Announcing the 2017 Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year

At the 2017 Conference on Volunteering and Service yesterday, Points of Light honored the Corporate Volunteerism Council – Twin Cities as 2017 Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year for serving as a primary local resource for encouraging, educating and connecting businesses that support employee volunteerism.

Corporate Volunteer Councils are local networks that businesses join to share best practices and address community needs through workplace volunteering. The Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year Award recognizes councils that have a clear purpose, meaningful educational activities, and measurements for success. All entries are reviewed and a winner is selected by an awards committee comprised of national Corporate Volunteer Council leaders and supporters convened by Points of Light.

The Corporate Volunteerism Council – Twin Cities was presented the award by Points of Light board member Jeff Hoffman during the conference’s Civic 50 Gala. Scott Cummings, Minneapolis market development director for Accenture and 2016 CVC-TC president, accepted the award on the organization’s behalf. 

The CVC-TC connects members to local issues, volunteerism best practices, and community and national trends through networking, programming, and promoting significant events such as National Volunteer Week. Since its founding in 1980, it has provided corporate members with opportunities to increase their skills through ongoing engagement – balancing networking events and an annual awards celebration with content-rich programs that dually meet the needs of members with sophisticated CSR programs and those who have recently started their corporate volunteer efforts.

Their membership structure provides for strong community connections by including one nonprofit member for every four corporate members. This offers members a strong local network and direct access to volunteer opportunities. Cross-sector collaboration is woven into how the CVC-TC operates; businesses and nonprofits regularly work together to best meet the needs of the Twin Cities community. One shining example of this is the award-winning Twin Cities Corporate Giving Garden Network, with 20+ CVC-TC members growing fresh produce on their corporate campuses to help stock local food shelves and feed hungry neighbors. More than 40,000 pounds of fresh produce has been grown and donated in the last 8 years.

“We are so fortunate in the Twin Cities to have a culture that values volunteerism as a powerful tool in making our community thrive,” said Jenny Moe, manager of corporate social responsibility for Target. “We are even luckier that we have the Corporate Volunteerism Council – Twin Cities to help support this culture through facilitating nonprofit and corporate collaboration, learning and networking opportunities.”

CVC-TC members also volunteer their own time to help educate and bring along newer members. The annual CVC-TC Pro Bono Consulting Project provides resources to new members who are looking to both benchmark and improve their volunteer programs. The CVC-TC has also launched an innovative Twitter book club (#CVCTCbookclub) to increase online engagement with CVC-TC and support the professional development of its members.

Sarah Richter, senior manager of community relations at Ameriprise Financial, shared: “The Corporate Volunteerism Council – Twin Cities has been so valuable for Ameriprise Financial. From networking, to learning and sharing best practices, I know I can benchmark my peers whenever I have a question. As a community rooted in philanthropy, this group continues to elevate and demonstrate that volunteerism is good for business and community.”

Learn more about the Corporate Volunteerism Council – Twin Cities.