Single
Volunteers of Rochester
2003 Membership Survey, Results Summary (116 surveys) (135 returned in 2002)
The SVR Management team would like to thank all who participated in this survey. Your input brought new insight into how members perceive SVR, what they desire from SVR, and what some of the misconceptions about SVR are. We also received some valuable suggestions for improving SVR, especially the Volunteer and Social Events. We will use the data to help to improve SVR the best we can.
It is important to note, however, that we cannot do everything that was suggested or change everything that some people do not like. We are operating an organization with a clear mission to meet others through volunteerism, with a set of guidelines developed by our national organization. We will not do things that deviate from them. We will also continue to take necessary steps to keep our members safe from harm or harassment. The survey results show that members have widely different suggestions on types of Volunteer and Social Events. Within the event guidelines, we will try to set-up many different events, but remember that some events have been tried in the past and have not been successful. We try not to repeat mistakes!
Also, the committees work very hard, but there is only so much they can do. If you would like to have more or different events, join the Volunteer or Social Events Committees!
To keep SVR going for many years to come, we need to have a constant influx of new members. While Alan and his committee will implement some of the ideas that you suggested, the best recruitment vehicle is word of mouth through you, the members. Tell your friends about us. Post flyers where you can. Take every opportunity you get to promote SVR.
The Managers would also like to thank everyone for their kind words and feedback, not only in this survey, but throughout some of the difficult times of this past year. Come join us to celebrate all of the good we all have done for charities at the Volunteer Dinner/Dance in February!
Before we present the results, there are two very important points about SVR that we stated in last year’s survey results that are important to reiterate, to make sure everyone understands why we are here:
January 17, 2004
Statistical Results
Age Range
In the graph below, the age statistics of SVR's membership overall is shown in green, and is compared to the responses received from the 2003 (maroon) and 2002 (yellow) surveys. The membership data shows a good level of response from members that are in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. However, the 2003 survey data also reflects a far smaller percentage of people under 40, which could simply indicate that fewer people in the younger age groups had responded to the survey this year. The recruitment committee will focus on ways to attract people of all age groups. We strive for age diversity.
Gender
Despite efforts to try and recruit more men, the percentage did not change significantly in 2003. Recruitment efforts need to focus on better ways to recruit men.
Length of Membership
The spike resulting from the article in the D&C in 2002 is still quite evident, as those members have been here 1-2 years now. Since then, new membership has been fairly steady.
How Many Volunteer Events Have You Participated In Over The Last Year?
This shows that while we have fewer men than women, the men who do volunteer do so more often. This may also be reflective of the fact that, even though it has gotten better, some events still do fill-up for women, which prevents some from volunteering more.
How Likely Are You to Participate in a Volunteer Event Over the Next 3 Months?
This continues to bode well for SVR! With this result, we don’t expect to see any events that are not filled up!
Is the Target Gender Ratio for Volunteer Events Working?
Members seem to be generally satisfied with this ratio. It has given more women an opportunity to volunteer, without making some events "women only."
How Many Official Social Events Have You Participated In Over The Last Year?
How Do You Feel About the Current 6:1 Ratio of Volunteer to Social Events?
While many members like the current ratio, a significant percentage would like to see more Social Events. Social Events were originally added because there were not enough Volunteer Events for people. The number of Social Events was reduced in 2003 because some people were choosing to do them over Volunteer Events, some of which were not filling up. We will consider increasing the number of Social Events, as long as the volunteer needs continue to be met. We will be tracking volunteerism better in 2004 and plan to limit Social Event involvement for those members who do not volunteer a certain number of times (minimum level to be determined). Volunteering will continue to be the priority.
Number of Members Recruited
Members recruiting friends is an extremely important tool for us. We all have friends who would benefit from SVR. If everyone would concentrate on getting a couple of male friends to join, we could greatly improve the gender ratio. Over 60% of members have not recruited a new member. If every one of these people in the 60% got just one new person to join, that would be about 250 new people!
View the Message Board?
More people are aware of the Message Board and more people view it regularly.
Post on the Message Board?
Keep the Message Board?
Nobody wants to do away with the Message Board. It is an important source of information, if properly monitored.
Are You Satisfied with the Way SVR is Being Managed?
Of the 71% of the people who responded with either a positive or negative opinion (taking out the “Neutral” responses, who were mostly new people), 93% expressed satisfaction with SVR managers. That clearly tells us that we are on the right path. Taking your suggestions to heart, we will continue to manage SVR as it currently is.
Are You Willing To Help Out With Management or Volunteer Events Committee?
While these results are somewhat encouraging, we would have liked to see more than half of the people in a volunteer organization willing to lend their talents to the organization. Those of us on committees are putting forth a lot of effort, and as the saying goes... "many hands make light work".
So we're asking you to please help out. From the comments in this section, we saw that many people do have special skills that they can contribute, and we'd really appreciate it. We will be contacting some of you in the coming months.
