VIP 360: Comprehensive Capacity Building to Maximize Your Volunteers

The United Way Volunteer Impact Partnership 360 (VIP 360) is a comprehensive 4-month volunteer engagement capacity building program designed to help organizations more effectively recruit, engage and retain high-value volunteers. Developed by United Way of King County and 501 Commons, and now in its 4th year, VIP 360 is a free program that will provide over $15,000 in services to strengthen your organization's ability to deliver its services.

The program incorporates the following elements:

When does it start? VIP 360 lasts four months from February to May 2013. Organizations that successfully complete the program can access up to $5,000 of additional consulting services to carry out their action plans through December 2013.

Does VIP 360 work? The 50 organizations that participated in 2010, 2011 and 2012 VIP 360 efforts attest to advancements in their volunteer engagement practices as a result of this effort.

VIP gave us a chance to step back and evaluate our program and really assess where our strengths and weaknesses were in regards to volunteering. Through the individualized support of our consultants, we were able to identify the exact steps we need to take to make volunteering at our organization more beneficial to both us as an organization and to our volunteers.
--Sarah Robinson, Harrington House

Read about results from the 2010 and 2011 participant organizations.
Read testimonials from 2010, 2011 and 2012 participant organizations

Who is eligible? VIP 360 is designed for 18 human services organizations within King County with the following qualifications:

• A 501(c)(3) or fiscally sponsored organization
• A three-year operating history
• An active board that meets regularly
• Two full-time paid staff who will participate fully in VIP 360
• A minimum annual budget of $200,000

Organizations in the Kent, South and North King County area are encouraged to apply.

Getting started. To ensure that the action plan developed during VIP 360 has broad support, at least three people (two of whom must be full-time, paid staff) from each organization must be involved in the program. The group, or Volunteer Leadership Team, participating in VIP 360 should include:

• The staff member with primary responsibility for volunteer management; and
• The executive director or senior manager who supervises the volunteer manager and can make significant resource and program decisions; and
• A board member, additional staff member or a volunteer in a significant role with the volunteer program.

Note: If the executive director is not a member of the team, he or she must attend a two-hour training session and be involved in creating and reviewing the action plan.

The primary volunteer management staff person needs to be involved for approximately 40 hours during the 4-month process. This includes attending planning meetings facilitated by the consultants, reviewing the plan and participating in cohort meetings and training sessions. February and March will be the most intense months. The other two team members should expect to spend 15 hours wtih the assessment and development of the VIP 360 plan.

Apply now!

1. Only 18 organizations will be accepted for the 2013 program year. Don't delay!
2. Read the VIP 360 summary.
3. Schedule a screening with United Way to see if VIP 360 is a good fit for your organization. Email Carolyn Cunningham by January 7, 2013 to set up the call.
4. Complete the brief application form provided after the screening call, and return it by the enrollment deadline: January 14, 2013.

Learn more about the Volunteer Impact Partnership effort overall and VIP 360

• Read about VIP 360 in e-Volunteerism.
• See what Real Change COO Alan Preston had to say about his experience with VIP 360.

Questions? Email Carolyn Cunningham.

Interested in volunteering as a consultant with VIP 360? Email Jan Burrell

The inclusion of any organization or person in this database does not constitute a representation, warranty, or endorsement with respect to the competence, suitability, or reliability of such organization or person by United Way of King County; nor does United Way of King County sponsor or endorse any third-party web site. Legal Notices