Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Do you know that 40% of San Diego households volunteer and understand the importance of this essential form of philanthropy (love of humanity)?
This week’s post speaks to the importance of volunteering both for our community and for ourselves!
As President of the NCPC I’m delighted to spread the word about NCPC’s Volunteer Awards Celebration (VAC) coming up on April 10th from 2 to 5:30pm. Please spread the word and nominate your volunteer for 2026!
If you are not familiar with it, VAC is our annual event now in its 39th year, dedicated to recognizing the outstanding volunteers who support nonprofit organizations across our region. We encourage every organization to nominate one volunteer for recognition. Submitting a nomination is free, though we do ask nominating organizations to cover their nominee’s ticket ($125 per seat; tables of 10 are $1,200) to attend the event. All nominated volunteers are recognized on stage by name and organization and will receive a trophy and a certificate from the County Board of Supervisors in appreciation of their service.
As you might recall, at the end of last year NCPC was honored with a Proclamation from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for Exemplifying the Highest Ideals of Public Service.
You can see a short vid of Supervisor Jim Desmond awarding us the proclamation for Outstanding Service, Leadership and Commitment to the Citizens of San Diego County here:
As we prep for Global Volunteer Month, we welcome all of San Diego’s 13,000 nonprofits to take a moment to celebrate their incredible volunteers, without whom so much critical work simply would not get done. And in current challenging times we need them more than ever!
This year’s VAC celebration will take place April 10 at the Rancho Bernardo Inn and promises to be a joy filled experience. Guests will enjoy tray-passed appetizers, a cash bar, and live entertainment from our band Strange Crew. We are also honored to welcome Grant Oliphant, CEO of the Prebys Foundation, as our keynote speaker, Carlo Cecchetto of CBS8 will serve as our MC, and local media will be there to love up our amazing volunteers and the causes they care about.
We are actively seeking sponsors, nominees, and attendees with a March 20th deadline. Nominations can be submitted HERE, and tickets can be purchased HERE.
Why Volunteer and Celebrate Volunteerism:
As with all nonprofits, a great deal of focus is placed on the “Treasurer’s Report”, but as we all know it takes talent as well as time to achieve sustainable success in any mission driven enterprise. We can tackle ties and testimony separately… Perhaps social purpose organizations should include a Talent Report– tracking and affirming those that share their talents back with its stakeholders, as well as a Time Report– tracking and affirming volunteerism in every flavor.
What you Measure Gets Done, what you Reward STAYS done
Ideally, this will increase strategic volunteerism and talent engagement which in turn will INCREASE monetary contributions as it is empirically proven that those that commit time and talent get MORE anchored to the cause and are more likely to engage others in its collective success.
(First friend-raising then fund-raising)
Interestingly, consumer sentiment supports this notion as we are increasingly values driven! Volunteerism is in vogue and good for you!
Altruism improves happiness and well-being, research finds – The Washington Post
Over the years, several brand attributes have had large up ticks including high quality up 124%, friendly up 79%, socially responsible up 63%, and leader up 40%.
But the brand attribute with the highest lift at 341% is Kindness!
Practicing Conscious Acts of Kindness dignifies the very essence of our humanity and uplifts society.
Most organizations keep score with important metrics.
However, another key metric- from a social purpose standpoint- is our investment of discretionary energy-as expressed in our time
Isn’t it amazing that in our overscheduled, over-achieving, time starved lives we find the discretionary energy to volunteer for those things that really matter?
In the conceptual age, the currency of influence is attention.
Paying bills is one thing
Paying attention is quite another!
Time is more important than money
We can re-earn money, but we never get this time back.
The Japanese have an expression for this:
Ichi e Ichi go (this moment is unprecedented, this moment is unrepeatable)
Attention is the currency of time well spent, where you really get to keep the change
When we give our time with purpose, we give our most precious asset- our energy, applying the law of concentrated attention, “That which we focus on manifests!”
It is true when they say, we are judged by the company we keep!
Hanging out with volunteers is a predictive variable in the quality of YOUR life and those around you
- Intrinsically motivated people like you are compelled by different things than basic reward and punishment, or the proverbial carrot and stick
- We are powered by autonomy, mastery, and purpose
Volunteers see things differently and experience time differently. In other words, we have a different relationship to time.
Most people consume or spend time; volunteers produce or invest time.
I will prove that we see things differently. Look at the web address below and tell me what you see…
Some see nowhere
Some see now here
We don’t see what is; we see what we want to see, or what we are conditioned to see.
Let’s not allow ourselves to become victims of attentional blindness.
Be present, Be involved, Be the difference.
On behalf of our extended community, thank you for your active engagement in causes that matter!
Our world is a better place because of YOU…
Spread the Word about VAC, please nominate a volunteer and Pay it Forward!
Love,
Neville
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”- Cicero
Happy Soul Food Friday! 