Comments
The left column highlights comments that were submitted. To make publishing the results a bit more manageable, suggestions or comments that were similar were simplified and combined. The number in parentheses next to the comment indicates the number of time a similar comment or suggestion was made. For some comments, we have offered a response, which is presented in the right column.
What has prevented you from attending more Volunteer Events?
Suggestions for Volunteer Events?
Some great suggestions for events. One thing that limits us is that we only seek events that require 6 people or more, and where we can work together for the most part. There are plenty of one-on-one opportunities, but they go against our basic premise of being able to interact with other singles during the volunteer work.
What has prevented you from attending more Social Events?
Suggestions for Social Events?
Our Social Committee will consider your suggestions and develop new varied Social Events. We have done several of these event-types in the past. If you have an idea for an event that we just can't program, organize it yourself and promote it on the Message Board. This works best for smaller events.
Please note the following from the FAQ page as a reminder:
Social events that are solely advertised or listed on the SVR Message Board are unofficial get-togethers. They are not sanctioned by the SVR Social Committee or by any other form of management of Single Volunteers of Rochester.
While other SVR members (or even managers of SVR) may be in attendence at these events, they are still not officially sanctioned by SVR. Caveat Emptor.
Official SVR Social Events are listed on the Event Signup List page on the SVR website, and thus also have a sign-up process, typically using a form on formsite.com.
What are the Good Points about SVR?
Many people work hard to create the opportunities and environment for all of us single people to enjoy. All of the members working together is what makes SVR great. An interesting pattern that you will see - some things that some people see as good points of SVR, others think need improvement. It goes to show the diversity of our members, and the fact that you can't please everyone!
What Areas of SVR Could Be Improved?
These are the things that are toughest to address. Many items we will be able to address, but there are some that we simply can't change, or they are contrary to our mission and guidelines. We will continue to strive to make improvements that you suggest, but need your help when possible!
Comments on Message Board
Comments on Management of SVR
Suggestions for Recruiting Members (especially men)
The trick here is how to recruit more men, without attracting more women at the same time. We are already having difficulty in providing enough volunteering opportunities for women, so we don't need to recruit any more at this time.
The SVR Management team would like to thank all who participated in this survey. Your input brought new insight into how members perceive SVR, what they desire from SVR, and what some of the misconceptions about SVR are. We also received some valuable suggestions for improving SVR, especially the Volunteer and Social Events. We will use the data to help to improve SVR the best we can.
It is important to note, however, that we cannot do everything that was suggested or change everything that some people do not like. We are operating an organization with a clear mission to meet others through volunteerism, with a set of guidelines developed by our national organization. We will not do things that deviate from them. We will also continue to take necessary steps to keep our members safe from harm or harassment. The survey results show that members have widely different suggestions on types of Volunteer and Social Events. Within the event guidelines, we will try to set-up many different events, but remember that some events have been tried in the past and have not been successful. We try not to repeat mistakes!
Also, the committees work very hard, but there is only so much they can do. If you would like to have more or different events, join the Volunteer or Social Events Committees!
To keep SVR going for many years to come, we need to have a constant influx of new members. While Alan and his committee will implement some of the ideas that you suggested, the best recruitment vehicle is word of mouth through you, the members. Tell your friends about us. Post flyers where you can. Take every opportunity you get to promote SVR.
The Managers would also like to thank everyone for their kind words and feedback, not only in this survey, but throughout some of the difficult times of this past year. Come join us to celebrate all of the good we all have done for charities at the Volunteer Dinner/Dance in February!
Before we present the results, there are two very important points about SVR that we stated in last year’s survey results that are important to reiterate, to make sure everyone understands why we are here:
Chuck, Cathy, Laurie, and AlanSVR IS A VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION . Some people have only attended Social Events to date, or have attended mostly Social Events. To those people, we suggest that SVR is not the organization for you. As stated on the SVR web page, "Single Volunteers of Rochester (SVR) is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit group of energetic professionals looking to meet others through community service. Their objective is to fulfill the volunteer needs of charities in the Rochester area while having fun and meeting people." The fun and meeting people parts are very important, but not at the expense of helping non-profit organizations.
ALL MEMBERS ARE SVR, NOT JUST THE MANAGEMENT TEAM. SVR is a great organization that we can be proud of. However, there are certainly areas where we can improve, and we need the help of all of our members to do it. Nothing is done here for the Management Team - you do not "work" for us. The managers are one of you - SVR members that want to help others and meet people.
We simply have chosen to put time and effort into coordinating and organizing things so that all SVR members can benefit, because we believe in the concept.
To those who made suggestions, we ask you to help to implement them by talking to the appropriate manager and assisting on a committee, setting-up or leading an event, obtaining operating funds, recruiting new members, or other ways. To those who had complaints, we challenge you to turn them into a positive and help us to make SVR into an organization that meets your expectations. If you don't like the number or types of events, work with them to improve things! Stay positive - negativity helps nobody!
