About CAVA
CAVA is the Cincinnati Association of Volunteer Administrators. With a history that spans nearly 30 years, CAVA has served hundreds of professionals in their careers as Leaders in Volunteer Management.
CAVA is the leading membership-based professional organization for Directors of Volunteers In Agencies (DOVIA) in Greater Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio and serves in association with the United Way of Greater Cincinnati.
CAVA provides for its members by providing professional development and educational opportunities, by promoting communication and cooperation among those managers of volunteer programs and by supporting volunteerism in the community.
CAVA is the leading membership-based professional organization for Directors of Volunteers In Agencies (DOVIA) in Greater Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio and serves in association with the United Way of Greater Cincinnati.
CAVA provides for its members by providing professional development and educational opportunities, by promoting communication and cooperation among those managers of volunteer programs and by supporting volunteerism in the community.
Our Mission
To engage, educate and enrich the communities in which we live, work and play by supporting professional Leaders of Volunteer Engagement and the volunteers within their organizations.
Our History
2011
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2010
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2009
Focus on communication and education. Social media presence started on Facebook Linked-In. Email is the priority form of communication and the board began using BigTent for online work and file sharing. Continued work onthe strategic plan based on the mission statement and the strategic objectives set in 2008. Started a Target Market silent campaign to reach out to the religious sector and gained new members, as well as a board member in this area. Brought in an internationally recognized speaker and rebuilt our skillbuilders into our most popular events. Filed an EIN and wrote a constitution as CAVA seeks its own 501-c (3) status. Had success with more people nominated for awards and had more press coverage due to the profiling of the Board. Continue to be a mission
based, volunteer run organization for Volunteer Managers at all levels of engagement.
2008
Started a webpage, started strategic objectives and had a 3 year direction for the first time.
2007
CAVA launched its website www.CincyCAVA.org. With this addition to the organization, CAVA was able to reach the hundreds of professionals in nonprofit agencies who lead Volunteer Engagement in Greater Cincinnati.
2006
AVA dissolved, thus CAVA lost its status as an affiliate member. In response to the loss of the AVA, a Congress of Volunteer Administrators Associations was formed. COVAA met in December, with the Chair of CAVA, Barbara Levine, in attendance. The delegates to COVAA selected Co-Chairs and a Steering Committee in order to meet the goals of the congress, all of which assists CAVA in promoting the profession of Leadership in Volunteer Administration.
2004
SWAP returned to the lunchtime format, again hoping for increased attendance. All communications with members is done through the Internet. With UW no longer presenting the training, CAVA sponsored the presentation of an abbreviated MVP Series, offered twice during the year. A consultant, Sarah Elliston, was paid to coordinate the series, recruit trainers and do some of the training. The flier was produced by United Way in order to accommodate their branding, and was mailed to their mailing list. Graduation is held as part of the Holiday party.
2003
CAVA hosted the International Conference on Volunteer Administration in Cincinnati with a past president serving as co-chair and members serving on the steering committee.
2002
SWAP was changed from lunchtime to breakfast to see if that would increase size of attendance, with limited success. Newsletter communication was primarily through the Internet although a few were printed for non-Internet-connected members.
2000
The schedule was revised to have the professional development workshops as the regular meeting rather than an extra meeting. This was due to feedback that a speaker for 45 minutes was too brief, and time constraints on the part of the Program Co-Chairs. The schedule was revised to be a Program Meeting of 3 hours every other month (February, April, June, August, October, December) and a SWAP networking meeting on the other months. One of the programs would be a daylong professional workshop and another would be the MVP graduation with a speaker, and Decembers was a holiday party.
1998
CAVA increased its membership fees from $20 - $50 as a move to support the international Association for Volunteer Administration; CAVA is an affiliate member. The result was fewer members (80) since Hospital Directors of Volunteer Services have their own organization and dues. Attendance at meetings was at 20 – 40 people. SWAP lunches drew between 15 and 20 people, and professional development days drew 50 – 60 people. The newsletter from the Volunteer Center was discontinued so CAVA created a newsletter that was sent to members
1997
CAVA presented several professional development programs in addition to their regular meetings, including a full day of training. This was successful and was repeated in 1998/1999 and 1999/2000. There was a minimal fee for the trainings ($10 - $30). The scheduling of the extra workshops increased the load of the Program chair so that position was increased to two people. The fliers were created by the UW staff person due to time limitations of the CAVA Executive Committee members, and because it had to be approved by the Communications Department anyway.
1992
A membership organization was formally voted into existence in March of 1992, called the Cincinnati Association for Volunteer Administrators. An executive committee was created with members serving for 2 years. Each committee member had a specific responsibility: membership, treasurer, programs, newsletter and public relations, SWAP lunch and VAC representative. Staffing from the VAC was originally by Lucy Crane, director of the VAC, and in 1998, that position was given to Sarah Elliston who held it until 2001, when Dantzler Brunswick was appointed. Sarah Elliston again served from 2002 – May 2003, and Nance Starner served until March 2004. Currently Taleen Cassidy serves as the representative of United Way’s Volunteer Connection.
Mid 1980s
A steering committee was developed to assist in the scheduling of meetings. This
led to the development of a membership organization whish met every month: one month a brown-bag lunch networking meeting and the other month a morning speaker meeting. The steering committee started to sponsor and host the graduation ceremony for the participants in the MVP series, Volunteer Management Training conducted at that time with NKU and later with The Union Institute & University. This sponsorship consisted of providing a speaker, refreshments and logistics.
