5. Explain the factors that determine an ask calculation
6. Help you design the discovery process so you have the information you need to be prepared for a gift conversation. To register. Click HERE
Calendar
• Thursday, April 18th, 8:30 – 10:30 am at The Picture house (Bronxville) – Local Leaders Panel
Discussion. Join the current Leadership Westchester class and alumni to hear from LW alumni who exemplify what it means to live their mission and create impact. Register here
• Thursday, April 25th, 10 am – 12 pm at the Greenburgh Public Library – RISE Recognition. Help celebrate the fantastic RISE volunteers and their accomplishments. Feel free to stop by or email patti@volunteernewyork.org if you would like to volunteer.
• Saturday, April 27th & Sunday, April 28th, New Rochelle Parks Cleanup Weekend. Serve as a site captain and help organize volunteers at one of several city parks. Email abby@volunteernewyork.org if you would like to be a site captain.
Programs
General:
• As shared in the program update at the January meeting, we have updated our site visit procedure to collect more information, including accessibility information. Patti Colombo put her leadership to work, as she gathered feedback from colleagues, synthesized in the information, created the new materials, and then trained staff on the new procedure.
RISE:
• RISE volunteers are celebrating Global Volunteer Month with 2 events:
o Inclusive Community Service pop-up project at Mercy University on April 3rd, in collaboration with the Occupational Therapy Assistant interns involved in our spring semester RISE volunteer training program.
o RISE Recognition on April 25th, 10 am – 12 pm at the Greenburgh Public Library, in celebration of the RISE volunteers. Stop by or volunteer. Please email patti@volunteernewyork.org if you would like to volunteer.
RSVP:
• Our RSVP renewal application was accepted by AmeriCorps. We have been awarded a 3-year grant, which runs April 1, 2024 – March 31, 2027.
• Guadalupe attended the Lunar New Year celebration with the Greenburgh Evergreen Club, an RSVP station. Our staff has participated and enjoyed this annual celebration for many years. It’s an opportunity to connect with some of our RSVP members who do not speak English and witness the power of community.
• The RSVP team presented to Broadview Senior Living at Purchase College on March 14th to recruit new members.
New Rochelle:
• For the 3rd year, Volunteer New York!, the City of New Rochelle, the School District of New Rochelle, Sharing Shelf, and Arc Westchester held the Winter Warmth drive. Local volunteers donate new and/or gently used items to redistribute to New Rochelle High School’s clothing insecure students. Approx. 350 lbs. of clothing items were donated and over 100 students received a week’s worth of clothing including pants, sweaters, toiletries, and undergarments through a Teen Boutique, where students get to select their clothing themselves. Clothing insecurity is a huge need in the community: Sharing Shelf saw a 38% (1,200 additional children) in 2023 for requests; the need has grown 300% over the past 3 years.
Corporate:
• On March 12th, Volunteer New York! held a Board Boot Camp for Webster Bank employees. As of 3/5, 85 people were registered for the hybrid event (40 in person and 45 virtually). We have held a board boot camp during Regeneron’s Day for Doing Good, and this is the first time we are holding it for a company as a stand-alone event. Nonprofit Board Boot Camp is our newest addition to our corporate volunteerism offerings. It will help Webster Bank achieve their goals of board placement for their rising leaders and fulfill our mission of adding trained, passionate community members into the pipeline for our nonprofit partners.
• During an onsite volunteer event, Abby spoke with our contact at PepsiCo and their foundation about our services and abilities to assist with multiple groups and departments. She asked about how we can be more known to the PepsiCo community as a resource. At the end of the packet you will find the culmination of that ask and process between VNY! and PepsiCo Foundation. It will air throughout the PepsiCo internal site.
• Over 50 Regeneron employees volunteered to celebrate Black History Month by creating portraits of black businesspeople, artists, and scientists. The paintings will be donated to Intellectus Preparatory Charter School in Mount Vernon. The Principal of Intellectus spoke to the group and shared with the volunteers how important it was for her students to see people that look at them be highlighted in this way. This project will make a lasting difference in the lives of the many young people who currently attend Intellectus and future attendees.
Leadership Westchester and the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association
See attached report from the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association.
Funder Engagement
2024 Volunteer Spirit Awards
The 44th Annual Volunteer Spirit Awards will take place Friday, April 12, 2024, from 8-10 am at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown. This event brings together almost 600 attendees, representing businesses, nonprofits and civic organizations, who all choose to take a pause from their full and busy lives and celebrate the power of local volunteerism. This inspiring event is also the only annual fundraising event for Volunteer New York!.
This year, Volunteer New York! (VNY!) will present a Legacy Award to Valerie Mason Cunningham, and honor six volunteers for their "extraordinary ordinary" service to local nonprofits.
2024 Award Winners
Education & Literacy Award - Jim Isenberg, Grandpas United Going Green Award – Michael Penziner, Rye Nature Center Quality of Life Award – Laura Romeo Sobel, Dance for a Difference Resiliency Award – Matthew Ricker, New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce Social Advocacy Award – Colleen Brathwaite, Westchester Women’s Agenda Youth Leadership Award – Mouhamadou Alou, Mt. Vernon High School
Financials as of 3/14/24
Marketing and Communications
• Social: From January 12th through March 6th, we’ve had 14k in organic impressions (14,612), a 16.4% increase in unique visitors, and a 9.9% increase in followers to our LinkedIn page since our last board report (4,636). On Facebook, our page reach was nearly 24.5k (24,493), with our Instagram reach scaling to 10k (10,022). Content Interactions for Facebook was almost 2k (1,969), and Instagram was around 8h (804). As we approach Global Volunteer Month, we plan to launch a few paid campaigns around our upcoming New Rochelle Parks Clean-up and the Volunteer Spirit Awards.
• Email Marketing: From January 12th through March 8th, we’ve sent 250k emails with an open rate of 41%, a steady increase of 3% from our previous reporting period. In 2024, We have seen a steady rise in new emails signing up for newsletters, averaging 175 per month. Our goal for 2024 is to refine our targeting approach to increase our open rate and decrease unsubscribes.
• Web Analytics: From January 12th through March 8th, our website had nearly 26k users (25,966), over 116k page views (116,009), and 36.3k sessions (36,383). Our top acquisition channel continues to be search and Direct. In 2024, we plan to do a sitewide audit of our SEO and backend tags to continue strengthening our website’s performance on search engines. Additionally, we intend to research and implement accessibility plugins to make our website more accessible to diverse audiences.
• RISE: We updated the RISE landing page in March with a new layout, photos, and information highlighting the upcoming IDD Leadership Class. Additionally, we began working on an updated RISE Impact flyer and generic flyer to highlight our RISE program. Lastly, we started planning our upcoming RISE Recognition event’s annual gift to RISE volunteers.
o See below for links to the updated RISE page and the new video we added about a recent IDD Leadership Class Panel.
IDD Leadership Class Panel: https://youtu.be/cfMGyMNFOAY?si=-gA8kVKIHgbmJ9w
• RSVP: We began planning RSVP’s annual gift to our RSVP volunteers in February. We’ve partnered with our long-time vendor, Halo, to send out a branded flashlight with an attached
card. The branding is around “RSVP Volunteers light our world” and should be making its way to mailboxes mid-March.
• MLK Day Jr.: For MLK Day, we focused our marketing efforts around three e-blasts coinciding with three social posts to highlight the Interactive Webinar on Civic Engagement in mid-January. On MLK Day, we ended the campaign with a promotional video highlighting the importance of using your voice. The video is a montage of historical civil rights clips tied with MLK Jr.’s famous Mountaintop speech.
o Links to the recorded webinar and MLK Day promo can be found below:
MLK Day Webinar: https://youtu.be/t7S5pQfDFqs?si=tpjbluK6b71VzdM9
MLK Day Promo: https://youtu.be/gCN6vMK-sQk?si=YlW1KUYnQbN6d5cR
• Web store: Our web store continues to generate passive income. Upcoming promotions include a merch table at this year’s Volunteer Spirit Awards and the introduction of Leadership Westchester apparel, just in time for graduation.
o Current Figures:
Net Revenue: $1,884
Commission: $910
• Civic Circle: We’ve launched a new social campaign around Points of Light’s Civic Circle. Throughout the year, we plan to highlight each of the nine circles and how individuals can adapt these methods to their daily routines. We launched with a video of our Senior Director of Programs breaking down this initiative and what’s to come. In February, we launched the first series of our Civic Circle campaign, focusing on Listen and Learn.
o See the links below to view our launch video and 1st series:
• Interns: We have posted two intern opportunities for our Marketing and Communications and Corporate Partnerships teams. These internship opportunities will be available for the summer season.
• Media Coverage: We’ve been fortunate to receive coverage for our upcoming Volunteer Spirit Awards.
Please like, share, and comment on posts from Volunteer New York! to encourage engagement and show your support. (We are @volunteerNYnow on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram)
Strategic Plan
Volunteer New York! Board and staff have adopted the following goals for the coming five years:
1. Volunteer New York! will deepen its impact by engaging volunteers in programming that centers community needs.
2. Volunteer New York! will increase our impact by engaging a growing number of people in service to our community.
3. Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
4. Volunteer New York! will ensure it has a robust resource engine.
5. Volunteer New York! will have the team, technology, and systems to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision.
