Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership
Change Starts Here
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Executive Search
When nonprofit organizations experience leadership transitions, many lack the time or resources to maintain stability and resilience. CVNL’s Executive Search provides successful full-cycle executive recruiting for nonprofit organizations. We offer expert support in executive search, interim leadership placement, and succession planning. CVNL has placed leaders in positions such as Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Development, Chief Operations Officer, and many more. CVNL maintains a vibrant interim leadership placement program to facilitate successful leadership transitions for all executive and senior management positions with nonprofits. We tap our vetted pool of experienced interim executive directors, proven search methods, and extensive nonprofit management resources to support organizations through all stages of transition.
Leadership Training
Leadership education and training opportunities for professional development are just as important for nonprofits as they are for businesses or government. Inviting an outside perspective results in stronger, smarter teams, ultimately creating more resilient organizations. From board chairs to program officers, CVNL understands the professional needs of nonprofit leaders at every level. Access multiple opportunities and events directly on the CVNL Calendar.
CVNL offers a collection of leadership training programs and curriculum we've developed resulting from over 50 years of experience serving nonprofits. CVNL meets you where you are now, offering a variety of courses covering core areas such as governance, communications, financial and human resources, and volunteer management, in multiple formats: face-to-face, cohort, series, and on-demand.
Consulting Services
CVNL partners with nonprofits in addressing their unique needs through customized consulting solutions developed and led by seasoned nonprofit professionals. We understand that each nonprofit client and situation is unique. We are committed to providing expert guidance and professional resources that support nonprofits in advancing their mission. Leveraging the passions and talents of nonprofit leaders and complimenting them with our own expertise, we extend your capacity to plan, do, and progress. Applying a service and outcomes-focused approach, we help you achieve greater impact.
CVNL takes a client-centered approach with its consulting projects. We see this work as a partnership and we are committed to your satisfaction. The feedback we’ve received from past clients speaks to our effectiveness in delivering both a meaningful and engaging process as well as high quality results.
Volunteer Services
For every well-meaning individual wishing to give back to his or her community, there are many organizations searching for a volunteer to help them deliver on their mission. Using our interactive Volunteer Portal, CVNL connects these local leaders to the causes that both meet their interests and need their help. We are committed to helping local leaders of all ages, skill-levels, and backgrounds obtain the information they need to pursue their passion.
Managing and retaining volunteers is important to nonprofits of every size and mission. CVNL understands that finding the well-meaning individuals that fit their project needs is just the first step. We’re here to guide nonprofits, companies, the community and other local leaders in creating and managing volunteer projects that run smoothly and deliver on their missions. When we make that match, we ensure that organizations get the support they need to sustain a happy, healthy volunteer base.
Community Events
CVNL hosts events throughout the year to celebrate and elevate the contributions of individuals and organizations that drive change in their communities.
Heart Events
CVNL’s recognition events — Heart of Marin, Heart of Napa, and Heart of Sonoma County — are dedicated to lifting up local leaders, volunteers, and nonprofits. These individuals and organizations champion, protect, and advance our community — when they are recognized and supported for their work, we all benefit. Read more about our events below.
Human Race
Over the past 4 decades, the Human Race has raised over $25 million dollars for nearly 7,700 local nonprofits. The Human Race is a convenient fundraising platform – CVNL does the legwork and manages the logistics of producing the 5k fun run event, and nonprofits benefit as we involve local business partners and community members. The Human Race helps raise vital funds for nonprofits, schools, and agencies to continue doing their important work in Sonoma County.
Where we work
Awards
Award for Excellence 2011
George W. Romney
Daily Point of Light Award 2012
Points of Light Institute
Affiliations & memberships
Points of Light Foundation 2007
Hands On Network 2010
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We advance nonprofits and volunteerism by strengthening leadership, encouraging innovation and empowering individuals in our community.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
CVNL knows that passion alone isn't enough when it comes to creating strong nonprofits. CVNL works with aspiring and established leaders every day to help them build the skills and connections that can take their impact to the next level.
Executive Search and Transition Services - CVNL provides full-cycle executive recruiting for nonprofit organizations. We offer expert support in executive search, interim leadership placement, and succession planning. Our comprehensive approach to helps organizations maintain strong operations during a turnaround or transition period.
Consulting Services - CVNL partners with nonprofits in addressing their unique needs through customized consulting solutions developed and led by seasoned nonprofit professionals. We provide expert guidance and professional resources via a client-centered approach that supports nonprofits in advancing their mission and increasing their impact.
Leadership Programs - Leadership education and training opportunities for professional development are just as important for nonprofits as they are for businesses or government. Inviting an outside perspective results in stronger, smarter teams, ultimately creating more resilient organizations. From board chairs to program officers, CVNL understands the professional needs of nonprofit leaders at every level. We're here to connect them to the skills, confidence, and connections they need to take their leadership to the next level via workshops, trainings, and custom-designed programs.
