Valuing the Rural Volunteer
Rural Health Strategy
| VRV Toolkit
| What Makes it Rural
VALUING THE RURAL VOLUNTEER – THE VRV TOOLKIT
“If you are looking for a tool with practical, hands-on, easy applications, this is the one I would recommend without hesitation! I have used this toolkit in large group settings, planning for meetings, training seminars…and ultimately found it to be so functional that I brought it to our provincial group. I was thrilled with how many United Ways already had it as part of their ‘learning libraries’. Thisis a tool that even very small organizations can wrap their limited resources around…and actually see it work!”
Kimberley Payne, Executive Director,
Huron United Way, Goderich, ON
Yes! I would like to order a copy of The VRV Toolkit!
Our most-requested resource material, The VRV Toolkit has generated interest from as far away as Arizona, Australia and Argentina!
And no wonder, this practical and effective toolkit applies to any community looking to become empowered by building the necessary knowledge, tools and support to stimulate rural volunteerism!
TORC and its Working Group members developed this resource as a means to support rural organizations in the work they do, helping them to thrive in this new age of volunteerism through the development of valuable skills.
The VRV Toolkit contains a wealth of information culled from interviews with volunteers and volunteer managers across all sectors; consultations with funders, policy-makers and academics; as well as an extensive literary review of existing materials.
To help evaluate whether our comprehensive 70-page toolkit is designed to meet your needs, please take a moment to review this handy Section-by-Section Analysis:
Section One – “The Volunteer”
Tool #1 – Tools for the Rural Volunteer
Use these tools with rural volunteers to:
- Assess motivation and skills
- Set the stage for a positive volunteer experience
Tool #2 – Exploring the Value of Rural Volunteers
Use this tool to:
- Substantiate funding requests
- Communicate with stakeholders and the community
- Provide a touchstone for volunteer appreciation efforts
- Convince resistant salaried staff of the worth of volunteers
- Start a conversation about volunteer value within your organization
Section Two – “The Organization”
Tool #3 – Taking the Pulse of your Organization
Use this tool to:
- Quickly gain insight into the health of your organization
- Discern your organization’s priorities
- Discuss the strengths and challenges in your organization
Tool #4 – Are you Rural....or are you Rural?
Use this tool to:
- Quickly find ways to describe your “rural-ness” to stakeholders
- Confirm the perception that “rural” is distinctive
- Validate your work to funders
- Identify concerns, challenges and opportunities associated with rural volunteerism
- Be more strategic in your planning
- Feel less isolated
Tool #5 – Only the Three R’s of Volunteer Management
Use this tool to:
- Become an effective volunteer recruiter
- Learn more about volunteer retention
- Gain tips on recognition
Section Three – “Service”
Planning and Evaluation
Use these tools to:
- Plan with the end in mind
- Engage in continuous learning and improvement
- Assess your initiatives
- Provide accountability to stakeholders
Tool #6 – Launching
Tool #7 – Tracking your Progress
Tool #8 – The Final Review
Tool #9 – Is your Organization Planted in Firm Financial Ground?
Use this tool to:
- Make the most of your energies to find needed resources
- Assess your need for funding versus other kinds of resources
- Assist with your proposal-writing
Tool #10 – What’s the good word?
Use these tools to:
- Motivate volunteers
- Collaborate with other organizations
- Announce events to the community-at-large
- Entice sponsors
- Acquire funding
Section Four – “The Community”– Making Use of your Network
- Collaboration Framework
- More than Just Us: Valuing the Volunteer Community
- 20 Clues to Rural Community Survival
Appendices – Glossary of Toolkit Words
- Other useful terms to know
- The Volunteer Wheel
- Organizational Health Wheel
Yes! I would like to order a copy of The VRV Toolkit!
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The Ontario Rural Council
Ontario AgriCentre
100 Stone Road West, Suite 109
Guelph, Ontario Canada N1G 5L3
T 519.826.4128, F 519.826.3408
E tell-me-more@torc.on.ca
