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Volunteer Fairfax offers a variety of programs for businesses of all sizes and budgets. The Centerspecializes in fostering high impact corporate philanthropy through the facilitation ofcustomizedemployee volunteer events and by highlighting the best practices of new and on-going employee volunteer programs. Businesses can leverage the volunteer center’s relationships with more than 900 nonprofit and government agencies in the Metro DC area, as well as the Center’s technical expertise to enhance their employee volunteer programs.

Complimentary / • Advisory services to support employee volunteer programs, including company-wide interest survey and meeting to discuss Volunteer Fairfax services
• On-site Volunteers for Change program orientation for employees interested in volunteering after hours and on weekends
• Monthly email digest of upcoming group volunteer opportunities, corporate philanthropy meetings, and special events in the nonprofit sector
• Invitations to Quarterly Corporate Citizenship Roundtable meetings, created to share best practice among those who manage employee volunteer programs
• Advisory service and technical support for launching and maintaining employee volunteer programs
• Informal meeting with employees to discuss how they can volunteer as well as an orientation to volunteer center programs and services
Fee for Service / • Volunteer Project Management, backed by the volunteer center’s expertise planning projects for groups of all sizes. Volunteer Fairfax works with nonprofit partners to create customized projects and manages all aspects of planning including supplies, site visits, day-of management, and feedback reporting
• Customized volunteer portal for employee volunteers to use when seeking opportunities, including regular reporting and feedback
• Board Connections, board placement services for executive and developing leaders looking to serve in the nonprofit sector
Sample Our Services / • Visit the searchable Volunteer Fairfax database to learn about local needs, including skills-based volunteering and group opportunities
• Join more than 1,000 neighbors for VolunteerFest®, County-wide day of service on the fourth Saturday of October. Recruit a team of volunteers and work together at your own site
• Contact Volunteer Fairfax for a customized referral based on your group’s needs and interests

Benefits of Employee Volunteering

Employee volunteer programs can directly benefit your company. In studies, the most measurable impacts are on the attitudes, productivity and job satisfaction of employees, including:

  • Increased perception of companies as a positive place to work compared to other companies
  • Increased job satisfaction levels
  • Increased positive word of mouth among employees about their employer
  • Increase retention rates for employees who participated in volunteer activities than for those employees who did not.
  • Increase interested in pursuing promotion and development activities for employees who participated in volunteer activities than for those employees who did not.

In addition, younger employees have been shown to prefer working for companies which provide opportunities for them to apply their skills to benefit nonprofit organizations.

Corporate volunteerism supports the nonprofit sector in a unique way. A 2010 study found that more than 80% of companies agreed that volunteerism can help nonprofits accomplish long-term social goals.

Deloitte/Points of Light (2007), Volunteer IMPACT Study, Washington, D.C.: Deloitte & Touche USA, LLP and The Points of Light Foundation.

Tuffrey, Michael (2003), Good Companies, Better Employees, London: The Corporate Citizenship Company.

Deloitte (2010), Volunteer IMPACT Study, Washington, D.C.: Deloitte & Touche USA, LLP.

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Customer Service

  • Volunteer Fairfax offers a variety of programs for businesses of all sizes and budgets. The Center specializes in customized support of employee volunteer events and technical support of new and on-going employee volunteer programs. Businesses can leverage the volunteer center’s relationships with more than 900 nonprofit and government agencies in the Metro DC area, as well as the center’s expertise to enhance their employee volunteer programs.
  • Volunteer projects and Board placements are always customized to meet your needs and interests.
  • Volunteer Fairfax knows the local community and can help to make your corporate citizenship objectives a success.