Volunteer Services – CVNL guides nonprofits, companies, t he community and other local leaders in creating and managing volunteer projects that run smoothly and deliver on their missions. We also bring together local volunteers of all ages, skill-levels, and backgrounds and helps them connect with the causes that both meet their interests and need their help.
Special events – CVNL hosts events throughout the year to celebrate and elevate the contributions of individuals and organizations that drive change in their communities.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Since 1964, the national award-winning Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL) has advanced nonprofits and volunteerism throughout the Bay Area. Our staff are seasoned nonprofit professionals with hands on experience leading nonprofit organizations, serving the community and advancing social change. We are skilled facilitators, trainers, coaches, planners and managers who are invested in advancing success within the nonprofit sector.
Our new location is designed with meeting spaces to maximize opportunities for nonprofit leaders. Providing a convening space for nonprofit leaders is one critical way that we support successful, sustainable change efforts and healthy, happy communities. Strategic partnerships also allow us to deliver services to a wider range of organizations and leaders. For example, our relationship with the Foundation Center gives us the ability to offer a comprehensive and innovative grants database to the entire community, as well as deliver high quality trainings on fundraising topics, free of charge.
Our relationship with CaliforniaVolunteers and the Points of Light gives us the ability to certify organizations as Service Enterprise agencies. With this certification, each organization joins a prestigious group of agencies both in California and nationwide that has demonstrated a commitment to strategically leveraging volunteers to deliver on their social missions.
CVNL continues to see growth among its membership base, comprised of nonprofits, businesses, government entities, and individuals who support the sector. CVNL's Membership Program brings local leaders the expert guidance and essentials needed to achieve greater impact. Members access valuable resources, services and further develop their professional skills.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
2015 HIGHLIGHTS
Volunteer Napa
1. Connected 1,750 individuals to meaningful service opportunities online using an easily-accessible matching database.
2. Supported approximately 60 nonprofit leaders in marketing their volunteer opportunities using CVNL's online platform.
Professional Development
1. Launched the first CEO/Executive Director Roundtable on May 20, designed for leaders seeking to get and give peer support and coaching around common leadership challenges.
2. Developed curriculum for the Emerging Leaders Program.
Service Enterprise Initiative (SEI)
1. Trained five organizations in spring 2015 to leverage volunteers and their skills across all organizational levels.
2. Provided technical assistance and consulting to eight organizations.
Disaster Response and Recovery
1. Established the Emergency Volunteer Center (EVC) on August 24, immediately following the earthquake in Napa. Responded by deploying volunteers and addressing important concerns of walk-in clients. In the 14 days following the earthquake, we deployed 282 volunteers, totaling 1,230 hours.
2. Provided volunteers to SyNERGy (Long Term Recovery Group) which will continue for an estimated time of three years.
Training
CVNL facilitated and/or delivered a total of 54 conversations, workshops, trainings, and/or forums that addressed issues such as demographic shifts, people investment, board roles and responsibilities, volunteer management, fundraising and fund diversification, and culture.
In particular, CVNL introduced the Speaker Series in 2014 to support nonprofits in implementing the important findings from the 2013 Nonprofit Landscape Study: “Resilience, Resourcefulness, and Recovery." Seven sessions took place in 2014/2015, with a total of 134 people attending the Forum events.
95% of participants reported that they would use the tools and templates provided in the training for increasing effectiveness in communication across cultures at their own organizations. Additionally, 100% of participants reported that they would begin to practice mitigating power differentials within their organizations, as demonstrated through a follow-up survey.
CVNL metrics-capturing has revealed positive trends for improved collaboration among nonprofits in Marin. In FY 14/15, CVNL offered 34 workshops and 20 affinity group meetings, which drew at total of 780 attendees.
Pre-and-post surveys reveal positive gains in participant knowledge and skills; follow-up surveys show that participant commitment is high when it comes to changing or modifying behaviors and/or communication that will have a positive impact on their organizations. Against a backdrop of continued resource strain, CVNL is able to make progress because it chooses to frame its services around a collective approach for improving the sustainability and vitality of the nonprofit sector.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership
Board of directorsas of 01/25/2024
Luana Vaetoe
Becoming Independent
Term: 2023 - 2025
Dave Canny
PG&E
Chris Osborn
U.S. Bank
Nancy McKenney
Marin Humane Society
Rob Devincenzi
Marin Independent Journal
Mike Silva
Comerica Bank
Jeff Boehm
Marine Mammal Center
Tiffany Bagala
Sandler Partners
Luana Vaetoe
Becoming Independent
Christine Garcia
Side by Side
Diane Hernandez
Kaiser Permanente
Margaret Sluyk
Reach for Home
Pablo Zatarain
Fair Housing Napa Valley
Kevin Kearney
Kevin Kearney Real Estate Group
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/24/2024GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.