SPRING 2009
COMPEEREVIEW
A PUBLICATION OF COMPEER INC.
Mental health recovery through the healing power of friendship
www.compeer.org
Community Support Evident in Survey Results
Based on the estimated value of volunteer time, Compeer
volunteers contributed nearly 3 million dollars of their
time, talent and energy in 2007.
The Compeer Inc. Annual Survey for 2007 reported 4,934
volunteers served a total of 7,093 clients across all Compeer programs / services. The total number of volunteer
hours expended to serve clients was 146,701. The value of
volunteer time is estimated at $19.51 per hour.
(www.independentsector.org)
•
•
•
Client
Volunteer
MHP
95.4%
99.2%
99.4%
Part III of the Compeer Annual Survey focused on the impact the Compeer program has on youth clients. Respondents answers are summarized as follows:
•
Client
100% happy with match
•
Parent
95.1% satisfied with Compeer services
Volunteer 99% satisfied with services
Survey respondents—clients, volunteers, referring mental •
MHP
98% satisfied with services
health professionals (MHP) and, for youth programs, par- •
ents/guardians—indicated a high degree of satisfaction
Compeer Inc. administers an annual survey via its affiliate
with the services and support of the Compeer program.
program network.
Part II of the survey focused on the impact Compeer services have on adult clients. Respondents rating of overall The 2007 Compeer Annual Survey was published in 2008.
For a copy of the survey, e-mail jambrose@compeer.org
satisfaction with Compeer services are:
SAVE THE DATE!
Compeer Introduces Web Conferencing
The latest offering from Compeer Inc.—
Web conferencing—is designed to bring
affiliates together more frequently. The
first conference is scheduled for April 21,
2009.
Mark Salzer, Ph.D., is the featured
speaker. Dr. Salzer is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, and director of
the UPENN Collaborative on Community
Integration of Individuals with Psychiatric
Disabilities.
Inside This Issue
Viewpoint
Page 2
Military Family Special
Page 2
9 for ‘09
Page 3
Fundraising Topics
Back
Watch for updates and registration info
through e-mail and the Compeer Inc.
Web site at www.compeer.org.
Volunteerism Expert Gives Tips to Affiliates
Energize Inc. president Susan J. Ellis www.energizeinc.com.
wrote “9 Recruitment Tips for 2009”
exclusively for this issue of the Com- Also visit their affiliated site, OzVPM at
www.ozvpm.com, which offers a wealth
peer Inc. newsletter.
of resource information and an online
Energize Inc.is an international training, bookstore focused on the Australasian
consulting and publishing firm special- region.
izing in volunteerism . Browse over 1200
pages of free volunteer management Read the article on Page Three.
information on their Web site at
© 2009 Sesame Workshop.
COMPEEREVIEW
Page 2
Viewpoint: Positive Communication
Dear Compeer Friends,
Plans are underway for our first Web conference, and it is
coming at a time when Compeer affiliates need the verification of the efficacy of our services most. Don’t misunderstand me: Compeer staff, volunteers and consumers know
first hand that our services have significant positive outcomes for someone dealing with the devastating effects of
mental illness. We hear the stories, we see lives change for
the better, and we know our services are both preventative
and restorative. But with today’s economic environment,
finding and retaining support for our programs will be
highly competitive.
Our inaugural Web conference speaker is Mark Salzer,
Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director, UPENN Collaborative on Community Integration of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities. His presentation will address “Making the
Case for Compeer.” In a recent telephone conversation,
Dr. Salzer stressed the importance of the Compeer model
in mental health recovery. He has done ample research on
community integration for over a decade, and will be able
to give us research based evidence that what our matches
do is part of the recovery process.
step in improving the funding and care of those with mental
illness. You can read more at www/aarpmagazine.org/
people/inspire_awards_2009_close.html.
Thank you to Rob Chisholm, Compeer of Chester County,
Pennsylvania, who responded with a letter to her charity in
New York City about Compeer and the work we do.
Sincerely,
Dana Frame
Interim President
Save the Date: April 21, 2009. We will be sending out
more information on times, how to register, and what the
process is as soon as we can. We will also post information
on our Web site. Please join us.
