Voluntarios em ação - report july 2011

Voluntários Online Portal
Three years bringing the power of the web for volunteering and
the social causes

July 2011

We are building
a better world

1 - Voluntários em Ação Institute – IVA
The IVA was created in 1998, an initiative of leaders of the city of Florianópolis (Brazil),
who responded to an invitation from the chairwoman of the Council of Solidarity Community,
Mrs. Ruth Cardoso, who encouraged the creation of civil society organizations to work
spreading the culture of volunteerism.

And that is how IVA was born, with the role to work for Santa Catarina with the purpose
to have more and better volunteers, people who devote their time, labor and talent to
community causes.

Through a financial support that was granted for 3 years, in decreasing order - support
of 60% in the first year, 40% in the second year, and 20% in the third year - IVA went growing
and searching for new partners to keep their activities through financial and services
partnerships with companies and private individuals who provide the funding

www.voluntariosonline.org.br

and maintenance of the organization.

After completing three years of activities of the Voluntários Online Portal, we want to
share the results of this work, especially with our supporters, volunteers and organizations that
trust in our work and in the POWER OF VOLUNTEERING.

2. IVA’s operation from 1998 to 2008
Since 1998 the IVA began its work of spreading the culture of volunteering, first
presenting its function to organizations that needed volunteers, showing that they had to
dedicate attention to recruitment, selection and management of their volunteers, because they
are an important part of their work and could contribute significantly to better achieve their
goals in serving the community. The IVA played a crucial role for the organizations of Santa
Catarina, especially in the region of Florianópolis. On the other hand, IVA worked with potential
volunteers, spreading to all the public the significance of volunteering, its important role in
organizations serving the community, their responsibilities and challenges, trying to motivate
more people to become volunteers. It’s important to remember that along the way IVA was
able to show, especially in Santa Catarina, that we can all be volunteers. The idea that
volunteering is an opportunity only for those who have no occupation or concerns for their
livelihood has been completely demystified. It shows that we all have a contribution to make,
regardless of our professional, educational or social activities, and the profile of volunteers
mobilized by IVA has completely changed the characterization above, as we will present later in
this document.

With the mobilization and involvement of all segments and age groups for volunteering,
and the increasing involvement of young people and students, the communication between
IVA, volunteers and some organizations was no longer in person or by
telephone, and became predominantly through Internet. The weekly


training meetings held at the IVA headquarters no longer had effective participation of
potential volunteers, as the interest of volunteers with this profile was more immediate, and as
they were motivated, they wanted to quickly attend their wishes to exercise citizenship and
solidarity. In addition to this, there were mobility issues that put off volunteers. To make the
commitment to come to IVA headquarter to choose the work to be done made their
engagement more difficult.

From these findings the IVA began a process of benchmarking with other Volunteer
Centers, especially in European countries, Canada and the United States. These studies led us to
identify that volunteers were being mobilized, recruited, selected and trained through Internet
portals, facilitating this intermediation work. Thus, Canadians, Americans and Spanish portals
helped us to get this new way of action, the Voluntários Online Portal, established when IVA
was completing 10 years of experience in the region of Florianópolis.

3. The Voluntários Online Portal

With the release of the Voluntários Online Portal a significant change happened in the
operating strategy of IVA (“Voluntários em Ação Institute”), expanding its operation which was
just “onsite” in the Florianópolis region to “online” and all over Brazil.