Volunteer Project Management

Companies interested in organizing employee volunteer opportunities turn to Volunteer Fairfax’s project management expertise.
The Center has managed projects of every size, from one-time projects for 20 workers to annual company-wide events for more than 1,000 employees. In this fee-for-services arrangement, Volunteer Fairfax will:

  • Solicit meaningful projects which meet the company’s interest and specifications
  • Provide liaison services with the selected nonprofit(s) throughout the process
  • Coordinate a site visit to further scope the project and ensure the agency is prepared
  • Gauge site supply needs and coordinate the procurement and distribution of supplies
  • Provide promotional information for employee volunteer recruitment purposes
  • Provide dedicated on-site staff during the project to offer day-of project management expertise
  • Lead reflection exercises at the conclusion of the project
  • If desired, promote the project and its outcomes to local media
  • Survey employees for their feedback and compile results into an after-action report
  • Take the headache out of coordinating employee projects and ensure a positive, impactful experience for employees and for the nonprofit partner

Companies are responsible for volunteer recruitment, registration, transportation, recognition items, and refreshments.

BoardLink

Volunteer Fairfax offers executive placement for sponsoring companies at no charge, and can also arrange for rising management to find opportunities to lead in the community. Placements in excess of five per calendar year are subject to fee for service contract.

  • Volunteer Fairfax is launching BoardLink, a program that will help prepare members of the corporate community for their responsibilities when joining a nonprofit organization’s board of directors. The service will also include connecting corporate volunteers to local agencies based on mission, geographic location, and other criteria important to both parties. BoardLink services are limited, and dependent on local nonprofit need.

Sponsorship

Volunteer Fairfax is the local resource for volunteering in Northern Virginia and the DC Metro Region, helping individuals find volunteer opportunities, increasing the capacity of the nonprofit sector, and connecting local businesses who want to make a difference in their community. The relationship between Volunteer Fairfax and its partnering agencies is unique because the volunteer center knows how to meet the demands of local nonprofits while providing best practices for volunteer management. When you sponsor Volunteer Fairfax, you help ensure our continued ability to support and nurture the more than 900 nonprofit and government agencies which rely on the Center for volunteer recruitment, capacity building, and advocacy. Supporters of Volunteer Fairfax support a volunteer movement in the region which connects missions to resources and will continue to mobilize individuals and groups for years to come.

Emergency Response Training

Volunteer Fairfax, along with its many community partners, regularly provides training sessions on emergency-related volunteerism. Workshops vary in length and complexity and, if desired, may include commitments after successful completion. High level sponsors of the Center may receive on-site training for employees at no charge. These sessions provide an introduction to Fairfax County emergency-related volunteer programs and how interested employees can successfully and safely support the community in times of emergency.

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Great Ways to Engage your Employees and How Volunteer Fairfax Can Help

Create a group volunteer project for your employees

Use the Volunteer Fairfax website and on-line opportunities database

Create a steering committee to coordinator volunteer projects

Work with Volunteer Fairfax for technical support and mentoring for your in-house steering committee

Reward your employees for their service to the community

Gain recognition for your employee volunteers or volunteer program for a Fairfax County Volunteer Service Award, a program of Volunteer Fairfax

Post volunteer opportunities for your employees

Sign up for the Volunteer Fairfax Corporate e-Newsletter and receive volunteer opportunities and other important information each month

Encourage individual volunteerism to your employees

Host a Volunteers for Change orientation on-site for your employees to learn about this uniquely flexible volunteering program

Support nonprofit board service among your employees

Use Volunteer Fairfax’s BoardLink program to learn about nonprofit board openings throughout the DC Metro Region

Arrange a company-wide day of service for your employees

From project recruitment to evaluation, the volunteer center can provide project management support for 25 to 2,500 volunteers.

Sponsor Volunteer Fairfax

Sponsoring your local volunteer center supports a volunteer movement in the region which connects missions to resources and will continue to mobilize individuals and groups for years to come.

Volunteer Fairfax, a private 501c3 nonprofit organization, was founded over 35 years ago to serve the residents of Fairfax County and the local nonprofit community. The volunteer center has grown from providing mainly referral services into a dynamic, multi-faceted organization with over 40 programs and services.

Each year, Volunteer Fairfax mobilizes more than 19,000 volunteers who give their time to more than 900 area agencies, resulting in an economic impact of $1.2 million to nonprofits throughout the DC Metro Region.

Emily Davis

Senior Manager of Partnerships

(703) 246-3809

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