We cannot please everyone. Some people just will not like the choices we make, and the directions that we take SVR. We can promise, however, that we will continue to do all we can to keep SVR a rewarding organization for as many people as possible. Thanks for taking the chance and being part of something special.
January 17, 2004
Statistical Results
Age Range
In the graph below, the age statistics of SVR's membership overall is shown in green, and is compared to the responses received from the 2003 (maroon) and 2002 (yellow) surveys. The membership data shows a good level of response from members that are in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. However, the 2003 survey data also reflects a far smaller percentage of people under 40, which could simply indicate that fewer people in the younger age groups had responded to the survey this year. The recruitment committee will focus on ways to attract people of all age groups. We strive for age diversity.
Gender
Despite efforts to try and recruit more men, the percentage did not change significantly in 2003. Recruitment efforts need to focus on better ways to recruit men.
Length of Membership
The spike resulting from the article in the D&C in 2002 is still quite evident, as those members have been here 1-2 years now. Since then, new membership has been fairly steady.
How Many Volunteer Events Have You Participated In Over The Last Year?
This shows that while we have fewer men than women, the men who do volunteer do so more often. This may also be reflective of the fact that, even though it has gotten better, some events still do fill-up for women, which prevents some from volunteering more.
How Likely Are You to Participate in a Volunteer Event Over the Next 3 Months?
This continues to bode well for SVR! With this result, we don’t expect to see any events that are not filled up!
Is the Target Gender Ratio for Volunteer Events Working?
Members seem to be generally satisfied with this ratio. It has given more women an opportunity to volunteer, without making some events "women only."
How Many Official Social Events Have You Participated In Over The Last Year?
How Do You Feel About the Current 6:1 Ratio of Volunteer to Social Events?
While many members like the current ratio, a significant percentage would like to see more Social Events. Social Events were originally added because there were not enough Volunteer Events for people. The number of Social Events was reduced in 2003 because some people were choosing to do them over Volunteer Events, some of which were not filling up. We will consider increasing the number of Social Events, as long as the volunteer needs continue to be met. We will be tracking volunteerism better in 2004 and plan to limit Social Event involvement for those members who do not volunteer a certain number of times (minimum level to be determined). Volunteering will continue to be the priority.
Number of Members Recruited
Members recruiting friends is an extremely important tool for us. We all have friends who would benefit from SVR. If everyone would concentrate on getting a couple of male friends to join, we could greatly improve the gender ratio. Over 60% of members have not recruited a new member. If every one of these people in the 60% got just one new person to join, that would be about 250 new people!
View the Message Board?
More people are aware of the Message Board and more people view it regularly.
Post on the Message Board?
Keep the Message Board?
Nobody wants to do away with the Message Board. It is an important source of information, if properly monitored.
Are You Satisfied with the Way SVR is Being Managed?
Of the 71% of the people who responded with either a positive or negative opinion (taking out the “Neutral” responses, who were mostly new people), 93% expressed satisfaction with SVR managers. That clearly tells us that we are on the right path. Taking your suggestions to heart, we will continue to manage SVR as it currently is.
Are You Willing To Help Out With Management or Volunteer Events Committee?
While these results are somewhat encouraging, we would have liked to see more than half of the people in a volunteer organization willing to lend their talents to the organization. Those of us on committees are putting forth a lot of effort, and as the saying goes... "many hands make light work".
So we're asking you to please help out. From the comments in this section, we saw that many people do have special skills that they can contribute, and we'd really appreciate it. We will be contacting some of you in the coming months.
Comments
The left column highlights comments that were submitted. To make publishing the results a bit more manageable, suggestions or comments that were similar were simplified and combined. The number in parentheses next to the comment indicates the number of time a similar comment or suggestion was made. For some comments, we have offered a response, which is presented in the right column.
What has prevented you from attending more Volunteer Events?