The idea of expanding the field of operation was quite significant for the IVA, but this
activity through a Portal on the Internet was mainly due to the changes that occurred in recent
years, especially in relation to communication, by making available the use of information and
communication technologies and their synergies, as well as the introduction of its use into the
daily life of most Brazilians. The work accomplished by IVA through the Portal also made
available the systematization of online volunteering, a type of volunteer work that can be done
via the web, without leaving home, enabling a greater number of people


to engage in volunteer activities. However, it was known that many challenges awaited us, and
the main one would be to work for the digital inclusion of the third sector organizations. Our
experience in the previous ten years working “onsite” in the Florianópolis region showed us
that potential volunteers were using the Internet on a frequent basis, a situation that led us to
conduct studies and decide to create a volunteer portal on the Internet. Nevertheless, the
social organizations that receive volunteers were not in the same situation. On the contrary,
the use of Internet was still a major barrier because the concern regarding the main activity of
the organization, which means: attending its target public did not enable them to search new
alternatives to accomplish their activities, such as administration, recruitment and selection of
volunteers. Besides that, another great challenge that presented itself was the ability of these
organizations to work with online volunteering, because if the use of computers was not a
common reality in the organizations, then managing online volunteers became a much greater
challenge. But none of this prevented us from accomplishing this work and introduce a tool that
assists non-profit organizations and public schools all over Brazil, and share with our partners
the work in this new perspective of inclusion through Internet.
The Portal has become a unique tool because the Voluntários Online Portal is the only
one that allows the registration of non-profit organizations, public schools, where they can put
their volunteer opportunities, and volunteers who can choose from the opportunities offered;
also allowing organizations to search for volunteers by their profile, inviting them to work for
their causes. It is certainly innovative because it allows the placement of opportunities onsite
and online, the only one that offers this type of volunteering. Also it is a pioneering tool
because it has systemized online volunteering, a modality widely searched today by young
people, students and professionals who have limited time but want to give their voluntary
contribution. It is also recognized because it has the seal of approval of international bodies like
UNESCO and the UN, through its volunteer program, UNVolunteers. The Voluntários Online
Portal has also been recognized by two important media vehicles in Brazil: Jornal Nacional from
Rede Globo (Globo Network) and Veja Magazine from Abril Editor.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COJQ9-Mh850

4. The Online Volunteering in the Voluntários Online Portal

The online volunteering is one of the differentials of the Portal. Since the period we
were studying the portals, we planned the possibility to implement and systemize it.
Researches had shown us that since 2000 the UN Volunteering Programme – UNVolunteers –
keeps a portal Volunteering.org.br that only offers online volunteering vacancies, and its
results has shown how volunteers from all over the world can be engaged and make the
difference to the organizations around the world. This experience


motivated us to make the online volunteering one of the greatest objective of the Voluntários
Online Portal. The online volunteering, also called volunteering without leaving home or virtual
volunteering, is a way where the volunteer can collaborate with an organization without
necessarily being present in its office. The online volunteering does not intend to substitute the
actual and traditional format of onsite volunteering, but to complement it.

The IVA, in a partnership with the UNVolunteers, received a volunteer from the program
to study and to spread out the experience of online volunteering in Brazil through our Portal. A
manual was elaborated and several trainings have been carried out in Santa Catarina and Brazil.
In these occasions some organizations have been enabled to work with online volunteers,
showing them how this important support from volunteers can make the difference in their
programs and actions. Thus, we are working for the implementation and settlement of a new
type of volunteering, trying to bring more people with differentiated qualifications, and trying
different activities that can be carried out online. This way we are attentive to the results of this
work and searching its adequacy to the reality of the organizations.

4.1. Number of organizations that use the Online Volunteering

Since the launch of the Voluntários Online Portal, in July 2008, 108 organizations had
the opportunity to try the Online Volunteering as an innovative methodology to carry out
volunteer activities, involving and mobilizing people from all over Brazil in their different
causes. These 108 organizations are distributed in 12 Brazilian states.

