Volunteer Toronto 2015 Annual Report 2015 | Page 10

NEW
FUNDING

FIRST
CONFERENCE

ECTor

Volunteering, Engaging, Connecting Toronto

n February of 2015, Volunteer Toronto was awarded a $405,000 partnership grant by
the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade to implement a
three-year project focused on volunteer-run organizations in Ontario. The aim of the project
is to support these organizations in effectively managing their volunteers, by providing
tailored workshops, resources and mentoring.

I

T

Over half of all non-profit and voluntary organizations in Ontario (53%) have no paid staff,
and are run solely by the efforts of volunteers. Such non-profits struggle with volunteer
management and can find it hard to further their work without a stable, committed
volunteer base. By developing materials, training and an online community of practice,
these organizations will be able to increase the number of volunteers they work with,
provide meaningful volunteer opportunities and have an engaged supporter base in place
to enable them to further their missions.

Over 100 people from Toronto’s voluntary sector attended the conference and took part
in the day’s diverse workshop and panel offerings ranging from Digital Storytelling and
Social Media Content Creation to Community Collaboration and Youth Engagement. The
opening keynote was delivered by Andrea Cohen Barrack, CEO of the Ontario Trillium
Foundation, and provided excellent insight into how volunteerism contributes to healthy,
engaged communities across Ontario. The closing panel moderated by Robin Cardozo,
COO of the SickKids Foundation, was a fascinating discussion between leaders in the
sector, which offered a wealth of information about engaging groups of volunteers.

he 2015 VECTor Conference took place on March 11, 2015 at Ryerson University’s
Oakham House. VECTor, which stands for “Volunteer