| Full for Women (14) | This has improved a bit with the changing of the gender ratio to better match the membership percentage. The Volunteer Committee is constantly balancing the active volunteers with the needs of the community when determining the number of volunteer events. |
| Lack of Time/Schedule Conflicts (45) | |
| Job (18) | |
| Too Shy/Social Anxiety (3) | The Volunteer Events are usually the best way to combat this! Try FoodLink, or other larger events. The Meet and Greets can also help. |
| Events Unappealing (8) | The Volunteer Committee will take your ideas and try to further diversify the events. Please e-mail Cathy with events that would appeal to you. |
| Illness (3) | |
| Distance (6) | We try not to limit location, but need to be pragmatic about it. Our events are purposely focused around the population center of the region, namely the Rochester area. This ensures that our events will fill up and we can effectively serve the non-profits of this area. Events that are too far away from Rochester tend not to fill up. |
| Shortage of Males (1) | |
| Want to Give Others a Turn (1) | We appreciate those who do this. We would rather not restrict anybody. Hopefully having more events will help. |
| Winter Weather (1) | |
| Dating Status (2) | Hopefully many more people will have this "problem!" |
| Lack of or Bad Response From Event Leader (2) | We are offering "refresher" courses for Event Leaders and are trying to improve the quality of effort put forth by some existing Event Leaders. Continue to fill out the feedback forms! |
| Cliques (1) | This is somewhat natural as people get to know each other. We will continue to remind people to be open and reach out to new members. |
| Times / Days of Events (7) | Event times are often dictated by the charitable organizations, but we will try to find events at other days and times. |
| Location in Bad Neighborhoods (2) | |
| Not on Bus Lines (2) | |
| Want Events Differentiated By Age (1) | Volunteer Events are open to people of all ages. We have no plans to restrict events to any one age group. |
| Other Volunteer Commitments (3) | We’re glad that our members also help charitable organizations out directly! |
Suggestions for Volunteer Events?
Some great suggestions for events. One thing that limits us is that we only seek events that require 6 people or more, and where we can work together for the most part. There are plenty of one-on-one opportunities, but they go against our basic premise of being able to interact with other singles during the volunteer work.
| 1 Male and 1 Female At 2-Person Table (1) | Good idea. We’ll pass that along to our Event Leaders to use, when practical. |
| Sojourner House (1) | |
| Mix-Up Nights Some (1) | |
| Limit the Number that People Can Sign-up For (1) | Some people are voluntarily doing this. We would rather not restrict anybody. Hopefully having more events will help. |
| More Saturday/Sunday Evenings (1) | |
| Christian Events (1) | |
| More Regular Events (1) | |
| Meals on Wheels (2) | |
| Great Variety (6) | |
| Minimum Volunteer Requirements (1) | We are considering the possibility of instituting this. |
| More in Southeast Rochester/Canandaigua (2) | In order to ensure that we don't come up short on volunteers for events, we focus our efforts that are close to the Rochester metro area. |
| Animals (Lollipop Farm, Humane Soc., Zoo) (1) | |
| Pare Down Requirements For Events (1) | We feel comfortable that the current requirements are effective in keeping the events fun and with sufficient opportunities to meet others. |
| Children’s Hospitals (1) | |
| Pair-Up New Volunteers With Experienced Ones (1) | Good idea. We’ll pass that along to our Event Leaders to use, when practical. |
| Mary Cariola Centers (1) | |
| Soup Kitchens (1) | |
| More Variety in Events (1) | The Volunteer Committee is always working on this. |
| Environmental Clean-up/Activism (1) | Clean-up is a good idea, but we want to avoid any political "hot potatoes," and will not do activism. Members are free to do that on their own, or with activist groups of their own choosing. |
| Mental Health Community (1) | |
| Age-Specific Events (1) | Official SVR Social Events are open to all ages. We do not want to hold events that segregate the membership, and believe that you can make friends of all ages. Members are free to form their own age-specific social gatherings via the Message Board. |
| Visiting Nurse (1) | |
| Special Olympics (1) |
What has prevented you from attending more Social Events?
| More Interested Volunteering (4) | |
| Nervous/Shy/Fearful (7) | The Meet and Greets are great ice-breakers, and we will consider some of the ideas below to improve welcoming new members. We will try to remind veteran members to be more open and approach new members, but it needs to be a two-way street! |
| Job (5) | |
| Event Full (1) | This doesn't happen too frequently with Social Events, which can typically involve greater numbers. |
| Schedule Conflicts/Too Busy (37) | |
| Started Dating Someone (1) | |
|
Need to Know |
All of our events are open to all ages, and we have been seeing a pretty good mix at the Social Events we have attended. Only some of the events posted on the Message Board are for 50-somethings. We welcome people of other age groups to coordinate social gatherings via the Message Board. |
| Not Interested in Event Types/More Variety (7) | Our Social Committee has been soliciting ideas and looking for people to help set up a more diverse range of events. |
|
Not Many People In My |
Help us by actively recruiting people in your age range! |
| People are Unfriendly (2) | The vast majority of SVR people we have met are very friendly. There are a few that aren't, and we all have our bad days. Don't dismiss the 500+ people in the group based on one event and a few people. Give it another try. Remember, it's a two-way street. |
| Illness (1) | |
| Short Notice (1) | |
| Appears to be a Clique/Not Made to Feel Welcome (3) | There really are no cliques, but people naturally gravitate to people they already know. We will try to remind people to welcome everyone, but new members need to take the initiative too. |
| Haven’t Volunteered So Not Right to Attend Social Events (2) | That's an excellent attitude, but still it would be nice to have you come to one of our Meet-and-Greet events to help you “get started!” |
| Too Many Rules On Behavior (1) | The rules are there to protect our members. People that act civilized don’t have to worry about the rules. You'll find an organization that has over 500 members in it must operate differently than one that has only 20 people. |
| Boring Events (1) | That's unfortunate. Have you offered to help the Social Committee? We'd like your help in generating new ideas! |
| Event Start Time (2) | |
| Don’t Like Events That Focus On Alcohol (2) | While we have had some wine tours, we try not to have many events that focus on alcohol. Also, please do not confuse the unofficial social gatherings you see posted on the Message Board with those being run by the SVR Social Committee. Some of the official Social Events will have alcohol present, but not focus on alcohol. Some won’t have any alcohol present. |
| Location (3) | We try to spread events around the greater Rochester area. |
| More Casual Events (1) | We have had picnics, cabin parties, and meet & greets - they've all been casual events. |
Suggestions for Social Events?