Number of NGOs Number of NGOs using
registered in the Portal Online Volunteering

491 108


4.2. Number of vacancies chosen through Voluntários Online Portal

The 108 Organizations that received the contribution from online volunteers made
available a total of 373 vacancies in the Portal. For these vacancies, we have had 15,310
volunteer candidates. These are some examples:

Organization Vacancy Position No. of Volunteers

ABBA Promoção Social Translator for Portuguese / 5
Italian Project

Associação dos Amigos do Journalist 16
Museu Victor Meirelles

Instituto Arayara de Graphic Designer - Creation 1
Educação para a of Logo for the Local
Sustentabilidade Development Project

5 - The Campaigns of the Voluntários Online Portal
that leverage the volunteering

The online campaigns are one of the main resources used by the Portal to mobilize
volunteers and disseminate good practices of volunteering. The monthly campaigns call people
to embrace the causes in several areas: environment, health, education, human rights, among
others. For each Portal’s Campaign, partnerships are established with national and international
organizations such as Grupo Hércules – Doações e Transplantes de Fígado (“Liver Donations and
Transplants”), the organization Um Teto para Meu País (“A Roof for My


Country”), the Civil Defense of Santa Catarina, UNEP - United Nations Environment Programme,
among others. The numbers of the campaigns are displayed below:

Number of Number of Number of Number of people
Campaigns volunteering Volunteers who affected
opportunities collaborated
available

40 80 6,697 64,225

6. Portal Results – From July 2008 to July 2011

6.1 - Visits – 667,275
6.2 - Registered Volunteers – 34,816
6.3 - Registered Organizations – 491
6.4 - Volunteers that have chosen opportunities – 16,002
6.5 - Volunteers that have chosen online opportunities – 11,325
6.6 - Volunteers that have chosen onsite opportunities – 4,382
6.7 - Number of States with Registered Volunteers – 26 + Federal District
6.8 - Number of States with Registered Organizations – 15
6.9 - Number of Cities with Registered Volunteers – 1,441
6.10 - Number of Cities with Registered Organizations – 171
6.11 - Number of Mobilization Campaigns Made – 37


6.12 - Total number of Volunteers Mobilized by the Campaigns – 6,697
6.13 - The profile of registered volunteers:


Occupation

Employed


7. The new position of the Voluntários Online Portal in
face of the changes in the role of internet and social
medias in Brazil and in the World

With new communication and information technologies, the social causes have gone
through reorganization and diversification processes. The mass information evolved to a global
level with the systematic use of Internet, and therefore new ways of articulation and
mobilization of the society have appeared, pointing to the renewal of tendencies in the forms
of collective actions.

In this context, in July 2008 the Voluntários em Ação Institute launched the Voluntários
Online Portal, with the purpose to contribute with the dissemination of the online volunteering
in Brazil, and to increase the connections between people willing to help (volunteers) and
organizations in need of help (NGO’s and public schools). Nowadays, we act in a daily basis in
the main social networks. We are in Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, YouTube, Formspring, blogs, etc.
We have a great interaction in these spaces, and thousands of people around the world
engaged in our cause and in touch with the Voluntários Online Portal every day. These spaces
are used to identify creative opportunities of sympathetic participation, and to stimulate the
volunteer actions that respond to social requirements and needs.

In our daily posts, we stimulate and contribute to consolidate the transforming
volunteerism culture as an expression of ethics, solidarity and social responsibility. Beyond that,
we debate, inform and produce content about the world that we live in, and its transformation
to the world that we want. Our main editorial goal is to connect the people with the world´s
needs, and consequently contribute with excellence to the development of volunteering in
each citizen, so they can be ready to be a transforming agent in the society we live in.

Some of our numbers in the social networks:


 3,213 followers in Twitter

 3,493 tweets

 1,100 fans in Facebook

 Around 5,000 monthly visits in our Blog

Regardless of our success in the social networks, we know that to increase our
effectiveness we must be in synergy with all the changes happening all the time in these spaces.
Therefore, our next steps are concentrated in the creation of applications to increase our digital
presence and tools that will help us in the retention, conversion and fidelization of our
stakeholder’s chain in the digital media.