Volunteer New York! Vision
• Our community is vibrant, resilient, and equitable.
Volunteer New York! Mission
• Volunteer New York! mobilizes our community to address its greatest challenges.
Volunteer New York! Values
• We value community.
• We value volunteerism
Volunteer New York! Beliefs
• We believe everyone can serve.
• We believe volunteerism is transformational.
• We believe relationships matter.
Braggables
Executive Director’s Report to the Board of Directors
May 29, 2024
• The 2024 Volunteer Spirit Awards was the most financially successful Volunteer Spirit Awards in Volunteer New York!’s history. See Funder Engagement report for more details.
• On May 9th, Volunteer New York! volunteered at the Rye Nature Center. We helped tackle an invasive species, pulling 64 pounds of garlic mustard, a plant that threatens local wildlife and plant diversity. We also planted 100 irises near the ponds, crucial in creating habitats and filtering water. Afterward, we continued the fun and team bonding at Rye Bar and Grill, enjoying the warm weather and great company. It was a wonderful afternoon of service and teambuilding.
Red Flags
• RSVP Program Manager, Cheryl Brandwein’s last day with Volunteer New York! will be June 20th. In the coming weeks, she is wrapping up the lost learning program and documenting processes. For 2 years she has been an important part of the team, and an invaluable resource and support for our RSVP members. She will be missed.
• There is an acting City Manager for New Rochelle, Wilfredo Melendez, who is also the Public Works Commissioner. His appointment follows the departure of Kathleen Gill. Jeanette and Katie met with him on May 21st to explain the partnership between Volunteer New York! and the City of New Rochelle. Unfortunately, he informed them that he would like to end the community engagement piece of the partnership. Sadly, this means we will lose Charles Curtis. We are working on an off-boarding plan for Charles.
Board Member 1-2-3 Punch
1. RECRUIT: 2024-2025 Leadership Westchester Class Participants – the “official” class recruitment season has kicked off. If you know someone who you think would be a good applicant for Leadership Westchester, please invite them to visit https://www.volunteernewyork.org/leadership or to email Jeanette (jeanette@volunteernewyork.org) directly. The application deadline is Friday, July 28th.
2. CELEBRATE: This year’s Leadership Westchester graduates – our 27th class! Graduation will be held on June 17th from 5-7pm at the Gateway Center at Westchester Community College. Click here to register: volunteernewyork.org/graduation
3. AMPLIFY: Continue to like, comment and share posts from Volunteer New York! and team members on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram Not active on social media? Email, phone or in person conversations still work as effective means of communications.
Calendar
• Wednesday, June 5th, 4:30 – 6:30 pm at WIHD Cedarwood Hall. This is a celebration of the graduates of the Leadership Program developed by Volunteer New York! and WIHD. A flyer can be found later in this packet, and click here to register by May 22nd.
• Monday, June 17th, 5 – 7 pm at The Gateway Center at Westchester Community College –Leadership Westchester Graduation. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the current class and network with alumni. Register here: https://www.volunteernewyork.org/graduation
• Wednesday, August 14th 5-8pm - Staff and Summer Gathering at The Seiden Home (Ossining)
• Friday, September 6th and Wednesday, September 11th – 9/11: Serve + Remember. On the 6th we will pack 50,000 meals with Monroe College and anticipate returning to the County Center on the 11th. Mark your calendars and save the dates.
Programs
General:
• Jawonio, a community partner that works with individuals with I/DD in Rockland, runs a Lego resale store, Brick It Again, where their participants work to sort, inventory, and organize donations. Last fall volunteers from Regeneron painted canvas murals for the store, which look fantastic! In recent emails, they shared the following: “Also I wanted to say thank you for your organization. We have had so many excellent volunteers that have gone beyond a one time stop. So thank you to you and your team for facilitating!” If you have any Legos loose pieces, sets, partial sets that you would like to donate, please let Katie, katie@volunteernewyork.org, know and she can drop them off.
RISE:
• The current two-year grant that supports the RISE program ends August 31, 2024. We had an excellent meeting with our Program Officer from The Taft Foundation on May 14th to introduce Dylan, provide a program update, and discuss our next proposal, which is due June 28th.
• Patti continues to be a community connector. In June 2022, she made an introduction between the Westchester Institute for Human Development and White Plains Hospital and the Project Search program. We are excited to share that WIHD recently announced a new Project Search collaborative partnership with White Plains Hospital. Project Search is a 10 month employment training program for special education high school students transitioning out of high school and recent graduates.
• The RISE Recognition Event on April 25th was fantastic! Over 75 people were in the room, including 50 RISE volunteers. The RISE impact flyer can be found later in this packet.
• Groups have recently started at 2 new placements: Cancer Community Support Center at Gilda’s Club and Family Services of Westchester.
RSVP:
• Family Service Society of Yonkers (FSSY) will be hosting its Summer Reading Buddies mentoring program in four locations this summer – Yonkers, Tarrytown, Ossining, and a new location, Port Chester. Summer Reading Buddies volunteer mentors help students in grades K-5 to maintain their reading skills and prevent the “summer slide.” Volunteer New York! staff will be volunteering in July in Port Chester; if you are interested in joining us, please email Jess at jessica@volunteernewyork.org.
• RSVP will be attending the 56th Annual Salute to Seniors Business Expo scheduled for Thursday, May 30th, from 9:30 am – 1:30 pm at Westchester County Center, 198 Central Avenue, White Plains, NY 10606.
New Rochelle:
• The 8th annual New Rochelle Parks Cleanup weekend was a success:
o 215 volunteers gave 639 hours
o 93 bags of trash and 5 tires were removed
o 44 benches, 8 picnic tables, and 1 fence were painted
o 1,000 native seed bombs dispersed
o 4 garden beds were built and 3 mulch piles spread
o Hundreds of yards of shoreline were cleaned and floating trash removed
Corporate:
• Across the three days and three campuses, about 100 Regeneron volunteers made almost 1,000 native seed bombs that were then spread around Ward Acres during the New Rochelle Parks Cleanup weekend. About 40 seed bombs were brought to Westmoreland Sanctuary. These seed bombs will help increase the number of native plants in the area. This was Regeneron's Earth Week and Global Volunteer Month drop-in volunteer project. Seed bombs are a simple and accessible way to promote biodiversity and environmental sustainability. By dispersing seeds in areas that need restoration or rewilding, seed bombs help to enhance ecosystem health, prevent soil erosion, and support native plant populations.
• Big shout out to Tanya Moximchalk for partnering her company, IMA, with Volunteer New York! for two Corporate Partnership volunteer projects. On Saturday, May 4, we engaged 32 IMA staff members and their family to create cards for the troops along with care kits and blankets for patients at the Montrose VA Hospital. Thanks to Tanya for opening the door to IMA!
• During a recent Corporate Project at Million Air, Carrie Nagle chatted with one of the volunteers, Ernie, who mentioned he had attended the recent Volunteer Spirit Awards. (A benefit provided to Million Air due to their Corporate Champion status). During the awards he was so impressed with Jim Isenberg and the Grandpas United group that he immediately followed up with them and has since joined the organization as a volunteer!
• During the recent Regeneron Volunteer of the Year Awards, Regeneron staff who volunteer their free time were nominated by their peers for recognition and selected for their commitment to their community. One of the 8 winners was a Regeneron 2022 Board Boot Camp attendee who applied his recent training to a nonprofit board in his community! A full circle from VNY! training, through a corporate partnership, resulting in community impact, and culminating in a corporate recognition!
Leadership Westchester and the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association: See attached report from the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association.
In addition, Jeanette and Dylan met with David and Michele to discuss next steps regarding Leadership Westchester Alumni Association. Moving forward Volunteer New York! will, once again, provide leadership for the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association. We are working with David and Michele on how best to communicate this with the alum and an engagement plan for FY 25.
Funder
Engagement
2024 Volunteer Spirit Awards:
**Received a one-time $2,000 discount from the Marriott in 2023
Event Statistics
• Total tickets purchased, sponsored, comped 615
• Total in person guests 595, includes unannounced guests
• Approximately 49 no shows or ~8% of guests
• 61 tables ranging from 8-12 guests at each
• Politicos in attendance included County Executive George Latimer, Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins, State Senator Shelley Mayer, New Rochelle Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach, Scarsdale Mayor Justin Arest, and Greenburgh Councilwoman Ellen Hendrickx.
• Thank you to Ilana Arbeit, Joanne Kirkpatrick, Lydia Kris, Ileen Levy, Carmen Martínez-López, Grant Mitchell, Tanya Moximchalk, Rob Pisano, Amy Seiden, Gerrylyn Williams, and Michael Welling for making thank you calls to donors post-event.
General Feedback
• Valerie brought down the house!
• Benefit Committee contributed over $83,000 in support.
• It was great to be back at pre-pandemic levels with 600 in attendance, but the room felt crowded - especially the spaces in between tables.
• Will need a new Award Sponsor for 2024 due to the change in ConEd’s funding criteria.
• Opportunities to strengthen the awardee connection to Volunteer New York! and better leverage the awardees and the nominators to advance the fundraising goals of the VSAs, especially around journal ad and table sales.