Our Social Committee will consider your suggestions and develop new varied Social Events. We have done several of these event-types in the past. If you have an idea for an event that we just can't program, organize it yourself and promote it on the Message Board. This works best for smaller events.
Please note the following from the FAQ page as a reminder:
Social events that are solely advertised or listed on the SVR Message Board are unofficial get-togethers. They are not sanctioned by the SVR Social Committee or by any other form of management of Single Volunteers of Rochester.
While other SVR members (or even managers of SVR) may be in attendence at these events, they are still not officially sanctioned by SVR. Caveat Emptor.
Official SVR Social Events are listed on the Event Signup List page on the SVR website, and thus also have a sign-up process, typically using a form on formsite.com.
| Events that Promote Interaction (2) | We try to do this whenever possible, but there are also events that are just plain fun, which are good too! |
| Game/Card Parties (4) | These have been very successful and we will continue to hold them! |
| Wine Trip (2) | |
| Age-Specific Events (1) | SVR official events are open to all ages. We do not want to hold events that segregate the membership, and believe that you can make friends of all ages. Members are free to form their own age-specific social gatherings via the Message Board. |
| Weekend Trip (1) | |
| More Events (4) | The Social Committee is working hard! They'd love your help. |
| Outdoor Events (1) | |
| More Meet & Greets (1) | We don’t want to overdo these, as they are lots of work to organize, but we’ll have as many as we can. |
| Volleyball (1) | |
| Picnic At Letchworth (1) | Had one this past summer. |
| Avoid Cliques/Make People Feel Welcome (3) | We want to avoid cliques, but people naturally gravitate to people they already know, especially if you become friends. However, we generally do not see these groups of friends shutting out people. We will continue reminding people to welcome everyone. |
| Sunday Afternoon Social (1) | |
| Message Board Posts Too Many for 50 + Crowd (1) | Come up with events for your age group and post them! |
| Less Alcohol Events (2) | While we have had some wine tours, we try not to have many events that focus on alcohol. Also, please do not confuse the unofficial social gatherings you see posted on the Message Board with those being run by the SVR Social Committee. Some of the official Social Events will have alcohol present, but many won’t. |
| Good Variety (1) | Some Social Events have a higher cost, but we try to have many low or no-cost events too. |
| Toga Party (1) | |
| Live Theatre (1) | |
| Fewer Events - Emphasize Volunteering (1) | This is why we have the 6:1 ratio. We want to create a good balance. |
| Hockey Games (1) | |
| Sporting Events (1) | |
| Super Bowl Parties (1) | |
| Location (1) | |
| Camping (1) | |
| Dancing (3) | |
| Friendly People at the Meet and Greets (1) | |
| Golf Scramble (1) | |
| “Buddy System” For New Members at Meet/Greet (1) | Good suggestion. We’ll try to promote this. |
| Joint Events With Other Singles Organizations (1) | Another good suggestion that we’ll explore, as long as we can ensure the event or other organization doesn't stray too far from SVR's core values. |
| Day Trips (1) | |
| Movies at the Dryden or Little (4) | There's been some unofficial events at the Little Theater once or twice a month. Watch the Message Board for details. |
| Events Where You Do Something (1) | |
| Concerts (1) | |
| Comix Cafe (1) | |
| Toronto (1) |
What are the Good Points about SVR?
Many people work hard to create the opportunities and environment for all of us single people to enjoy. All of the members working together is what makes SVR great. An interesting pattern that you will see - some things that some people see as good points of SVR, others think need improvement. It goes to show the diversity of our members, and the fact that you can't please everyone!
| Balance Between Service and Social Activities (4) | The 6:1 ratio. |
| Nice People of Good Character (8) | |
| Well Run Organization and Events (10) | Thanks! We're always trying to improve. |
| Get to Meet People While Helping the Community (31) | |
| The Weekly E-mail Updates/Communication (1) | Thanks to Alan and Teresa. |
| Effort to have Equal # of Men and Women (1) | |
| Fun (2) | |
| Non-Threatening, Low-Pressure Environment (4) | |
| Meet People w/Similar Interests and Values (4) | |
| Variety of Activities (11) | |
| Help Many Non-Profit Organizations (2) | |
| No Cost (2) | |
| Focused Managers (5) | |
| Social Events (5) | |
| User-Friendly Website (1) | |
| Diversity in Age and Background of People (4) | |
| Always Recruiting New Members (1) | |
| Felt Very Welcome, Friendly People (11) | |
| Ability to Pick and Choose/Flexibility (5) | |
| Support Charities (18) | |
| Networking Opportunities (3) | An interesting benefit that is often overlooked. |
What Areas of SVR Could Be Improved?
