Volunteer Toronto 2015 Annual Report 2015 | Page 2

Dear Volunteer Toronto Supporters,

Dear Friends,

During the past year, Volunteer Toronto has been working hard to implement our newly adopted program
mix and the organization has accomplished much. In addition to the important day-to-day activities of
the organization, we have completed an exhaustive review of our core program offerings and delivery
models and made improvements that will fundamentally and positively change the way in which Volunteer
Toronto serves our community. A key component of this work was the introduction of our new subscription
model and online learning centre, which will give the public easier access to our resources and volunteer
opportunities.

Fiscal 2014/15 was a year of tremendous operational change. The changes were driven by the new
program mix plan approved by the Board last year. That plan strove to broaden Volunteer Toronto’s reach
and impact.

In addition to the important front line work of Volunteer Toronto, we have also reviewed and enhanced
the organization’s governance framework to continue to maintain the public’s confidence and trust.
Specifically, we have:
• Restructured and enlarged the corporation’s membership model in an effort to make our governance
process more democratic, transparent and accountable to the community we serve. To date, 60
additional organizations and individuals have been admitted as members, eligible to vote at the
Annual General Meeting in September 2015.
• Developed and implemented a more effective process for evaluating the performance of the Executive
Director.
• Revised Volunteer Toronto’s Human Resources Policy Manual to reflect recent legislative changes and
best practices.
• Developed and implemented a new Crisis Communications Policy as an important aspect of the
organization’s risk management plan.
However, one of our greatest achievements over the course of the past year has been our success in
recruiting best-of-class directors. We have devoted considerable effort to ensuring the composition of
the Board has the right combination of experience and expertise in such areas as non-profit management,
human resources, marketing and communications, finance and accounting, law, strategy development,
and fundraising, while at the same time ensuring our Board remains reflective of the diversity of our
great city. The recent addition of Maryann Istiloglu, Geoff McIlmoyle, Noureen Ali and Maya Mboup
has resulted in a much stronger Board, one that is ready to provide strategic leadership to a flourishing
organization in the years to come.
The Board is sincerely grateful to our funders, sponsors and donors, especially the Ontario Ministry of
Health and Long-Term Care, United Way Toronto & York Region, and
the City of Toronto, for their financial support. We are also indebted to
our gifted staff and volunteers for the significant contribution they have
made in creating more engaged and giving communities.

Trevor Zeyl
Chair, Board of Directors

NOTE FROM OUR

BOARD
CHAIR

Here is a sample of our achievements:
• We completely redesigned our website and database. The website is now easier to navigate, searches
can be more targeted and the posting of volunteer opportunities by organizations has been streamlined.
For the first time, volunteers can create profiles and receive email alerts of relevant opportunities.
• A new subscription model was implemented to better support small non-profits with little funding.
A set of basic services is now available for free to non-profits with annual operating budgets of less
than $75,000.
• An Online Learning Centre and Resource Library were launched, including a variety of tools and
resources for downloading a wide range of online courses.
• VECTor, Volunteer Toronto’s first annual conference for supervisors of volunteers was a huge success,
with over 100 attendees.
• A program management organizational structure was adopted. All job descriptions were revised and
staff began tracking their time against programs. Operating plans and budgets for 2015/16 were
approved for each program. All this will facilitate the development of outcome indicators to measure
the impact of our services.
• New outreach initiatives included: Craft Your Change, an event focusing on engaging skilled volunteers;
the Trailblazer Series, a discussion series targeting people who manage completely volunteer-run
organizations; and expanding the role and hours of Referral Counsellors to better accommodate
enquiries from the general public.
The most momentous development in 2014/15 was being awarded $405,000 over three years by
Ontario’s Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade for our Grassroots Growth Project.
This project has a major research component and underpins our efforts to be a valuable resource to small,
unincorporated community groups. It will allow us to identify the unique needs of volunteer-run groups,
and develop targeted resources and an online community of practice to help address those needs.
Our organization’s success is attributable to the talented and tireless efforts of staff, Board members and
volunteers who I have the pleasure of working with every day. They are totally committed to the mission
of Volunteer Toronto.

NOTE FROM OUR

EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR

David Allen
Executive Director