Get to know our social network channels: http://meadiciona.com/voluntariosonline


8. Partners of the Voluntários Online Portal
The IVA accomplishes its work through financial, services and institutional partnerships.
We value and are extremely grateful to these partners. All possible visibility is given to those
partners who ensure the execution of our services. There are many partners who have already
supported us and many who keep doing this. Until now the Portal has counted on the financial
partnership of two master partners – Banco Santander and Tractebel Energia - and seven
supporting partners - Malwee Malhas, Magazine Luiza, Koerich Telecom, Sky Brazil Serviços
Ltda., NeoWay Tecnologia Integrada e Negócios Ltda. (“Integrated Technology and Business”),
and Google Portal. Due to business reorganization and even market issues, some of our
financial partners, during the course of the partnership, changed their support focus, which is
why we are always looking for new partners who believe in our work. The service partners are
companies and individuals who support us through services provided. There are many who help
us in funding and maintaining our organization through small services, including the lending of
the room where we are based, electrical maintenance services, among others. The main
institutional partners of the Portal are the UN Volunteering Programme - UNVolunteers and
UNESCO, who approve our work.

Since March 2009, thanks to the institutional partnership with the UN Volunteering
Programme, the IVA has a Brazilian UNV volunteer, from October 2009 to May 2010 IVA had a
Spanish volunteer, and from October 2010 to April 2011 IVA had another Spanish volunteer; all
collaborating in the dissemination and propagation of online volunteering services, performing
a supporting work to the organizations in order to increase the use of this kind of volunteering,
as well as to qualify other volunteer centers in Brazil, so they can also use volunteer
work systematically, and collaborate on improving the usage of this technological tool we
have. The volunteers receive a stipend from the United Nations for their maintenance in
Florianópolis. These partnerships provide the support for the achievement of our actions, as
well as the institutional approval of the Voluntários Online Portal, which


ensures the integrity and reputation of our work, making the Portal sought by a large number
of visitors and potential volunteers.

9. Some testimonials from organizations
that use the Voluntários Online Portal

“I am from Fortaleza. I study Social Science at the Federal University of Pelotas, where I also
have a scholarship in research, and work with the theme development and work.

I always wanted to perform a volunteer work, but the opportunities had never suited to my
availability. Therefore, it was a very positive surprise when I found IVA. Not only because of the
opportunity to volunteer online, but because the idea delighted me.

I’ve been collaborating with the research of Brazilian NGOs and I love it, I recommend to
everyone that has some skill and available time to collaborate with one of the opportunities
offered by IVA and other institutions. You earn a lot in experience and satisfaction, besides
helping many people… It is really worth it!”

Kamila Nascimento


“I am very proud to be a volunteer trough the Voluntários Online Portal! I’m living in the United
States for 10 years, and despite the distance, I always try to be close to Brazil.

In 2009, I decided it was time to contribute with my little participation for a better country and
decided to look for opportunities of volunteering at distance. That was when I found the
Voluntários Online Portal, and since then I’ve been volunteering as translator and reviewer.

My volunteer activities are a perfect complement to the work I do for six years in public health
at the headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization in Washington, DC. I wish a happy
birthday for the Portal and hope I can keep contribuiting for the mission of the Voluntários em
Ação Institute.”

Caroline Ramagem


"I decided to sign up for the Voluntários Online Portal just before my birthday, and as soon as I
entered the site, I immediately sent my information to the NGOs that needed a volunteer for
arts / promotion / marketing. I received a call from the Asilo Irmão Joaquim (elderly shelter)
exactly on my birthday, it was like a gift for me. I created all the layout for the campaign that
raised money for the installation of a physiotherapy room in the Asilo Irmão Joaquim.

Even being an online volunteer, the exchange of information between Julia from the Asilo and I
- and of course, the real interest in helping with the needs of the elderly -, was essential for
the deadlines, actions and my interest in being part of the team, even away, to work well.

I feel part of the family without ever having known the Asilo, the commitment makes all the
difference and I am grateful for the opportunity, for the return and for the website that
provided this magical experience for me. It is a work where all parties involved are essential, so
I take this opportunity to congratulate the site, the Asilo and all the thousands of volunteers
who are in the country."