These are the things that are toughest to address. Many items we will be able to address, but there are some that we simply can't change, or they are contrary to our mission and guidelines. We will continue to strive to make improvements that you suggest, but need your help when possible!
| Better Organization (1) | |
| No Man/Women Ratio (2) | Men have a tendency to sign up much later than the women do. Thus, doing away with a target ratio could drive out men altogether. The ratio is another tried-and-true principle followed by the other chapters of Single Volunteers, so we don’t think doing away with it is a wise course to follow. |
| Better Event Leader Response (1) | Event Leader training refresher courses and improving the quality of some Event Leaders are our way of working toward improving this. If you have any problems with the quality of Event Leaders, please give us feedback through the Feedback Form on the website. |
| Don't Drop "Inactive" Members (1) | They stay in the database and it is really easy to re-join if you become active again. |
| Discouraged at Full Events (1) | The Volunteer Committee is constantly balancing the active volunteers with the needs of the community when determining the number of volunteer events. |
| Add Feedback Spaces on Event Sign-up Forms and Feedback Forms For Questions (1) | Each event signup form has the email address of the Event Leader, in clickable form, so that you can contact her/him directly with questions. |
| Event Leader Refresher Course (1) | We’re doing this. |
| More Volunteer Events/More Varied (4) | The Volunteer Events Committee is constantly taking suggestions from members and investigating possibilities for new types of events. However, not all volunteer activities are suited to SVR or meet our guidelines. If an event is not appropriate for SVR, or we are approached at the last minute, some times it is put on the Message Board so individuals can contact the non-profit agency directly. |
| Need More Men (4) | Spread the word about the fact the group is 70 percent women, and you'll get more men. |
| Less Politics/Power Issues (3) | Working together in a team environment can be difficult and challenging, but the end result can be better than just "going it alone". In any team arrangement, there will be disagreements, but as long as the group handles disagreements in a respectful and professional manner, consensus can be reached. |
| Don’t Limit Number of Social Events (1) | This is a volunteer organization. Not limiting the number of Social Events would turn this into a social club, which it is not. |
| Area on Website to Submit Ideas For Groups With Volunteer Needs (1) | This has always been on the website – please look again. |
| More Weekend Events (2) | |
| Publicity of the Organization – Info Courses? (1) | We have had an ad in the Info Courses catalog but did not get much response. |
| More Events Without Having To Advertise For Men – Demeaning To Women (1) | This should not be demeaning to women. It simply means that we need more male members, and the men should be quicker to sign up for events than they have been. |
| Bend the Rules for People That Are Dating (2) | First, there is a difference between dating someone and being in a committed relationship. People have asked for a clarification on the topic on many occasions. While we leave the definition of what constitutes a "committed relationship" to each individual, it essentially means that you are not open to the idea of dating someone else. We feel strongly that in SVR, an environment where members do not have to worry whether the other people they meet are "available" or not is very important to what the group stands for. This is why we have firm guidelines concerning those that are in committed relationships. |
| More Event Leader Training Sessions (1) | We offer them when we have enough people who have expressed interest. |
| Prefer Old Weekly E-mail Format w/Events Listed (1) | We want people to be going to the web page. The weekly e-mail is a reminder to do that, not a substitute for it. |
| Introduce Management at Meet and Greets (1) | We have, at every one. |
| "One Time Help" Program (1) | Need more information about this. |
| Better Communication – Explain Things a Few Times a Year | We have "Meet the Manager" sessions that are held several times a year. Some basics can also be answered by the FAQ page, or are addressed in the "Tips of the Week" in the weekly newsletter from Alan. |
| Avoid Events That Require Showing Up Early, Only to Sit Around (1) | We agree and are working to avoid this. Unfortunately, some of the people that work at the non-profits don't know of SVR's reputation for having volunteers there on time, and in the quantities they requested. |
| Managers Have Limited Terms and Hold Elections (1) | When we incorporate, we will have annual elections. However, we see no reason to limit terms. If people are willing and have the talents and time, let them continue. The survey response clearly shows that the membership is satisfied in general with the current group of managers. |
| Telephone Sign-ups For Events (2) | This is impossible with such a large database. No other chapter does this, although one tried long ago when they were much smaller. They learned quickly how impossible it was. We have no plans to ever do this. |
| More Mingling of Current Members with New Members at Meet and Greets (2) | We will continue to promote this. |
| Have a Meet and Greet at a Local Bar (1) | This is not practical as there is no way to prevent non-members from co-mingling. There are safety concerns as well. |
| Less Cliques (1) | |