Major Gifts and Sponsors:
Looking beyond the VSAs, Dylan and the Development Team have jumped into analyzing the 9/11 Day of Service and identifying additional sponsorship/partnership opportunities. They have also started
analyzing the #GivingTuesday Hat Campaign and identifying opportunities for increased revenue, a streamlined donor experience, and expanding participation in the campaign.
Dylan has started reaching out to community leaders who are veterans and those involved in supporting veterans to better understand which organizations Volunteer New York! can partner with to increase involvement and communication around the 9/11 Day of Service. Additionally, Dylan is networking to identify veteran-owned businesses and businesses with a record of supporting veterans and veteran causes who can be approached as potential new 9/11 DOS sponsors.
The Development Team has reviewed the 2023 #GivingTuesday Hat Campaign participants to determine who we initially think is renewable for this year’s campaign and had an initial conversation about the appropriate price point for what will be Volunteer New York!’s 10th #GivingTuesday Hat Campaign. Dylan and Jeanette have started initial conversations with Ed Forbes about what the print Journal News component of the Campaign can look like this year, and how we might be able to enhance and streamline the donor experience and potentially create new visibility opportunities for those who wear that hat, which could also make the Campaign more conducive to scaling the Campaign this year and into the future.
As mentioned at the last meeting, Jeanette and Dylan will be meeting with each Board member 2:1 over the summer to give Dylan the opportunity to meet Board members more personally and for Jeanette and Dylan to discuss ways board members can support the overall Development goals of Volunteer New York! through warm referrals and personal support.
Looking forward, Dylan and Jeanette have had initial conversations and reconstituting the Development Committee of the Corporation.
Fall Appeal:
Dylan has met with Andrew Dieckman of Volunteer New York’s current direct mail firm of 20+ years, Executive Printing & Direct Mail, Inc., to review the cost structure and get a quote for this upcoming Fall’s appeal. Additionally, they had an initial conversation about prospecting opportunities and building a mailing list of potential donors who align with the values, goals, and objectives of the organization and whom the letter would hopefully resonate with. Dylan will also be reviewing the new printers that were utilized for the Volunteer Spirit Awards through our relationship with VSA Event contractor Kelli Teglas, to get quotes on the fall appeal which can be compared to the one we receive from Executive Printing & Direct Mail.
Thought Leadership:
In advance of our strategic goal of positioning VNY! as a thought leader in the volunteerism and civic engagement space, Dylan has been working with Senior Strategic Advisor Markham Rollins to plan an educational webinar around the topic of Men’s Volunteerism. The webinar will be structured as an ‘in conversation’ between Mark and Leadership Westchester Facilitator David Severance, and will be an opportunity to promote the Volunteer Matching Database, the Leadership Westchester program, and Volunteer New York! more broadly.
Marketing and Communications
• Social: From March 17th through May 17th, we’ve had 36k in organic impressions (36,023), a 17.8% increase in unique visitors, a 44.8% increase in page views, and a 24.2% increase in followers to our LinkedIn page since our last board report (4,842). I project that we will hit the 5,000 mark by the beginning of July to hit 5,500 by December 2024. On Facebook, our page reach was nearly 14.9k (14,849), resulting in a 14.8% increase in unique visitors. On Instagram, our reach scaled to 18.5k (18,502), resulting in a 24.1% increase in unique visitors. Content Interactions for Facebook was almost 1.2k (1,989), and Instagram was nearly 1.3k (1,278).
• Email Marketing: From March 17th through May 17th, we’ve sent 359k emails with an open rate of 40% (1% above the industry average). In 2024, We have seen a steady rise in new emails signing up for newsletters, averaging 245 monthly. Our goal for 2024 is to refine our email lists to better aid our development efforts and programs.
• Web Analytics: From March 17th through May 17th, our website had 28.6k users (28,602), over 139k page views (139,009), 42.5k sessions (42,529), and a steady engagement rate of 55.2%. Our top acquisition channel continues to be search and Direct. We’ve completed a sitewide audit of our SEO and backend tags and are updating them with the help of board member Tara Fappiano’s husband, Charlie Zegers. Additionally, we are near securing an accessibility partner that will allow us to add a website widget to increase our site’s accessibility for all. We aim to complete our SEO/tag updates and accessibility project by the end of August.
• RISE: We held our annual RISE Volunteer Recognition ceremony in April, honoring the countless volunteers and community partners who significantly impacted this past year. In the past year alone, 185 RISE volunteers served over 16,790 individuals, dedicated 3,000 hours of service, and worked alongside 33 community partners. We provided ceremony attendees with brand new Volunteer New York! Bumper stickers and a Volunteer New York! branded lunchbox.
o View event photos here: https://adobe.ly/3VjxeeX
o View Impact Flyer
• Global Volunteer Month: In honor of Global Volunteer Month, we had the bridge light up in our brand colors to honor the countless volunteers making an impact this month and throughout the year. Additionally, we launched three videos from State Senator Shelley Mayer, County Legislator Judah Holstein, and Jeanette with a targeted call to action for Global Volunteer Month.
o View Shelley Mayer’s GVM Message: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7186857097584607233
o View Judah Holstein’s GVM Message: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7188294238940315648
o View Jeanette’s GVM Message: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7180586943984848896
o View Bridge lighting: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7187933421199929344
• RSVP: We are currently working on launching the Spring/Summer edition of the RSVP Newsletter. Our goal is to have the newsletter in mailboxes in early June.
• Web store: Our web store continues to generate passive income. Upcoming promotions include the introduction of Leadership Westchester apparel, which will be available just in time for graduation. Additionally, we’ve added a Volunteer New York! Vest to our collection. View new vest here.
o Current Figures: Net Revenue: $2,247 Commission: $1,035
• Interns: On Tuesday, May 21st, our Marketing summer intern officially starts. Quinn Blaise, a rising Senior from Binghamton University, will join us part-time and help us with our branding efforts for our upcoming 10th annual Giving Tuesday campaign, 45th annual VSA, and 75th anniversary. In June, we will have an additional 2 interns join us to help our development and programs teams.
• Leadership Westchester: In April, we held our annual Local Leader with Impact Panel Discussion, bringing nearly 100 individuals together to learn from local leaders and LW Alumni from different sectors who profoundly impact our community. Additionally, we’ve begun promoting our upcoming Leadership Westchester graduation and applications for the Class of 2025.
o View Graduation page
o View LW Panel Photos
• New Rochelle: In April, we held our annual New Rochelle Parks Clean-up Weekend, during which 215 volunteers mobilized across 13 parks to aid in beautifying and revitalizing them. In total, the 215 volunteers served 639 hours of service.
o View Saturday Photos
o View Sunday Photos
• Media Coverage: We’ve been fortunate to receive recent coverage.
o https://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/2024/04/18/2024-volunteer-spirit-awardsvolunteer-new-york/73352997007/
o www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2024/04/12/westchester-ny-topvolunteers-honored-annual-spirit-award-event/73301231007/
o https://www.lohud.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2024/04/12/volunteer-new-york44th-annual-volunteer-spirit-awards/73301624007/
o https://www.westchesterfamily.com/spring-volunteer-families-westchester/
Social Media
Please like, share, and comment on posts from Volunteer New York! to encourage engagement and show your support. (We are @volunteerNYnow on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram)
Finance and Operations Report
• Filing of Form 990: We filed our Form 990 and CHAR500 before the May 15th deadline. The process was challenging, primarily due to initial difficulties in locating the source information from last year’s records to aid in preparing this year's schedule. Despite these hurdles, Laura diligently worked through the issues. We are now confident in the accuracy and completeness of filings
• FY 25 Draft Budget and Narrative: I am pleased to report that the draft budget and narrative for FY 25 will be available for review at the board meeting. This document has been prepared to outline our financial strategy and priorities for the upcoming fiscal year, providing a comprehensive overview of anticipated revenues and expenses. Your feedback will be crucial as we finalize this budget.
• FY 24 Year-End Projections: It is my goal to have high level talking points prepared for the FY 24 year-end projections to share during the board meeting. Currently, I have access to financial data up through January 30, 2024. I am making efforts to locate data through March, which was when Geoff last reported. These projections will give us a clearer picture of our financial standing as we close out the fiscal year and help in planning for the next.
• Updated Job Descriptions and Job Postings: Jeanette and Laura met to review the current operational needs and expectations for the finance and operations role, ensuring alignment with our strategic goals. We are currently working on a revised job description and hope to post ASAP.
• Grant Reporting/Vouchering: To date, we have submitted all of our grant reports on time. We still owe DSPS a voucher for the current grant cycle.
• Lease: We have signed our new lease and are preparing for office renovations.
Strategic Plan
Volunteer New York! Board and staff have adopted the following goals for the coming five years:
1. Volunteer New York! will deepen its impact by engaging volunteers in programming that centers community needs.
2. Volunteer New York! will increase our impact by engaging a growing number of people in service to our community.
3. Volunteer New York! will build the board’s capacity to support growth and ensure sustainability.
4. Volunteer New York! will ensure it has a robust resource engine.
5. Volunteer New York! will have the team, technology, and systems to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision.
Volunteer New York! Vision
• Our community is vibrant, resilient, and equitable.
Volunteer New York! Mission
• Volunteer New York! mobilizes our community to address its greatest challenges.
Volunteer New York! Values
• We value community
• We value volunteerism.
Volunteer New York! Beliefs
• We believe everyone can serve.
• We believe volunteerism is transformational.