Another refreshing note: Joe Cruice and Ida Carvell from
our Pennsylvania Coalition brought a fabulous article to our
attention. It was published in the AARP The Magazine’s
January 2009 Inspire Awards issue and features Glenn
Close, who works and advocates for the mentally ill. Her
focus is combating the stigma of mental illness as the first
REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
Australia
Tricia Meers
Kansas
Patty Gnefkow, Patricia Phillips
(co-representatives)
New York
Johanna Ambrose
Pennsylvania
Elaine Callihan, Joe Cruice
(co-representatives)
West
Shannon Jaccard
NEXT MEETING: February 26, 2009, 4:00 p.m. (E.S.T.)
Special Airing in April Highlights Month of the Military Child
“Sesame Street” is producing, in association with
David Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants Incorporated
and Lookalike Productions, a new PBS primetime special, “Coming
Home: Military Families
Cope With Change,” featuring Queen Latifah, John
Mayer, Elmo and Rosita.
This half-hour HD special
tells stories of service
members who return
home with injuries, visible
© 2009 Sesame Workshop. “Sesame Street” and its logo are trademarks
of Sesame Workshop. All rights reserved. Photo by Richard Termine.
and invisible, and explores the heroic struggles their families face in
discovering a new way of
finding a “new normal.”
The special will air on PBS
on April 1, 2009 at 8 p.m.
(check local listings) in
conjunction with April as
the "Month of the Military
Child."
The New York State Office
of Mental Health is one of
the supporters of the Talk,
Listen, Connect Initiative.
COMPEEREVIEW
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Nine Volunteer Recruitment Ideas for 2009
SUSAN J. ELLIS
President, Energize, Inc.
Recruiting new volunteers is a
constant activity of every Compeer affiliate.
Make a new
year’s resolution to freshen up
your recruitment techniques.
Try one of the following nine
ideas for 2009!
1. Make your Web site a better
recruitment tool. What does
someone visiting your site learn
right now about what Compeer
volunteers do, what qualifications you seek, and how to apply
to become a volunteer? Don’t assume you are giving this
important information just because you imply things about
volunteer involvement. Think about the questions a prospective volunteer might have and provide the answers. Make sure there’s a clear invitation to volunteer
and details about what the screening process includes. Your goal is to help people decide whether they fit
into the Compeer picture.
2. Ask current volunteers to add their Compeer identity to
their social networking accounts, such as their profiles on
Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn. First, this is something
interesting about themselves they ought to share with their
online “friends.” Second, if they link back to your Web
site (see #1), anyone can learn more about Compeer directly from you. Third, this makes Compeer show up as a
searchable common link through which volunteers anywhere in the world can find each other – giving you an
instant online community with potential for future interaction.
3. Invite donors to volunteer. Too often organizations create separate “silos” for those who give money and those
who give time, communicating with each group only about
one type of contribution or the other. This is shortsighted.
Studies show that one way to maintain the commitment of
annual donors is periodically to give them the opportunity
to help more personally with an event or project. The invitation should not only go to the person who writes the
check, but to all the family members, friends, etc. In bad
economic times, you may find donors only too happy to
add time to their money in order to contribute more.
4. Get specific. Do you traditionally describe Compeer
and your clientele in general, with a call that amounts to
“be a friend to someone on our list”? Try focusing more
specifically on individual clients awaiting a match. You
can do this without violating confidentiality. Select one or
two things about each client that would be great starting
points for a friendly relationship. Then recruit like this:
•
Add someone new around the TV when you watch
football games! A young man in the Hometown area
would love to cheer on the Steelers with a new friend.
•
Like mystery books? Spend some time with a woman
in the Nextdoor area who has read every Agatha
Christie novel and wants to find new authors to enjoy.
This works because it is hard to picture yourself helping
“one of those people” (whom you imagine, often incorrectly). The more specific, the more do-able it seems:
“Hey, I watch football all the time anyway.”
5. Make a “proximity chart” and recruit by location. For
clients who live in isolated areas, make an inventory of
what is physically present near their home. Literally go to
the home and walk around the block or drive in a tight
circle and write down what you see: stores, offices,
schools, churches. Then assess the list and pick a few to
approach with the message of: “We are looking for a volunteer to befriend someone who lives just 5 minutes from
here.” Prospective volunteers can then see themselves
visiting on a lunch break, before or after work, etc.