| Better Leadership (1) | The survey results show that the grand majority of the membership thinks that the leadership is fine. |
| Deal With People Who Spread Rumors (1) | We have dealt with people that start rumors when we've been able to identify these folks. However, the entire organization needs to be involved and make an effort to not listen to rumors, and to ask those that perpetuate them to stop. |
| State Reasons For Management Decisions (1) | We try to do this, but don’t want to send constant e-mails about every decision. If you have questions about an action – ask. We'll also continue to have sessions of "Meet the Managers". |
| Be More Social to Older Members (1) | |
| Better Cheerleading to Encourage Members (1) | Will try to do this more. |
| Improve the Sign-up List (1) | Don’t exactly see what’s wrong. Having our own web site in the future will help avoid some problems. |
| Faster Response Time From Event Leaders (1) | We are trying to improve the performance some of our Event Leaders in many dimensions. If you do not hear back from the Event Leader within 48 hours of signing up for an event, e-mail them or one of the managers. |
| Enlarging Some Events To Include All Who Sign-up (1) | The charities often limit the numbers and we don’t want to increase the limits, only to have people stand around with nothing to do. |
| More Younger People (1) | Spread the word and recruit some! |
| More Detailed Description For Events (1) | If there is not enough info, please e-mail Cathy, the Volunteer Event Committee Chairperson. |
| Attract Members Dedicated to SVR Mission (1) | YES! |
| Continue Teaching of Message Board Etiquette (1) | We have posted some guidelines. Unfortunately, some people haven't caught on that 200+ people don't really want to read about someone else's daily activities. |
| Help More Minority Organizations (1) | |
| Get Own Website (1) | We will focus on this once we incorporate and have some income sources to pay for it. It’s a big undertaking to get it started! |
| Deal With Issues in a More Timely Manner (1) | We’ll do the best we can. |
Comments on Message Board
| What Is It?/Don’t Know How To Use (4) | We're glad we made some new people aware of it. |
| Notice of Impromptu Get-togethers Being Deleted (1) | Messages were only deleted if they contained inappropriate or harassing language, promoted events that could be harmful to the reputation of SVR, or were intended to give a voice to members who had been kicked out or suspended from the Message Board. SVR is a private organization. We don't want to exclude people or censor opinions, but potential members and non-profit organizations read the Message Board, so we must be wary of what is posted. |
| Too Much Personal Stuff (2) | Will try to tell people to minimize this, but that’s really one of the main functions of a Message Board. |
|
Like Moderating/Sc |
We will continue to moderate. |
| Too Many "Let’s Party" Postings (1) | |
| Are Posted Socials Interfering With People Volunteering? (1) | Yes, somewhat. We are watching this. If people are posting social gatherings that attract people and Volunteer Events are not filling up as a result, we may need to take action. |
| Seems To Be Restricted (1) | The Message Board is restricted by Microsoft to people that are members of the MSN site, in order to avoid SPAM. If you are having difficulty in signing up to use the Message Board, contact Teresa or Alan. |
| Good For Finding Out What’s Up (8) | |
| Too Much Negative Stuff/Dirty Laundry (8) | Unfortunately we've been forced to begin moderating it to reduce postings from those that would rather complain and rant than to try helping SVR meet its objectives. Some people have decided to put their personal agendas before those of SVR. |
| Can’t Use At Work (1) | Hopefully a new website will fix that issue. Your company is filtering out MSN Groups. |
| Some People Tend to Dominate – Afraid to Post (1) | |
| Message Groups By Age (1) | Not practical and not desired. |
| Informative and Up To Date (1) | |
| Not User-Friendly (1) | Will hopefully have a more user-friendly version when we have our own website. |
| Like Weekly E-mails (3) | Thanks to Alan. |
| Stop Censorship/Rules (3) | Moderating and rules are needed to keep inappropriate or harassing messages off the board. Remember, charities and potential members see that board as well, and we do not want to turn them off with inappropriate postings. Some people need to think twice before posting their messages. |
Comments on Management of SVR
| Good/Great Job! (18) | |
| Improved Lots Over Past 12 Months (1) | |
| Improved Communication is Good (1) | |
| Be Flexible With Other People’s Points of Views (1) | We feel that we are, but we still have to make decisions that some people just will not like. |
| I Respect the Recent Letter of Explanation (2) | |
| More Committee Members to Help (1) | Remember, all committee members, including the managers, are volunteers, and any members are welcome to volunteer to help on a committee. |
| Manager Should Be Thanked, Not Criticized (1) | |
| Keep Going Through All the Rumors (4) | |
| Appreciate the SVR Rules (1) | |
| Don’t Limit Social Events (1) | This is a volunteer organization. Not limiting the number of Social Events would turn this into a social club, which it is not. |
| Some Managers May Be Dating – Apply Rules Uniformly (1) | The rules state that you should not attend Volunteer Events if you are in a committed relationship. They have not. Managers who are dating do attend some Social Events in a managerial capacity. We see nothing wrong with keeping managers who are dating. In fact, we do not think that this organization could run if managers had to drop out every time they started dating. See the response under the section called "What Areas of SVR Could Be Improved?", where the comment was "Bend the Rules for People That Are Dating." |