• We believe relationships matter.
Braggables
Executive Director’s Report to the Board of Directors
June 20, 2024
The Aspiring LeaDDers for I/DD leadership program graduation on June 5th was phenomenal. Both Jeanette and President & CEO of Westchester Institute for Human Development, Susan Fox, gave opening remarks, highlighting the impact of this collaboration and the importance of equity and inclusion of those with disabilities. All 8 graduates shared reflections of how they are going to continue to use the leadership skills they developed in the class. Thank you to Tara Fappiano for attending. Congratulations to RISE Program Manager, Patti Colombo!
Board Member 1-2-3 Punch
1. RECRUIT: 2024-2025 Leadership Westchester Class Participants – the “official” class recruitment season has kicked off. If you know someone who you think would be a good applicant for Leadership Westchester, please invite them to visit https://www.volunteernewyork.org/leadership or to email Jeanette (jeanette@volunteernewyork.org) directly. The application deadline is Friday, July 26th.
2. CALENDAR: 9/11: Serve + Remember will take place Saturday, 9/9 and Monday, 9/11. Saturday will feature outdoor projects throughout the community, and we will be back at the Westchester County Center as our only hub on Monday. Site Captains are needed. Email Carrie Nagel, Carrie@volunteernewyork.org, if you’d like to support the event.
3. AMPLIFY: Continue to like, comment and share posts from Volunteer New York! and team members on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Not active on social media? Email, phone or in person conversations still work as effective means of communications.
Calendar
• Monday, June 17th, 5-7pm at The Gateway Center at Westchester Community College –Leadership Westchester Graduation. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the current class and network with alumni. Register here: https://www.volunteernewyork.org/graduation.
• Wednesday, August 14th 5-8pm - Staff and Summer Gathering at The Seiden Home (Ossining)
• Tuesday, August 27th 4:30- 6pm - New Board Member Orientation
• Friday, September 6th and Wednesday, September 11th – 9/11: Serve + Remember. On the 6th we will pack 50,000 meals with Monroe College and anticipate returning to the County Center on the 11th. Mark your calendars and save the dates. Sponsorships are available. The sponsorship form has been included in this packet.
• Tuesday, October 8th – Thursday, October 24th – Regeneron’s Day for Doing Good. Volunteer New York! will be mobilizing 3,000+ volunteers between Friday, 10/18 and Thursday, 10/24. Tshirt distribution takes place between Tuesday, 10/8 and Tuesday, 10/15. We can use your help t-shirt distribution, a project or both. Email Abby Fuirst, abby@volunteernewyork.org to sign up.
Programs
RSVP
• Guadalupe attended the Senior Health and Fitness Day Fair held at the Police Athletic League in Yonkers to inform the community about RSVP and its benefits.
• The RSVP Annual Stations Meeting was held on Tuesday, June 4th, at the Greenburgh Public Library. The meeting included an opportunity for our partners to share their challenges and participated in an interactive presentation from Marcia Grubel, MA, PCC.
• The Summer Workshop will be held on Tuesday, June 18th with a tour of Philipse Manor Hall, in Yonkers, followed by a tea.
• Guadalupe will be attending the 2024 AmeriCorps Seniors Convening at the end of July, where she will have the opportunity to meet other RSVP directors from across the country.
RISE
• We are now accepting applications for Aspiring LeaDDers Class of 2025 through June 30th. Info on the program and link to the application can be found on the RISE page. Please share with your networks.
Youth
• Senior Manager, Community Engagement, Jessica Friedlander, conducted the Youth Civic Engagement workshop last summer for a group of teens at the White Plains Youth Bureau. Shelia Foley from the WPYB shared the following story:
o When you guys came to do the Civic Engagement program for my high school kids, the timing was perfect. We were in the beginning stages of talking about the lack of social activities for high school teens in WP. The kids had already described what they were looking for and a former WPHS teacher was helping to keep the conversation going in WP. This past school year, the conversations/meetings continued, and we had kids from two different groups put together a PowerPoint and present it to the Mayor of the City of White Plains. They told him what the struggles were and what they were looking for. He agreed to work with them somehow and while that part didn't really continue, the kids continued to meet and we actually started a free monthly event for teens! It's called "The Spot" and on the third Friday of the month we provide teen chosen activities for high school teens from White Plains over at our Rec. Department's Community Center. The "teen advocates" checked the space out with us, they create the monthly flyer, they decide the food and activities, and they even run the Instagram page. We've had two
events so far and in April I think we had 53 teens and in May we had about 45. This is now a collaboration between the Youth Bureau, the Rec. and Parks Dept., the WP Public Library and the Thomas Slater Center. It's amazing to see us all pull together and have the kids determine what we provide for them to fill the gap. Hopefully, the City will do something more substantial at some point, but we got a good kick start with you guys!
Corporate
• Like last year, the Volunteer New York! team is working to mobilize over 3,000 Regeneron employees across about 140 different projects. This is an incredible opportunity for our nonprofit partners to have an amazing group of volunteers for a high-impact project. With many projects, we could use extra sets of hands to attend some of the projects, distribute t-shirts, and help organize supplies. As you start planning your fall, can you please reserve some time on the following dates to help our VNY! team? It would be great if you could do at least one of the tshirt distribution days and one of the project days.
o Tuesday 10/8 - 11am-2pm (t-shirt distribution at one of the Regeneron offices)
o Wednesday 10/9 - 11am-2pm (t-shirt distribution at one of the Regeneron offices)
o Thursday 10/10 - 11am-2pm (t-shirt distribution at one of the Regeneron offices)
o Tuesday 10/15 - 11am-2pm (t-shirt distribution at one of the Regeneron offices)
o Friday 10/18 - project time and location TBD (please let me know if you prefer indoor/outdoor/at Regeneron/at a nonprofit)
o Monday 10/21 - project time and location TBD (please let me know if you prefer indoor/outdoor/at Regeneron/at a nonprofit)
o Tuesday 10/22 - project time and location TBD (please let me know if you prefer indoor/outdoor/at Regeneron/at a nonprofit)
o Wednesday 10/23 - project time and location TBD (please let me know if you prefer indoor/outdoor/at Regeneron/at a nonprofit)
o Thursday 10/24 - project time and location TBD (please let me know if you prefer indoor/outdoor/at Regeneron/at a nonprofit)
Leadership Westchester and the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association: See attached report from the Leadership Westchester Alumni Association.
Funder Engagement
Fueling our Resource Engine - Revenue Generation
Much of Dylan’s focus since joining staff in February has been identifying opportunities for new revenue generation. In the May 2024 Board Development Update Dylan touched on taking a close analytical look at 9/11 sponsorship opportunities, the #GivingTuesday Hat Campaign, and the annual appeal to identify increased revenue opportunities.
In addition to these efforts, Senior Staff and the Development Team have been taking a close look at new grant and government funding opportunities. Volunteer New York! is in the process of submitting a grant application to the NewYork-Presbyterian Community Fund, whose 2024 funding process has just begun. This year, one of their focus areas for funding is combating ‘Social Isolation’. Approved grants will
range from grants ranging from $75,000 to $150,000 per year with maximum funding of two years and $300,000. Initial letters of inquiry are due June 23rd.
Additionally, VNY! is in the process of applying for a $5,000 grant from the Ilchman Fund at the New York Community Trust – Westchester (formerly the Westchester Community Foundation) to help offset some of the prospecting and new donor acquisition strategy related to this winter’s annual appeal.
Lastly, late last month, Katie and Dylan met with Westchester County Legislator Jewel Williams-Johnson, Chairwoman of the Board of Legislators Budget & Appropriations committee, to discuss VNY!’s proposed ‘Emerging Under-resourced Nonprofit Consulting’ proposal. This proposal was originally submitted to Impact100 for consideration but was passed over. ‘Emerging Under-resourced Nonprofits Consulting’ proposal would utilize existing internal capacity and existing subject matter expertise on the VNY! to build the capacity of emerging nonprofits in Westchester so that they will be more effective in achieving their mission. The goal is efforts of VNY! toward this initiative will have a positive, force multiplier effect on the greater community as nonprofits become more effective.
Marketing and Communications
• Social: From January 1st through June 5th, we’ve had 64k in organic impressions (64,972), a 9.3% increase in unique visitors, a 25.5% increase in page views, and a 12% increase in followers to our LinkedIn page compared to the same period last year. On Facebook, our page reach was 43.6k (43,629), resulting in a 4.8k in unique visitors. On Instagram, our reach scaled to nearly 29k (28,982), resulting in 1.5k in unique visitors. Content Interactions for Facebook was nearly 4.2k (4,187), and Instagram was nearly 2.8k (2,788).
• Email Marketing: In 2024, we sent 897k emails with an open rate of 41% (2% above the industry average). Currently, we are working on streamlining our email lists to increase our email marketing efficiency. We expect this change to increase email open rates and decrease unsubscribes. We continue to see a steady rise in new emails signing up for newsletters, averaging 250 monthly.
• Web Analytics: In 2024, our website had nearly 71k users (70,915), nearly 339k page views (338,530), 106.2k sessions (106,187), and a steady engagement rate of 55.1%. Our top acquisition channel continues to be search and Direct. We’re working through updating our site’s sitemap, SEO, and accessibility based on the completed sitewide audit we conducted earlier this year. We aim to complete our SEO/tag updates and accessibility project by the end of August.