1979/1980
Ruth Westheimer, a volunteer from the Advisory Committee of the Voluntary Action Center, chaired a group of volunteer coordinators who thought a network was good idea. The group included administrators of volunteers from Hospitals, Social Service Agencies and Museums. The consensus was to have the VAC chair the meetings, held at the Community Chest Building, 2400 Reading Road on the second Wednesday of every other month at 3:00 p.m. These meetings were both or networking, people introduced themselves at each meeting, and professional development with speakers to share their expertise. Fees were not charged. Marketing was through a monthly mailing by the VAC to their mailing list.
TEXT
2010
TEXT
2009
Focus on communication and education. Social media presence started on Facebook Linked-In. Email is the priority form of communication and the board began using BigTent for online work and file sharing. Continued work onthe strategic plan based on the mission statement and the strategic objectives set in 2008. Started a Target Market silent campaign to reach out to the religious sector and gained new members, as well as a board member in this area. Brought in an internationally recognized speaker and rebuilt our skillbuilders into our most popular events. Filed an EIN and wrote a constitution as CAVA seeks its own 501-c (3) status. Had success with more people nominated for awards and had more press coverage due to the profiling of the Board. Continue to be a mission
based, volunteer run organization for Volunteer Managers at all levels of engagement.
2008
Started a webpage, started strategic objectives and had a 3 year direction for the first time.
2007
CAVA launched its website www.CincyCAVA.org. With this addition to the organization, CAVA was able to reach the hundreds of professionals in nonprofit agencies who lead Volunteer Engagement in Greater Cincinnati.
2006
AVA dissolved, thus CAVA lost its status as an affiliate member. In response to the loss of the AVA, a Congress of Volunteer Administrators Associations was formed. COVAA met in December, with the Chair of CAVA, Barbara Levine, in attendance. The delegates to COVAA selected Co-Chairs and a Steering Committee in order to meet the goals of the congress, all of which assists CAVA in promoting the profession of Leadership in Volunteer Administration.
2004
SWAP returned to the lunchtime format, again hoping for increased attendance. All communications with members is done through the Internet. With UW no longer presenting the training, CAVA sponsored the presentation of an abbreviated MVP Series, offered twice during the year. A consultant, Sarah Elliston, was paid to coordinate the series, recruit trainers and do some of the training. The flier was produced by United Way in order to accommodate their branding, and was mailed to their mailing list. Graduation is held as part of the Holiday party.
2003
CAVA hosted the International Conference on Volunteer Administration in Cincinnati with a past president serving as co-chair and members serving on the steering committee.
2002
SWAP was changed from lunchtime to breakfast to see if that would increase size of attendance, with limited success. Newsletter communication was primarily through the Internet although a few were printed for non-Internet-connected members.
2000
The schedule was revised to have the professional development workshops as the regular meeting rather than an extra meeting. This was due to feedback that a speaker for 45 minutes was too brief, and time constraints on the part of the Program Co-Chairs. The schedule was revised to be a Program Meeting of 3 hours every other month (February, April, June, August, October, December) and a SWAP networking meeting on the other months. One of the programs would be a daylong professional workshop and another would be the MVP graduation with a speaker, and Decembers was a holiday party.
1998
CAVA increased its membership fees from $20 - $50 as a move to support the international Association for Volunteer Administration; CAVA is an affiliate member. The result was fewer members (80) since Hospital Directors of Volunteer Services have their own organization and dues. Attendance at meetings was at 20 – 40 people. SWAP lunches drew between 15 and 20 people, and professional development days drew 50 – 60 people. The newsletter from the Volunteer Center was discontinued so CAVA created a newsletter that was sent to members
1997
CAVA presented several professional development programs in addition to their regular meetings, including a full day of training. This was successful and was repeated in 1998/1999 and 1999/2000. There was a minimal fee for the trainings ($10 - $30). The scheduling of the extra workshops increased the load of the Program chair so that position was increased to two people. The fliers were created by the UW staff person due to time limitations of the CAVA Executive Committee members, and because it had to be approved by the Communications Department anyway.
1992
A membership organization was formally voted into existence in March of 1992, called the Cincinnati Association for Volunteer Administrators. An executive committee was created with members serving for 2 years. Each committee member had a specific responsibility: membership, treasurer, programs, newsletter and public relations, SWAP lunch and VAC representative. Staffing from the VAC was originally by Lucy Crane, director of the VAC, and in 1998, that position was given to Sarah Elliston who held it until 2001, when Dantzler Brunswick was appointed. Sarah Elliston again served from 2002 – May 2003, and Nance Starner served until March 2004. Currently Taleen Cassidy serves as the representative of United Way’s Volunteer Connection.
Mid 1980s
A steering committee was developed to assist in the scheduling of meetings. This
led to the development of a membership organization whish met every month: one month a brown-bag lunch networking meeting and the other month a morning speaker meeting. The steering committee started to sponsor and host the graduation ceremony for the participants in the MVP series, Volunteer Management Training conducted at that time with NKU and later with The Union Institute & University. This sponsorship consisted of providing a speaker, refreshments and logistics.
1979/1980
Ruth Westheimer, a volunteer from the Advisory Committee of the Voluntary Action Center, chaired a group of volunteer coordinators who thought a network was good idea. The group included administrators of volunteers from Hospitals, Social Service Agencies and Museums. The consensus was to have the VAC chair the meetings, held at the Community Chest Building, 2400 Reading Road on the second Wednesday of every other month at 3:00 p.m. These meetings were both or networking, people introduced themselves at each meeting, and professional development with speakers to share their expertise. Fees were not charged. Marketing was through a monthly mailing by the VAC to their mailing list.
