Reaching Out Together
The Partnership Dialogue begins – AVA reaching out towards DOVIA-type associations. At the same time, these associations are beginning to "build upwards" towards AVA, forming coalitions and regional associations of their own. A coalition of Southern California DOVIAs was one big reason for the success of the first DOVIA Day at Anaheim in 1994. Iris Whitaker, President of the Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale) DOVS tells us that local professional associations in south Florida (including one for health care volunteer directors) are beginning to coalesce in the same way. In Arizona, Judy Bottorf and colleagues at PROVOL are helping new DOVIAs get started and connecting them to existing ones. The Texas DOVIA Network has pioneered statewide associations of DOVIAs, and recently had its own DOVIA Day at a state conference. Now comes great news: the birth of DOVIA Washington State. Lynn Felsinger, President of DOVIA of King County (206/442-2148) writes: "The DOVIA of King County Conference Committee tracked down and personally invited representatives from as many DOVIAs across the state as we could identify. The Board offered home stays to long-distance travelers. Those at the initial meeting felt a need and commitment to develop a statewide network. At our second meeting we named ourselves DOVIA Washington and developed a mission statement: DOVIA Washington provides a statewide communication and resource network to benefit membership organizations of volunteer managers." Please note that the target is mainly DOVIAs as organizations. One danger in a statewide network is that it will become a competitive alternative to its local DOVIA members, rather than simply a way of strengthening them through networking. For DOVIA Washington, the desire to network already goes beyond mere rhetoric. They sponsor an Online Exchange for Washington State Volunteer Coordinators called CyberVPM. For more on this, call Nan Hawthorne at 206/525-2104 (or e-mail her at penguin@halcyon.com).

Simplicity And Sophistication
It’s not "either/or", we need them both. Now matter how "technical" we get we must never forget fundamentals such as "…DOVIA members discover each month that just talking to another volunteer coordinator is one of the best problem solving techniques we can use." (Vicki Dean, editor of DOVIA Update, Tarrant County, TX) This kind of simplicity, just allowing folks the chance to talk to each other, is still no excuse for slapdash performance on matters needing detailed planning. Thus the Michigan Association of Volunteer Administrators (MAVA) in its excellent newsletter Volunteer Advance illustrates the difference between a casual kind of mentoring program for association members, and doing the job right. Both potential mentors and mentees fill out a thorough "Membership Survey" which is used by a MAVA Mentorship Coordinator in making the best possible matches. Another example: the Metropolitan Detroit Volunteer Administrators Association didn’t just give a $500 scholarship for a representative at DOVIA Day at ICVA in Boston. They laid out specific requirements such as taking good notes, reporting back, service on a follow-up committee, and (most interesting of all) commitment to match the scholarship with enough agency/individual funds to pay attendance expenses completely.

Farewell
With this issue the DOVIA Exchange ends its years as part of Grapevine. They have been good years. More people than ever before were reached. Sue Vineyard and Steve McCurley were unfailingly supportive and encouraging. Thanks, folks. I now begin a six-month or more sabbatical after which it’s likely the DOVIA Exchange, or something like it, will resume, probably with a fresh editor. Steve, Sue, and I agree that sponsorship and siting of the future Exchange should be more reflective of the emerging partnership between DOVIAs and AVA. Meanwhile, there’s some likelihood I’ll be writing a column for Grapevine on other matters.

A Note From The Editors:
Ivan will be back, or else he’ll have a lot of explaining to do. We only agreed to let go of the DOVIA Exchange if he would keep writing for us. The only difference is that he now can write about anything he wants. Since Ivan basically invented volunteer management, we expect interesting things in the future, so watch this space.