• RSVP: We have finalized the Spring/Summer edition of the RSVP Newsletter and have sent it to the printers for distribution. We expect the newsletter to hit mailboxes in the next week or so.
o Spring 2024 Edition
• Web store: We’ve recently added new merch to our store, just in time for Leadership Westchester’s graduation. We plan to launch promotions to entice the sale of Leadership Westchester apparel. Check out our new merch here.
o Current Figures:
Net Revenue: $2,247
Commission: $1,035
• Interns: In May, we were excited to welcome our Marketing intern, Quinn Blaise. Quinn has begun to help us with our branding efforts for our upcoming 10th annual Giving Tuesday campaign, 45th annual VSA, and 75th anniversary. Also, she is helping us prep for our forthcoming 9/11 campaign. Two additional interns will join us in June to help our development and programs teams. The goal of one of the interns will be to assist us in organizing all our marketing assets and to help us create department guidelines for future employees.
• Community Conversations: We’ve begun promoting an upcoming community conversation on Men’s Volunteerism led by Markham Rollins III, former Volunteer New York! Board Chair and esteemed author of The Evolving Man: Life Virtues Men Don’t Talk About. Mark will be joined by David Severance, President of New Door Leadership and facilitator of Volunteer New York! ‘s signature professional development program, Leadership Westchester. Together, they will delve into the importance of men engaging in their communities, explore the benefits for the community and the volunteers themselves, and share excerpts from The Evolving Man.
o View Flyer
o RSVP Here
• Leadership Westchester: We’re currently working on launching a journal ad promoting Leadership Westchester and celebrating the current class. We expect the ad to launch in the June 10th edition of the Westchester Business Journal. Additionally, we plan to record the graduation like last year and invite media outlets to attend the graduation ceremony.
o View Graduation page
o View Journal Ad
• Media Coverage: We plan to do media outreach for our upcoming Leadership Westchester graduation and apply to include Jeanette in one of City & State’s Top 100 lists. In 2024, we’ve received the following coverage:
Understand and practice organizational values and beliefs.
COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD
Audit & Risk Committee
Contact: Geraldine (Gerry) F. Watson
Email: gwatson@rbf.org
Cell: 914-329-6402
The Audit & Risk Committee reviews with the independent auditor the scope and planning of the audit prior to the audit’s commencement, and upon completion of the audit, review and discuss with the auditor: material risks and weaknesses in internal controls identified by the auditor; any restrictions placed on the scope of the auditor’s activities or access to requested information; any significant disagreements between the auditor and management, and; the adequacy of the Corporation’s accounting and financial reporting process.
Governance Committee
Chair: Tara Fappiano
Email: tcf@tarafappiano.com
Cell: 917-923-2330
The official duty of the Governance Committee is to review, or appoint a committee to review, the By-laws of Volunteer New York! Every two years, or upon request of a majority of the Board of Directors. Other important responsibilities of the Governance Committee include recruitment, interviewing, and selection of prospective Board members to present to the Board for vote; recruitment of Committee chairs and presentation of same to the Board for vote; participation in Board member orientation, and other initiatives as the Committee deems important to the operation of a healthy, diverse, and sustainable Board, including Board Assessments as may be deemed necessary and appropriate. The Governance Committee is currently working on several goals outlined in the Strategic Plan.
Finance Committee
Chair: Grant Mitchell
Email: grantemitchell@gmail.com
Cell: (914) 815-1702
The Finance Committee provides review of the financial analysis performed by staff. It also offers advice and oversight of the VNY! budget and provides input on the financial goals established by the organization. The Committee’s primary responsibility is to ensure the organization is operating with the financial resources it needs to provide programs and services to the community. The members have fiduciary responsibility for VNY!
COMMITTEES OF THE CORPORATION
Volunteer Spirit Awards Steering Committee
Chair: Lydia Kris
Email: lydiakris@gmail.com
Cell: 914-882-6214
The Volunteer Spirit Awards breakfast benefit is held annually in April to honor extraordinary volunteers who have made a significant difference in our area. The event is Volunteer New York!'s primary fundraiser and is supported through sponsorships, journal ads, ticket sales, and donations. The Volunteer Spirit Awards Steering Committee supports the Volunteer New York! staff in the overall planning and execution of the event, including event promotion, logistics, and fundraising. The committee meets monthly (in person and/or by zoom) between September and April, typically on Tuesdays from 12-1:30 pm, with possible additional meetings in March/April during the lead-up to the event. The time commitment is about 2-3 hours per month. Steering Committee members are expected to provide insights and recommendations during the planning process, act as ambassadors for the event within their communities and networks (by publicizing the nomination process, recommending potential sponsors, and inviting personal contacts to purchase tickets), attend the event, and make thank you calls after the event.
The Governance Committee is currently working on evaluating and establishing, as needed, additional Committees to address the needs of the organization. Stay tuned for more opportunities for members of the Board of Directors to provide their expertise and talents to support these initiatives.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Officers’ Roles (2024-2025)
The Executive Committee is the leadership team of the Board of Directors for Volunteer New York! Officers generally serve to support the Executive Director, providing guidance, advice, and oversight of the affairs of the organization. In addition, Officers are to generally support other members of the Board of Directors, keeping them informed as to the affairs of the organization in a timely manner, and encouraging Board member engagement so that they may make a meaningful contribution in their service
The below Officer positions are required by Volunteer New York!’s By-Laws. Officers are elected for a one-year term by the Board of Directors, annually, and may be re-elected to the same office for up to three successive one-year terms.
Board Chair
Michael Welling
Work Email: mw@meridianrisk.com
Cell: 914-806-0855 ♠ Work: 914-368-1277
The Board Chair’s official duties include presiding over all meetings of the Board of the Directors and the Executive Committee. The Chair is responsible to supervise the general affairs of Volunteer New York! and keep the Board of Directors fully informed about its activities. The Chair is the only officer with the power to sign and execute contracts on behalf of Volunteer New York!, when authorized by the Board of Directors.
Board Vice Chair-Committees of the Board
Rosemary Byrne
Work Email: Rosemary.Byrnes@wmchealth.org Cell: 914-216-4359 Work: 914-493-6236
The Vice Chair-Committees of the Board shall act in the absence of or at the request of the Board Chair. They assist with oversight of the Committees of the Board, which are the Audit & Risk Committee and the Governance Committee.
Board Vice Chair-Committees of the Corporation
Felix Tapia
Work Email: ftapia@robisonoil.com
Cell: 914-489-6382 Work: 914-847-0273
The Vice Chair-Committees of the Corporation shall act in the absence of both the Chair and the Vice Chair-Committees of the Board. They assist with the Committees of the Corporation, which is currently the Development Committee and the Volunteer Spirit Awards Sterring Committee.
Secretary
Amy Seiden
Home Email: ASeiden@LovelySound.com
Cell: 914-755-4209
The Secretary’s duties are to maintain all of the necessary records of Volunteer New York! These duties include: keeping minutes of the Board of Directors, attending to all notices of the Corporation, keeping charge of all books and papers, as directed by the Board of Directors, attending to all correspondence of the Corporation, recording the attendance of Directors, and providing reports to the Board of Directors in the event of any removal of a Director, pursuant to the By-Laws.
Treasurer
Grant Mitchell
Email: grantemitchell@gmail.com
Cell: 914-815-1702
The Treasurer keeps full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements of the Corporation, and deposits or causes to deposit all money and valuable documents in such banks or depositories as the Board of Directors directs. At the Annual Meeting, the Treasurer provides a Report including the categories outlined in the By-Laws. The Treasurer shows all Books and accounts to any officer or Director, when required by the Board of Directors, and provides statements of the Corporation’s accounts. The Treasurer also submits a proposed Annual Budget at the Annual Meeting, and an annual financial statement at the next meeting, within six months of the fiscal year.
Ambassador/Alliance Builder/Asker (AAA) Workshop
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Ambassadors, Alliance Builders and Askers all understand Volunteer New York’s mission, programs and budget; all ask thoughtful questions.
Ambassador (individual work to spread the message):
• Serves as a representative as well as a promoter of Volunteer New York (VNY)
• Understands VNY’s mission, programs and budget; asks thoughtful questions
• Advocates for volunteerism through their individual volunteering as well as encouraging others to volunteer
• Shares their individual time and expertise/talent with the VNY team
• Examples of Ambassador activity:
o Volunteering on MLK Jr Day or 9/11 Day of Service
o Attending events such as the VSA’s
o Joining a committee
o Sharing posts on social media channels
o Meeting with VNY staff
Alliance Builder (individuals working together to form connections and partnerships):
• Serves as a link/connector to bring people together for the benefit of VNY
• Introduces potential donors (individuals and businesses) to VNY and community partners (nonprofits) to VNY
• Suggests resources for the betterment of VNY
• Helps build partnerships with other nonprofit organizations, municipalities, schools, corporations, influencers & celebrities
• Scales and amplifies the brand through relationships
• Examples of Alliance Builder activity:
o Connects VNY with a prospective award sponsor for the VSA’s
o Introduces VNY to a company regarding participating in Corporate Days of Service program (e.g. like Regeneron Day of Good)
o Connects VNY with other nonprofit organizations
Asker (focus is on money, solicitating donations):
• Solicits financial donations for VNY; target audience consists of individuals, corporations, foundations, etc.
