Core Financial Expenses for Service Enterprise Training
Organizations who commit to becoming a Service Enterprise organization will pay $320. However, the total cost of an organization participating in training and becoming certified is $3,020. Volunteer Maine covers nearly 90% of this $3,020 in order to increase feasibility and opportunity for Maine's non-profits and organizations.
See below for a breakdown of the expenses. The rows highlighted in bold are the costs paid for by the participating organization.
| Item/Service | Cost |
|---|---|
| Service Enterprise Diagnostic | $270 |
| Certification Application Fee | $50 |
| Trainer fees/expenses (Covered by Volunteer Maine) | $2,700 |
| Total | $3,020 |
Other Required Investments
Outside of the financial investment, organizations becoming Service Enterprises will need to dedicate time and staff.
These components include:
- Commitment of up to 26 hours of training and coaching
- Complete the Service Enterprise Diagnostic (SED) assessment tool.
- Appoint a lead staff member for the Service Enterprise Initiative that will receive all information and administer the SED to your organization's participants.
- At least 3 organizational representatives at each training session (of which there are 5). At least 1 of these individuals should consistently attend all 5 sessions. Also, the Executive Director is required to attend at least one session and other representatives could be seniors leaders, long-term volunteers, staff, and/or board members who are knowledgeable of the organization's volunteer engagement and management practices.
- Agree to offer 1 pro-bono training cohort upon certification
Return on Investment
This may sound daunting and off-putting, however the return on your time and financial commitments are returned to you multiple times over.
"You may feel like you don't have the time, but it will save you time as you move forward. It is a prevention model (for your organizational systems), not a crisis intervention model. It's an investment that can make a difference," explains Michelle Surdoval, Executive Director of the York Community Service Association.
"Service Enterprise forced us to become proactive in our volunteer engagement efforts rather than reactive. In less than 6 months, our Return on Volunteer Investment increased from $3.42 - $5.38" - Jessica Elbe, Northwest Compass, Inc. [from TCC Group and Deloitte Research]
Every dollar nonprofits invest in effective volunteer engagement results in up to $6 return on investment.
Research Conducted by the TTC Group Indetified these 5 Key Findings about Service Enterprise:
- All organizational capacities are significantly and markedly stronger for nonprofits with a strong volunteer management model
- When organizations engage and manage any number of volunteers well, they are significantly better led and managed
- Service Enterprises not only lead and manage better, they are significantly more adaptable, sustainable and capable of going to scale
- Operating as a Service Enterprise requires strong and well-developed human resources management practices
- Organizations that engage volunteers are equally as effective as their peers without volunteers, but at almost half the median budget
Hear a testimonial from a national Service Enterprise Initiative partner below