Volunteer Michigan: Increasing Service in the State

What is VolunteerMICHIGAN?

 VolunteerMICHIGAN is the newest of the Michigan Community Service Commission signature programs. The initiative encompasses a number of unique volunteer engagement strategies that seek to more effectively leverage Michigan's volunteers.

By commissioning a number of different volunteer recruitment and engagement tools, VolunteerMICHIGAN targets specific and sometimes under-utilized volunteer populations such as youth, highly-skilled professionals, and seniors. These recruitment and engagement tools include youth service and service-learning, the Volunteer Generation Fund, service project mini-grants, service collaboratives, and national days of service and other volunteer promotion efforts. Through the employment of each of these different methods, VolunteerMICHIGAN strives to tap each of the state's volunteer resources and ultimately increase the number of volunteers in Michigan.

VolunteerMICHIGAN Strategies for Engagement

National Days of Service

VolunteerMICHIGAN uses National Days of Service, which include the Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service, Global Youth Service Day, and the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, to raise awareness around critical opportunities to become civically engaged.

Training & Capacity Building

In collaboration with its statewide partner, the Volunteer Centers of Michigan, VolunteerMICHIGAN offers critical training and capacity building for volunteer centers. This training and capacity building ensures volunteer infrastructure is increased in communities across the state, thus allowing more citizens to be engaged as volunteers.

Establishing Community Collaboratives

By encouraging nonprofits and other service organizations to partner together to improve the use of volunteers and leverage resources, VolunteerMICHIGAN helps communities to more effectively address needs.

Youth Service & Service- Learning

 To build a lifelong dedication to volunteering, VolunteerMICHIGAN promotes youth service and service-learning among young people. This includes school- and community-based youth engagement through service.