Announcing the 2020 Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year!

One of the great hallmarks of the Points of Light Conference is recognizing individuals and organizations that take action that changes the world. Although the experience may be different this year, this tradition of recognition carries on.

Today, Points of Light is honoring Corporate Volunteers of New York as the 2020 Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year for serving as a primary local resource that provides professionals with a link to peer networks, resources, and education to increase the benefits of corporate volunteerism on companies and communities. The award recognizes councils that have a clear purpose, meaningful educational activities, and measurements for success.

Since its founding in 1972, Corporate Volunteers of New York has served as a resource for CSR professionals working in greater New York City. CVNY is a coalition of 200+ professionals who represent more than 55 major corporations from a variety of industries that recognize the critical importance of volunteerism, corporate social responsibility, and the changing needs in the communities in which we all work and live. CVNY connects its members to peers, industry resources, and offers education through various ways to increase members’ knowledge and expertise, which will maximize the effectiveness of their respective employee volunteer programs.

Monthly meetings provide members with the latest best practices, tactics and tools and take a variety of formats. After each meeting, the board disseminates a brief recap to members, including contact information or follow-up information so members can learn more or reach out if interested in pursuing a particular program or nonprofit partnership.

Although other CVCs across the nation may weave professional development into their events, CVNY puts a focus on it by offering an annual Professional Development Day designed to help members succeed personally and professionally. During their most recent event, members were challenged to put aside their preconceived notions and dig in at sessions entitled, Balance is Bullsh*t, Tough Conversations, and Effortless Networking. CVNY also hosts two annual social activities that encourage discussion and collaboration among members, and provide a unique opportunity to learn about members’ priorities in a more casual setting.

In addition to monthly meetings and annual events, CVNY provides members with an online discussion forum on LinkedIn, a members-only section of their website, as well as an annual report that highlights the past year’s programming and accomplishments. As a service to members, CVNY distributes an annual Compensation Survey, and shares the anonymous results to their members. This resource can help member companies ensure they are benchmarking appropriately with their local peers.

The volunteer CVNY board, solely responsible for the maintenance of the organization, is constantly seeking to improve programming, provide more value for current members, and grow membership overall. Using responses from member surveys and informal feedback sessions, CVNY’s board meets each year during an annual planning retreat to adjust offerings to ensure the success of members’ volunteer programs, pulling topics for the upcoming program year directly from suggestions elicited from the previous year’s member survey.

As community needs change, CVNY consistently adapts to meet those needs. Most recently, they have shifted meetings to virtual, moderated COVID-19 discussions as a way to reflect current members’ needs. Points of Light celebrates CVNY’s long-standing commitment to their members and the greater New York community—especially in these challenging times—and is proud to recognize them as the 2020 Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year.

To learn more about Corporate Volunteers of New York, click here.