• Focuses on securing renewed gifts as well as new gifts
• Examples of Asker activity:
o Reaching out to key contacts/companies to share/ask for sponsorship of events/awards
o Invite friends/colleagues to make donations to support VNY
o Understands why we need money and where the financial support goes
Wednesday, December 13, 2023 – 6-7pm
In order to maximize our time, please complete the questions below. We’ll discuss the answers at the workshop.
Mission Statement: Volunteer New York! Mobilizes our community to address its greatest challenges.
1. What does it mean to you to “mobilize our community?”
2. What are some examples of how you have a found a way to Connect, Serve and Grow?
3. Whether you are a seasoned or new board member, you should always have your elevator pitch in your head. That way you’ll never miss a chance to start a conversation with someone about the value of Volunteer New York!. Be confident, clear and concise.
A 3 minute pitch should not be a copy of the mission statement. It should:
- Be authentic, engaging, passionate and speak from your heart
- Tell a story
- Data may be helpful but don’t get lost in it
- Share your vision
- Build comprehension
- Suggest problem you solve/you’re addressing
My elevator pitch:
Laura Perozo
VOLUNTEER NEW YORK!
220 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591
Telephone: (914) 948-4452 | Fax: (914) 948-3032
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2023-2024
• Chair, Michael Welling
• Vice Chair, Committees of the Board – Rosemary Byrne (2nd term)
• Vice Chair, Committees of the Corporation – Felix Tapia (2nd Term)
• Secretary - Amy Seiden (3rd Term)
• Treasurer – Grant Mitchell (2nd Term)
DIRECTORS DIRECTORY (Listed Alphabetically)
♠ = Preferred/best method of contact
Note: Term expiration dates are listed in parenthesis under each member’s name. An asterisk (*) indicates that the member is ineligible for re-election due to term limits.
Carlos Andrade SVP, Business Banking Team Leader M&T Bank
120 White Plains Rd Tarrytown, NY 10591
Cell: (914) 255-6194 ♠
Work Email: candrade@mtb.com linkedin.com/in/carlos-andrade-723b5b33/
Home: 300 Main Street, Apt 6A White Plains, NY 10601
Birthday: 9/27
Jeanette Gisbert Executive Director
Volunteer New York! 220 White Plains Road Tarrytown, NY 10591
Work Email: jeanette@volunteernewyork.org ♠
Home Email: jbg76@hotmail.com Cell: 914-843-6540 ♠ Work: 914-227-9310 ♠
Home Address: 36 North 3rd Street Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567
Birthday: 5/6
Amended and Restated By-laws of the Volunteer Service Bureau of Westchester, Inc.
d/b/a Volunteer New York!
Revised January 19, 2023
ARTICLE I - NAME
The name of the corporation is the Volunteer Service Bureau of Westchester, Inc., doing business as Volunteer New York! (hereinafter referred to as “VNY!” or the “Corporation”). The principal office of the Corporation shall be located within the State of New York as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine.
ARTICLE II - PURPOSES
VNY! is dedicated to being the center for volunteerism in Westchester and our surrounding communities inspiring, mobilizing, and equipping individuals and groups to take positive action to address pressing challenges, support nonprofits and strengthen the quality of life in our community.
The Corporation is organized exclusively for charitable purposes and activities as specified in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as now in effect or hereafter amended (hereinafter referred to as the “Internal Revenue Code”), and shall not carry on any activities not permitted to be carried on by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
ARTICLE III - MEMBERS
The Corporation shall have no members.
ARTICLE IV – BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. Powers, Number, and Election
A. Powers
1. The Board of Directors shall have general power to control and manage the affairs and property of the Corporation subject to applicable law and in accordance with the purposes and limitations set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation and herein.
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2. The Board of Directors may:
(i) appoint and discharge advisors and consultants who have skills necessary or helpful to the Corporation;
(ii) employ and discharge persons for the furtherance of the purposes of the Corporation, including an Executive Director or President who shall manage the Corporation under the Board of Directors’ oversight;
(iii) exercise all other powers necessary to manage the affairs and further the purposes of the Corporation in conformity with the Certificate of Incorporation and these By-Laws.
B. Representation
1. The Board of Directors shall be broadly representative of the population and of Westchester County and its surrounding communities.
2. Those directors who satisfy the following conditions will be considered “Independent Directors”:
(i) Is not, and has not been in the past three (3) years, an employee or a key person of VNY! or affiliate of VNY!, and does not have a relative who is, or has been within in the past three (3) years, an employee or a key person of VNY! or affiliate of VNY!;
(ii) Has not received, and does not have a relative who has received, $10,000 or more in direct compensation from VNY! or an affiliate of VNY! in the past three (3) years, other than reasonable director’s expenses and fees;
(iii) Is not a current employee of, or does not have a substantial financial interest in, and does not have a relative who is a current officer of or has a substantial financial interest in, any entity that has provided payments, property or services to, or received payments, property or service, from VNY! or an affiliate of VNY! in an amount that exceeds the lesser of (1) $10,000 or two percent of such entity's consolidated gross revenues if the entity's consolidated gross revenue was less than $500,000; (2) $25,000 if the entity's consolidated gross revenue was $500,000 or more but less than $10,000,000; and (3) $100,000 if the entity's consolidated gross revenue was $10,000,000 or more, in any of the past three (3) years (for these purposes, payments exclude (x) charitable contributions, (y) dues or fees paid to VNY! for services which VNY! performs as part of its nonprofit purposes, or (z) payments made by VNY! at fixed or non-negotiable rates or amounts for services received; provided, that such services by and to VNY! are available to individual members of the public on the same terms, and such services received by VNY! are not available from another source); and (iv) Is not, and does not have a relative who is, a current owner, whether wholly or partially, director, officer or employee of VNY!'s outside auditor or who has worked on VNY!'s audit at any time during the past three (3) years
C. Number
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The Board of Directors shall be comprised of not less than three (3) members, all of whom shall be at least eighteen (18) years of age. The number of Directors may, at any time, be increased, without limit, or decreased to the legal limit of at least three (3) members, by an affirmative vote of a majority vote of the entire Board of Directors
D. Election
To become a Director, a person shall be elected by an affirmative vote of a majority of the entire Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors to be held in May or June of each year at such time and place fixed by the Board of Directors. Except as otherwise provided in these By-laws, duly elected new Directors shall assume office as of July 1st of that year.
E. Vacancies
Any vacancies on the Board of Directors arising at any time and from any cause may be filled at any meeting of the Board of Directors by an affirmative vote of a majority of the Directors then in office, regardless of their number, and the Directors so elected shall serve until June 30th of the following year.
Section 2. Term of Office
Each director shall be elected to serve for a three (3) year term and shall not serve more than three (3) consecutive terms, except a Director elected to fill a term of one (1) year or less due to a vacancy is eligible to serve two (2) additional terms.
Former members of the Board of Directors shall be eligible for re-election after a one (1)year absence from the Board of Directors.
Section 3. Resignations
Any Director may resign from his or her office at any time by delivering his or her resignation in writing to the Chair or Secretary of the Corporation. The resignation shall take effect, at the time specified therein, and if no time is specified, upon receipt by the Chair or Secretary, and acceptance of the resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.
Section 4. Removal
Any Director may be removed at any time for cause by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the entire Board of Directors at a regular meeting or special meeting called for that purpose; provided that at least one week's notice of the proposed action shall have been given to the entire Board of Directors then in office. The failure of a Director to attend any three (3) consecutive meetings of the Board of Directors (exclusive of special
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meetings) within a fiscal year of the Corporation, without advance notification to the Chair or Secretary of the Corporation/unless a majority of the Directors then in office has excused such Director from attendance due to extreme circumstance(s), shall constitute cause for removal. 1
Section 5. Quorum
Except as otherwise provided by law or these By-laws, a majority of the entire Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business or of any specified item of business. If at any meeting of the Board of Directors there shall be less than a quorum present, the Directors present may adjourn the meeting until a quorum is obtained.
Section 6. Action of the Board
1. Unless otherwise required by law or these By-laws, the affirmative vote of the majority of the Directors present at the time of the vote, if a quorum is present at such time, shall be the act of the Board of Directors. Each director present shall have one (1) vote.
2. Actions related to the purchase of real property or the sale, mortgage, lease, exchange or other disposition of VNY!’s own real property must be approved by a majority of the Board of Directors or an authorized committee (which must promptly report back to the full Board of Directors), unless the transaction involves all or substantially all of VNY!’s assets, in which case the transaction must be approved by twothirds (2/3) of the entire Board of Directors (or a majority if there are twenty one (21) or more directors in office).
3. Any action required or permitted to be taken by the Board of Directors or any committee thereof may be taken without a meeting if all members of the Board of Directors or the committee, as applicable, consent in writing to the adoption of a resolution authorizing the action. Such consent may be written or electronic; provided, that if the consent is written, it must be signed by the Director, or if the consent is electronic, it must be able to be reasonably determined to have been sent by the Director. The resolution and the written consents thereto by the members of the Board of Directors or committee thereof shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board of Directors or committee, as applicable.
