PURPOSE, HISTORY, MAJOR CHALLENGES, BOARD LIST
Volunteer Partners is a volunteer center designed to serve the citizens of Lancaster County. Our primary function is to match volunteers' interests with the needs of organizations in Lincoln and Lancaster County. In doing this, we enhance the capacity of non-profit agencies to carry out their valuable missions in our community.

In other words, we work with two set of wonderful 'customers': persons wishing to contribute their time to the community and agencies serving the needs of the community.

Among many other activities, our most tangible mode of developing and connecting volunteers with agencies is by broadly publicizing current volunteer needs every week. Can you help us further communicate community volunteer needs? Join (at no cost of course,) with local newspapers, radio stations, the 'Get in the Game' initiative, City Cable, universities/colleges, and employees at many 'excellent' businesses. Just let us know if you wish to be in this 'group'.

A second activity we provide is volunteer management training to non-profits, utilizing the Points of Light & Hands on Network curriculum. If agencies can better develop and manage their volunteer programs, we all win: volunteers, the non-profits and the community! (For details, take a look at RESOURCES.)

A LITTLE HISTORY
Volunteer Partners evolved from a function of Lincoln/Lancaster County United Way, which was spun off in early 2000. In late 2000, a survey on volunteerism of organizations in Lancaster County was conducted. It showed that 64% had depended on our predecessor and that a great majority (86%) were interested in receiving help with volunteer resources, referrals and recruitment. Given this and some concerned, community-minded individuals, Volunteer Partners was incorporated as an independent nonprofit organization in late 2000. Then, 2001 was spent getting the infrastructure and start-up funding in place. Thanks to the Woods Charitable Fund, operations began in early 2002.

MAJOR CHALLENGES
First: Mission-wise, our major challenge is to educate the general public on the value of volunteering; the return to them and to the community. We must make volunteering easily accessible and this website is designed to do exactly that.
Second: Operationally, we provide a valuable service and resource to the community. It isn't money, it is people! But, we really can't 'charge' either sets of our 'customers'; those who volunteer or the non-profits needing them. Thus, the challenge is to convince a variety of types of funders that what we do is of value to the community. We help non-profits carry out their valuable missions in our community.

To find out what we are 'into' today, just click on PROGRAMS and take a look at our current and planned efforts.


THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS (and their affiliations):