| Hear Discontent Over Censoring/Control Over Message Board (1) | The only people who should have a problem with this are the ones who are having their inappropriate or harassing messages taken off the board. Some people need to ask themselves "Do over 200 other people and a bunch of non-profit organizations need to read this?" before posting their message. |
| Thanks for All Your Time and Efforts (5) | |
| Do You Follow What Other Chapters Are Doing? (1) | We do. In fact, we contact other managers periodically to ask them questions about how they handle certain situations. |
| Heard About Some of the Problems – Be Nicer (1) | We are nice to those who are nice. Those who harass or bully others will be dealt with accordingly. |
| Managers Should Be Elected With Terms Of Office Limited (1) | When we incorporate, we will have annual elections. However, we see no reason to limit terms. If people are willing and have the talents and time, let them continue. The survey response clearly shows that the current managers are doing well. |
| Policy Changes Should be Approved By General Membership (1) | The managers will continue to make policy changes, with input from the general membership. |
| System of Handling Complaints and Follow-up Action is Creating Resentment and Alienation Among Formerly Active and Devoted Members (1) | It seems that this is only true with the people who have been the center of the complaints and others to whom they pass on inaccurate information. If they are truly devoted members, then they would try to understand and support the difficult decisions that the managers were forced to make. |
| Keep Personal Conflicts To Themselves. Don’t Wreck Group With Power Plays (1) | There are no power plays. Working together in a team environment can be difficult and challenging, but the end result can be better than just "going it alone". In any team arrangement, there will be disagreements, but as long as the group handles disagreements in a respectful and professional manner, consensus can be reached. |
| Why Were Members' Profiles Removed? (1) | Two issues here - one is that we used to have a photo section, but unfortunately, some people that signed up to join our MSN Group never participated in events, but did make an effort to post a whole bunch of personal photos. We figured that they must have confused us with an online dating service. We're not. The other issue - we also have a "profile page," and some of the valid profiles were inadvertently lost when we had to do some housecleaning to remove the more than 200 people from the MSN website that weren't actually in our membership database. |
| Don’t Know Who They Are (1) | Come to the Meet and Greets! |
| Organized, Consistent, and Have Priorities Straight That SVR is About Volunteering, Not Social Events (2) | |
| Stop Terminating Members Based on Rumors and Without Being Given a Chance to Speak (1) |
Only one member has been
terminated, which was done based on consistent reports from several members. He did speak with the managers prior to the
termination.
This issue was addressed in the Special Message of |
| Listen to Input and Criticism (1) | We do listen, but that doesn’t mean that we should change things because of it. We have over 500 members with at least that many opinions. We need to consider what is best for SVR as a whole. |
| Be More Sociable (1) | Sorry - some of us put up to 20 hours a week into this group on occasion, and at times that tends to make it into another job. We'll try to be warmer. |
| Inspire Us to be More Active, Don’t Chide Us (1) | We'll try to do better. |
| Too Much Control and Rules (1) | Again, this is a group with over 500 members, all with different values and sensitivities. |
| Too Many Power Struggles and Ego Trips (1) | There are no power struggles or ego trips amongst the managers. We may have disagreements on occasion, but we have treated each other with respect, and do our best to reach a consensus on issues. |
| Like the “Meet the Managers” Evenings (1) | We will be having more! |
Suggestions for Recruiting Members (especially men)
The trick here is how to recruit more men, without attracting more women at the same time. We are already having difficulty in providing enough volunteering opportunities for women, so we don't need to recruit any more at this time.
| Ask the Men What Would Work Best (3) | Best idea yet. Men – let us know! |
| Give Free Food (1) | |
| Advertise SVR in Various Places, State female/.male ratio (Freetime, City, personals, D&C & Suburban Papers, Wegmans, churches, etc.) (6) | Yes, that will recruit people in general, but we need to specifically target men, or else we'll get a lot of women too. |
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Advertise at Regular Singles
Hangouts (G |
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| Contact Churches (1) | |
| Have a Tennis Party (1) | |
| Male-Oriented Events (2) | |
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Advertise at Male Hangouts ( |
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| Promote Word of Mouth (2) | |
| Reciprocal Agreements With Charities We Help and With Other Social Organizations (1) | Great idea. We’ll look into this. |
| Open Parties (1) | |
| Allow Members to Bring a Non-Member to a Function (1) | We’ll look into having special functions like this. |