6. Post a YouTube video—really! Some ideas for content
are: several Compeer volunteers talking together about
why they enjoy doing this; a “day in the life of a Compeer
volunteer,” showing the volunteer on the phone with their
match, getting ready to visit, etc.; or (and this would really
be best) invite some of your clients to talk about why they
are so happy to have a Compeer volunteer. It’s up to them
to determine their comfort level in “going public.”
7. Give people a way to get their feet wet and see what it’s
all about. It’s daunting to have to decide – cold – to commit to a relationship with someone with mental challenges.
How can someone test themselves and get to know you?
For example, might a volunteer help with a group activity
as an extra participant? Host a Compeer couple to observe a place of work, special garden, or something else
they might enjoy?
8. Audiotape clients about their feelings about Compeer,
why they like their assigned volunteers, etc. Use these
comments as sound bites on your Web site, to accompany
slides in recruitment presentations, and in orientation sessions. It makes your work “real.”
9. The last idea is far from new but it remains more important than any other recruitment technique: Make sure you
really ask people to volunteer. Publicity is not recruitment; it’s information that is good to know, but it doesn’t
feel personal enough. Talk to prospects. Say “you” in
your messages. Help people see the Compeer picture and
that they fit into it, too.
Susan J. Ellis has written over a dozen volunteer management books, including The Volunteer Recruitment Book.
For 20 years she has written the “On Volunteers” column
for the American national publication, The NonProfit Times.
She is co-publisher of the international online journal, eVolunteerism (www.e-volunteerism.com) and Dean of the
Everyone Ready® online training program.
GIVING PULLS COMMUNITIES TOGETHER
ANDREW S. RAWDON
Director of Development
Compeer Rochester Inc.
Despite the ‘doom and gloom’ headlines
about Wall Street and the financial markets,
let’s not lose sight of the fact that giving is a
way for communities to pull together. While
the economic forecasts are uncertain right
now, what is quite certain is the capacity of
people to lend a hand and support institutions of all kinds. Here are some links to resources that can help Compeer affiliates in
their fundraising efforts. These resources
emanate from the Association of Fundraising
Professionals.
When times are tough, charities and charitable fundraising are needed "now, more than
ever." An inspirational and reflective piece
about the state of fundraising and giving and
what lies ahead for the profession.
“And Now for Something Different About Nonprofits and the Economy”
By Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado blog, Jan. 1,
2009
Some new and different advice to nonprofits
for coping with the bad economy.
“Three Suggestions for Raising Money in
Tough Economic Times”
By Jim Berigan
Asking people to donate money is never an
easy task. In tough economic times, it’s even
"Face the Economy With Sharpened Focus,
more difficult. If people are struggling to pay
Solid Strategy"
their mortgage and utilities, how can they
AFP eWire, Dec. 15, 2008
find any extra for your organization? I, like
As they face tough financial decisions, donors want to give to organizations that have a many of you in the non-profit sector, have
clear, mission-driven strategy. Are you mak- had to exist in this challenging reality for a
number of years now. Here are a few ideas
ing a strong enough case? Are you taking a
that have helped me make ends meet when
critical look at your programs for ways to
our donor base is struggling.
best reach donors?
“Now, More Than Ever"
By Paulette V. Maehara, CFRE, CAE
Advancing Philanthropy, Nov./Dec. 2008
For all 15 of Andy’s suggested readings this
month, e-mail jambrose@compeer.org
Compeer, Inc.
2009 Board
Mark R. Aesch
Philip A. Fain
Pam Giambrone
Ted H. Kordela
J. Theodore Smith
Patrick Solomon, Esq.
Martin L. Stern, Esq.
CompeeReview is a publication of
Compeer, Inc.
Interim President
Dana Frame
V.P., Customer Relations
Mary Ellen Budny
CompeeReview contact information:
1.800.836.0475 toll free
Editor: Johanna Ambrose
Proofreading: Marjorie Feldman
jambrose@compeer.org
www.compeer.org
CompeeReview
A PUBLICATION OF COMPEER INC.
CompeeReview
259 Monroe Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607
(800) 836-0475
www.compeer.org
Making friends. Changing lives.
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
This newsletter is donated in part through the generosity of Janssen Pharmaceutica.