Section 7. Meetings of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors shall hold meetings at such time and place as fixed by the Board of Directors, as follows:
A. Annual Meeting
1 Note to VNY! The By-laws already contain a minimum attendance requirement here, so no need to add.
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The Board of Directors shall hold a yearly annual meeting in May or June (the “Annual Meeting”) for the purpose of: (i) electing directors, (ii) electing officers, (iii) electing the Committees of the Board (as defined below) as deemed necessary by the Board of Directors, and (iv) approving the annual budget.
B. Regular Meetings
The Board of Directors shall hold at least three (3) regular meetings in addition to the Annual Meeting.
C. Special Meetings
Special meetings of the Board of Directors shall be called by the Chair or upon written request of five (5) members of the Board of Directors. No business other than that specified in the notice of the special meeting may be transacted at such special meeting without the consent of a majority of the members of the Board of Directors eligible to vote present at such special meeting.
D. Conference Telephone Calls
Any one (1) or more members of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof may participate in a meeting of the Board of Directors or committee by means of telephone, video conference or similar communications equipment provided that all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other at the same time and can participate in all matters before the board. Participation by such means shall constitute presence in person at such a meeting.
E. Notice
1. Regular meetings may be held without notice of the time and place if such meetings are fixed by the Board of Directors. Notice of the time and place of the Annual Meeting, each regular meeting not fixed by the Board of Directors and each special meeting of the Board of Directors shall be delivered to each Director by email or facsimile at least five (5) days before the day on which the meeting is to be held. To discuss matters requiring prompt action, notice of special meetings may be sent to each Director by email, facsimile, or telephone, or given personally, no less than forty-eight (48) hours before the time at which such meeting is to be held, unless the meeting must be held within fortyeight (48) hours.
2. Notice of a meeting need not be given to any Director who submits a signed waiver of notice whether before or after the meeting, or who attends the meeting without protesting, prior thereto or at its commencement, the lack of notice to him or her. Waivers of notice sent by email must be able to be reasonably determined to be sent by the applicable Director. No notice need be given of any adjourned meeting.
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Section 8. Advisors to the Corporation
A. Powers
The Board of Directors, by resolution, may appoint from time to time any number of persons as advisors of the Corporation to act either singly or as a committee or committees of the Corporation. Each advisor shall hold office during the period of time specified by the Board of Directors and shall only have the authority or obligations determined from time to time by the Board of Directors.
B. No Compensation
No advisor to the Corporation shall receive, directly or indirectly, any salary or compensation for any service rendered to the Corporation, except that the Board of Directors may authorize reimbursement of expenditures reasonably incurred on behalf of activities for the benefit of the Corporation.
Section 9. Board of Directors Contributions
1. All of VNY!’s fund raising campaigns must have the leadership and financial support of its Board of Directors. Members of the Board of Directors must be in the forefront as they contribute their own funds and as they personally assist in raising additional money.
2. Every member of the Board of Directors is required to comply with VNY!’s Give or Get Policy set forth in the Board Statement of Understanding signed by each member upon the start of his/her term of office, pursuant to which each Director undertakes to provide the financial support required from them as members of the Corporation
Section 10. Compensation
1. No compensation of any kind shall be paid to any Director for the performance of his or her duties as a member of the Board of Directors. Subject to Section 8 above, this shall not in any way limit reimbursement of or payment for services provided to the Corporation by the Director in any capacity separate from his or her responsibilities as a Director, provided that there is full disclosure of the terms of such compensation and the arrangement has been approved by the Board of Directors.
2. The provisions of this Section 10 shall not in any way limit reimbursement of or payment for services provided to the Corporation by any organization in which a Director is affiliated.
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ARTICLE V - OFFICERS
Section l. Officers, Election, Term and Duties
The officers of VNY! shall consist of: (a) a Chair; (b) a Vice Chair - Committees of the Board; (c) a Vice Chair - Committees of the Corporation; (d) a Secretary; and (e) a Treasurer.
A. Term of Office
The officers shall be elected for a one (1)-year term. An officer may be re-elected to the same office for up to three (3) successive one (1)-year terms.
B. Election
Officers shall be elected at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors or at any special meeting that may be called for the purpose of electing an officer to fill a vacancy. For their first term and first re-election (if any), officers shall be elected by an affirmative vote of a majority of the entire Board of Directors.
C. Qualifications
1. An officer must be a member of the Board of Directors.
2. When approved by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the entire Board of Directors, and pursuant to written documents justifying the reasons for such approval, an employee of VNY! can serve as Chair of the Board. No such employee serving as Chair shall be considered an independent director for purposes of the applicable law.
D. Duties
1. The Chair of the Board of Directors shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. The Chair shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Corporation and shall keep the Board of Directors fully informed about the activities of the Corporation. He or she has the power to sign and execute alone in the name of the Corporation, all contracts authorized either generally or specifically by the Board of Directors, unless the Board of Directors shall specifically require an additional signature. The Chair shall perform all duties usually incident to the office of the Chair and shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned by the Board of Directors.
2. The Vice Chair - Committees of the Board shall act in the absence of or at the request of the Chair. He or she will also assist with any oversight of the Committees of the Board.
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3. The Vice Chair - Committees of the Corporation shall act in the absence of both the Chair and the Vice Chair - Committees of the Board. He or she will assist with any oversight of the Committees of the Corporation.
4. The Secretary shall cause the necessary records of VNY! to be properly maintained and shall perform such duties as are attributed by law and custom to this office, including but not limited to the following: The Secretary shall: keep the minutes of the Board of Directors; have the custody of the seal of the Corporation and affix and attest the same to documents when duly authorized by the Board of Directors; attend to the giving and serving of all notices of the Corporation; have charge of such books and papers as the Board of Directors may direct; and attend to such correspondence as may be assigned to him or her. The Secretary shall record the attendance of Directors and provide a report to the Board of Directors for the purpose of removing Directors pursuant to Article IV Section 4 above.
5. The Treasurer shall keep or cause to be kept full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements of the Corporation, and shall deposit or cause to be deposited all moneys, evidences of indebtedness and other valuable documents of the Corporation in the name and to the credit of the Corporation in such banks or depositories as the Board of Directors may designate. At the Annual Meeting, he or she shall render a report of the Corporation’s accounts showing in appropriate detail: (a) the assets and liabilities of the Corporation as of a twelve-month fiscal period terminating not more than six months prior to the meeting; (b) the principal changes in assets and liabilities during that fiscal period; (c) the revenues or receipts of the Corporation, both unrestricted and restricted to particular purposes during said fiscal period; and (d) the expenses or disbursements of the Corporation, for both general and restricted purposes during said fiscal period. Such report shall be filed with the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors.
6. The Treasurer shall, at all reasonable times, exhibit the Corporation’s books and accounts to any officer or Director of the Corporation, and whenever required by the Board of Directors, render a statement of the Corporation’s accounts and perform all duties incident to the position of Treasurer, subject to the control of the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall submit a proposed annual budget at the Annual Meeting and shall distribute an annual financial statement in writing at the next regularly scheduled board meeting upon completion, ideally within six (6) months of the close of the fiscal year.
Section 2. Removal, Resignation and Vacancies:
Any officer may be removed for cause by a resolution adopted by a majority of the entire Board of Directors. In the event of the death, resignation or removal of an officer, the Board of Directors shall elect a successor to fill the unexpired term of such officer at a special meeting of the Board of Directors from a slate presented by the Governance Committee.
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ARTICLE VI - COMMITTEES
Section 1. Committees of the Board
1. The Board of Directors may designate from among its members: (a) an Executive Committee, by resolution of a majority of the entire Board of Directors, and (b) a Governance Committee, an Audit & Risk Committee, and such other committees of the Board of Directors as it from time to time may find appropriate, by resolution of a majority of the directors present at the relevant meeting at which a quorum is present (collectively, the “Committees of the Board”, and individually, each a “Committee of the Board”).
2. Each Committee of the Board shall (a) consist of at least three (3) directors2 and (b) to the extent provided in the resolution establishing such Committee of the Board, have the authority of the Board of Directors, except that no Committee of the Board shall have authority as to the following matters:
(i) fill vacancies on the Board of Directors or on any committee;
(ii) fix the compensation of the directors for serving on the Board of Directors or on any committee;
(iii) amend or repeal the By-Laws or adopt new By-Laws;
(iv) amend or repeal any resolution of the Board of Directors which by its terms shall not be so amendable or repealable;
(v) amend the Certificate of Incorporation;
(vi) elect or remove officers and directors;
(vii) approve a merger or plan of dissolution; or
(viii) adopt a resolution authorizing any action on the sale, lease, exchange, or other disposition of all or substantially all the assets of the Corporation.
A. Executive Committee
1. The Executive Committee shall consist of all of the Officers of the Corporation. At the Annual Meeting, the members of the Board of Directors shall appoint an Officer to act as Chair of the Executive Committee.
2. In the event it is impractical to convene a Board of Directors meeting in time to conduct an item of urgent business, the Executive Committee shall have all the authority to act in the same way as the Board of Directors, except as to the matters contained in clauses (i) to (viii) of Section 1(3) above.
2 Note to VNY!—A Board Committee must have at least 3 members.
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3. Except as otherwise provided by law or these By-laws, a majority of the entire Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business or of any specified item of business. If at any meeting of the Executive Committee there shall be less than a quorum present, the Directors present may adjourn the meeting until a quorum is obtained.