Flavia Milanez
Asilo Irmão Joaquim


"The willingness to volunteer was always present, however I didn´t know if my skills would be
useful for any NGO. This year, I was fortunate to find the IVA / Santa Catarina. Through their
Portal (www.voluntariosonline.org.br) I knew I could contribute to some non-governmental
organization. Their work is serious, organized and very present. On the site I found SIPEB –
Associação de Instrução Popular e Beneficência (“Association of Popular Education and
Charity”), which was searching for a professional to translate all marketing materials (website,
brochure, etc.) to Spanish.

I began my work in June/2011 and in the same month I had the opportunity to visit their office
in São Paulo. I was very well received and the work started successfully. I hope to contribute a
lot. Being a volunteer is worth it!"

Juliana D. Galvão
SIPEB

“The INAPE – Instituto de Astronomia e Pesquisas Espaciais de Araçatuba (“Astronomy and
Space Research Institute from Araçatuba”), in the State of São Paulo, needed volunteers for
Graphic Designer and Cartoonist activities, both to be done online. These activities involved
volunteers who did not need to go in person to the organization office in order to perform
their work, being able to do at their own home. For the Graphic Designer activity, the volunteer
should create an identity standard for the Organization to compose the following graphic
material, according to the visual standard set by the NGO: letterheads for internal and external
use, stationery for notes, envelopes, business cards for employees, headers for sending
standardized e-mails and badges for the Organization employees.
At the end of the selection process, the selected volunteer was Marta Loureiro, from Brasilia-
DF. Bruno Xavier de Sousa, also from Brasilia – DF, was selected for the activity of Cartoonist.
For this activity, the volunteer should create a mascot figure for INAPE and an entire fictional
universe, for future production of all kinds of materials with the mascot image (teddy bears, t-
shirts, etc.) to be commercialized in order to ensure financial sustainability of


the NGO. Through the Voluntários Online Portal, we were able to perform these activities with
highly motivated and responsible online volunteers in performing their tasks."

Gustavo J. Moretti
INAPE

“The Instituto Arayara - Educação para a Sustentabilidade (“Araya Institute - Education for
Sustainability”), is another successful example of the work of the Voluntários Online Portal and
of the team from Voluntários em Ação Institute – IVA. This Organization from Curitiba, State of
Paraná, was invited to participate in the Portal thanks to an activity performed by online
volunteers from IVA, the “NGO Trainers”. This is a group of volunteers that, at long distance,
are being trained to mobilize and register organizations so they can use the Portal as a tool to
recruit volunteers.

This activity had the support of numerous volunteers in several cities in Brazil. In Curitiba, the
volunteer Keyla Preuss conducted the training in the Arayara Institute and, in November 2010,
they were enrolled in the Voluntários Online Portal. Since then, the promotion around the
organization’s projects and the consequent increase in the number of volunteers interested in
working with them has considerably raised:

“With the inclusion and promotion of our organization in the Voluntários Online Portal, the
demand of volunteers online and onsite in the NGO has considerably increased. Until early
November 2010, our reception to volunteers was conducted individually, and from the Portal
we have organized group receptions, a major step that we achieved with this partnership."

Ligia Hoshiguti
Arayara Education Institute


COUNSELORS

Deliberative Council

Fernanda Maria Barreto Bornhausen Sá – Presidente
Francisca Teresa Reinisch Coelho Meirinho
João Ghizzo Filho
Mário José Gonzaga Petrelli
Ubiratan Simões Rezende

Fiscal Council

Alexandre Salles Steil
Newton Knabben Filho
Tertuliano Xavier de Brito

Consultative Council

Alba Terezinha Schlichting

Alice Thümmel Küerten

Ana Cristina Bauer
Ana Paula da Silva
Déa Barreto Bornhausen
Edison Vilella
Jorge Pinheiro Machado
Heloisa Jendiroba Bittencourt
Lúcia Gomes Vieira Dellagnelo

Paulo Silveira dos Santos
Pe. Vilmar Vicente
Ruth Maria Ribeiro de Corrêa


Voluntarios em ação - report july 2011

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