4. The Executive Committee may extend an invitation to any or all Chairs of Committees of the Board to attend meetings of the Executive Committee as a non-voting advisor.
5. The Executive Committee must make a report on all actions taken at the next regular meeting of the Board of Directors.
6. The Executive Committee shall hold meetings from time to time as deemed necessary and on the call of the Chair, or any two (2) members of the Executive Committee.
7. The votes of a majority of the Executive Committee are required to take action.
8. The Executive Committee shall review, or appoint a committee to review, the Strategic Plan of VNY! annually, or upon request of a majority of the entire Board of Directors.
9. The Executive Committee shall, at least annually, conduct a performance review with the Executive Director or President to assess progress towards mutually agreed upon goals and to reevaluate future goals. The Executive Committee shall promptly report the results of its review to the Board of Directors along with any recommendations for the Executive Director’s goals and any changes in salary or grant of incentive compensation.
10. The Executive Committee shall have the responsibility of formulating, and recommending for adoption, a uniform statement of policies and procedures on personnel matters and shall report annually to the Board of Directors.
11. The Executive Committee shall recruit and interview applicants and make recommendations to the Board of Directors for appointing the Executive Director or President of VNY!.
12. The Executive Committee shall consider any grievance brought to it by an employee after such grievance has been addressed by the Executive Director and remains unsolved. The Executive Committee shall have final authority in such grievances.
B. Governance Committee
1. At the Annual Meeting, the members of the Board of Directors shall elect a Governance Committee, which shall consist of not less than three (3) nor more than seven (7) members of the Board of Directors.
2. The Board of Directors shall appoint, among the elected members, an individual to act as Chair of the Governance Committee.
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3. Vacancies on the Governance Committee shall be filled by an affirmative vote of a majority vote of the Board of Directors at a regular or special meeting called for that purpose.
4. Two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Governance Committee shall constitute a quorum.
5. The Governance Committee shall compose a slate of proposed nominees for (a) new directors, (b) officers (c) members of the Governance Committee and (d) members of the Audit & Risk Committee.
6. The slate shall be distributed to the Directors at least thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Meeting. The slate shall be acted upon at the Annual Meeting and the results of the election shall be circulated to all Directors.
7. Members of the Governance Committee may nominate and vote for themselves when recommending the slate of officers or directors, provided they are otherwise eligible for such office or term.
8. In the event there is an even number of members of the Governance Committee and a vote to accept a nomination results in a tie vote, the Chair of the Governance Committee will provide the tiebreaker votes.
9. The Governance Committee shall review, or appoint a committee to review, the By-laws of VNY! every two (2) years3, or upon request of a majority of the entire Board of Directors
C. Audit & Risk Committee
1. Members of the Audit & Risk Committee must be Independent Directors.
2. At the Annual Meeting, the members of the Board of Directors shall elect an Audit & Risk Committee, which shall consist of not less than three (3) nor more than five (5) Independent Directors of the Board of Directors.
3. The Board of Directors shall appoint, among the elected members, an individual to act as Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee.
4. Vacancies on the Audit & Risk Committee shall be filled by an affirmative vote of a majority vote of the Board of Directors at a regular or special meeting called for that purpose.
5. The Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee will serve as the Compliance Officer for VNY!’s Whistleblower Policy.
3 Note to VNY! Best practices is to review the By-laws every two (2) years.
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6. The Board of Directors may delegate to the Audit & Risk Committee the adoption, implementation of, and compliance with VNY!’s Conflicts of Interest Policy.
7. Two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Audit & Risk Committee shall constitute a quorum.
8. The Audit & Risk Committee shall oversee VNY!’s accounting and financial reporting processes and the audit of VNY!’s financial statements.
9. The Audit & Risk Committee shall annually review or retain the independent auditor and upon completion of the audit review the results of the audit and any related management letter with the independent auditor.
10. The Audit & Risk Committee shall (a) review with the independent auditor the scope and planning of the audit prior to the audit’s commencement; (b) upon completion of the audit, review and discuss with the independent auditor: (i) any material risks and weaknesses in internal controls identified by the auditor; (ii) any restrictions placed on the scope of the auditor’s activities or access to requested information; (iii) any significant disagreements between the auditor and management; and (iv) the adequacy of the Corporation’s accounting and financial reporting processes.
The Audit & Risk Committee shall annually consider the performance and independence of the auditor and report on such committee’s activities to the Board of Directors.
D. Special Committees
The Board of Directors may designate other special committees at any time, by an affirmative vote of a majority of the entire Board of Directors, to act for a designated period of time, on specific projects, issues or initiatives. The members of such special committees and all specific characteristics thereto shall be determined by the Board of Directors pursuant to the resolution approving the creation of the special committee.
Section 2. Committees of the Corporation
1. The Board of Directors may determine from time to time the need to create a committee of the Corporation (collectively, the “Committees of the Corporation” or individually, each a “Committee of the Corporation”).
2. Each Committee of the Corporation shall consist of at least three (3) persons. The Board of Directors shall appoint an individual to act as Chair of each such Committee of the Corporation, and such Chair shall then appoint the other members, who may, but are not required to be, directors.
3. The Board of Directors may authorize any individual acting as Chair to sit on the Board of Directors as an ex-officio member for the length of his/her term as the Chair of the relevant Committee of the Corporation.
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4. No Committee of the Corporation shall have the power to bind the Corporation, and each such Committee of the Corporation and its members shall have only such authority or obligations as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine.
5. Each member of a Committee of the Corporation shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. Being a member of a Committee of the Corporation shall not convey to any such member any power, duty or responsibility of a director, nor constitute membership on the Board of Directors.
6. The Committees of the Corporation may not exercise any act subject to the authority of the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE VII – INDEMNIFICATION AND INSURANCE
A. Indemnification
The Corporation may, to the fullest extent now or hereafter permitted by law, indemnify any person made, or threatened to be made, a party to any action or proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she, or his or her testator was a Director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, against judgments, fines, amounts paid in settlement and reasonable expenses, including attorneys' fees. No indemnification may be made to or on behalf of any such person if (a) his or her acts were committed in bad faith or were the result of his or her active and deliberate dishonesty and were material to such action or proceeding or (b) he or she personally gained in fact a financial profit or other advantage to which he or she was not legally entitled in the transaction or matter in which indemnification is sought.
B. Insurance
The Corporation shall have the power to purchase and maintain all insurance policies deemed to be in the best interest of the Corporation including insurance to indemnify the Corporation for any obligation which it incurs as a result of its indemnification of Directors, officers and employees pursuant to Section 1 above, or to indemnify such persons in instances in which they may be indemnified pursuant to subsection A above.
ARTICLE VIII - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR PRESIDENT
The Executive Director or President, appointed by the Board of Directors as defined in Article IV Section 1(A)(2)(ii), shall manage the Corporation under the Board of Directors’ oversight and shall:
(i) Attend Board of Directors’ meetings and participate in Board of Directors’ discussions and deliberations;
(ii) Not be entitled to vote on matters before the Board of Directors;
(iii) Have the delegated authority to direct the administrative and operational affairs of VNY!; and
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(iv) Have the delegated authority to expend the funds of VNY! in a manner consistent with the annual budget approved by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE IX – STRATEGIC ADVISORS
In addition to the advisors that may be indicated by the Board of Directors pursuant to Article IV Section 8 above, the Executive Committee and/or the Board of Directors may also indicate, at any time, strategic advisors, who are not required to be in office as directors or officers of the Corporation, to advise the Board of Directors or any committees in specific matters as deemed necessary. Such strategic advisors shall have no power or authority in decisions of the Corporation, the Board of Directors or the Executive Committee, and shall simply act as counsels to projects and initiatives of the Corporation.
ARTICLE X – MISCELLANEOUS
A. Robert’s Rules of Order
All provisions not covered by these By-Laws shall be subject to “Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised.”
B. Other Laws
Nothing in these By-Laws shall be construed to take precedence over Federal, State, or local laws or regulations.
C. Contracts, Checks, Bank Account and Investments
1. Checks, Notes and Contracts The Board of Directors is authorized to select the banks or depositories it deems proper for the funds of the Corporation and shall determine who shall be authorized in addition to the agency’s Executive Director on the Corporation's behalf to write checks, drafts or other orders for the payment of money, acceptances, notes or other evidences of indebtedness, to enter into contracts or to execute and deliver other documents and instruments.
2. Investments The funds of the Corporation may be retained in whole or in part in cash or be invested and reinvested from time to time in such property, real, personal or otherwise, including stocks, bonds or other securities, as the Board of Directors may deem desirable.
D. Books
There shall be kept at the office of the Corporation correct books of account of the activities and transactions of the Corporation including the minute book, which shall contain a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation, a copy of these By-laws, and all minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors.
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E. Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be determined by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE XI - AMENDMENTS
The By-Laws of the Corporation may be adopted, amended, or repealed in whole or in part by majority vote of the members of the Board of Directors present at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors. Meetings shall be called pursuant to Article IV, Section 7(E).
ARTICLE XII - NON-DISCRIMINATION
In all of its dealings, neither the Corporation nor its duly authorized agents shall discriminate against any individual or group for reasons of race, color, creed, sex, age, ethnicity, national origin, marital status, sexual preference, mental or physical disability or any category protected by state or federal law.
