Overview: Member volunteers contribute to IAVM’s success in achieving the strategy and direction set by the President and CEO. The IAVM Volunteer Program outlines the framework to ensure that members who engage in volunteerism at the international level have consistent experiences during their volunteer engagement. Purpose: IAVM requires volunteers to carry out various functions of the organization. Member volunteers have various needs at any time in the organization. For IAVM to align opportunities with those interested members, we need a framework that all volunteer opportunities adhere to. Committee structure:  As established by the President and CEO for all management committees and the Chair of the Board of Directors for all board committees.

All volunteers must agree to and abide by the IAVM Volunteer Code of Conduct.

• Be Considerate – You are working with others as a team so be considerate of how your actions or contribution affects your colleagues and the association as a whole.
• Be Respectful – Treat other IAVM members, committee members and staff with respect in words, tone and action.
• Be Available – Check your e-mails regularly and answer them promptly—even if it’s “I’ll get back to you.”
• Be Honest – Sometimes the hardest thing to say is “no” or admit you’ve forgotten to do something. Be honest with each other and yourself with regards to what you say and what you can realistically commit to do.
• Confidentiality – Volunteers are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of all proprietary or privileged information to which they are exposed while serving as a volunteer, whether this information involves a single staff, volunteer, client, or other person or involves overall association business. Failure to maintain confidentiality may result in termination of the volunteer’s relationship with the committee or other corrective action.

• Committee Member:
  • Participate in discussions and meetings of the committee.
  • Participate in the work as outlined by the President and CEO/Chair to complete.
  • Vote as necessary on committee work.
  • Be actively engaged in IAVM membership recruitment and retention programs/offerings.
• Committee Chair:
  • Set direction for what is and is not included in committee work as established by the President and CEO/Chair.
  • Call any necessary meetings and set agendas.
  • Facilitate conversation and actions to reach committee deliverables.
  • Work in collaboration with Staff Liaison.
• Committee Vice Chair:
  • In the absence of the Committee Chair, run meetings and set agendas.
  • Work with any sub-committees created in collaboration with the Staff Liaison.
  • Work in tandem with the Committee Chair to reach committee deliverables.
• Staff Liaison:
  • Support and guide the committee chair and members in accomplishing outlined deliverables.
  • Gather data and information to ensure that the chair and committee are informed. When necessary, facilitate the discussion of others outside of the committee (members, staff, etc.) for the committee to fulfill their role.
  • Serve as a resource to the committee based on their professional area of expertise.
  • Provide information on previous efforts and activities to inform decisions.
  • Provide minutes from each meeting to the committee.
  • Work in collaboration with the Committee Chair to achieve results.
  • The Primary Liaison is the key staff who carries out most of the work. Secondary Liaison serves as a backup and support to the Primary Liaison.

A call for all current committee members who are interested in committee leadership will be made.

• An application will be provided for each individual interested to submit for consideration.
• The applications will be reviewed by the current committee leadership and staff liaison. A recommendation will be made to the President and CEO for consideration and approval.
• Once approved, all applicants will be notified of their status.
• The new Vice Chair will participate with the current leadership and staff liaison on review and selection of committee members.

A call for volunteers who are interested in serving on an IAVM committee will be made annually.

• Chair works with Staff to outline the tasks, needs, and/or work opportunities prior to the call for volunteers. These are to be approved by the President and CEO prior to the call for volunteers.
• Provide the timeframe needed (one-time opportunity for one hour, a year-long committee appointment, etc.)
• State anticipated outcomes.
• Once deadline has passed, The Director of Governance will provide a list of applications to the committee chair and staff liaison. They are reviewed together and recommendations on draft appointments are provided to the President and CEO/Chair for review and approval.

• Volunteers will participate to the extent to which they can. We realize that volunteering is one of the many things occurring in one’s life, and we respect that.
• Volunteers will provide, when possible, notification of being unable to participate in certain aspects of an effort or not meeting a deadline as previously outlined.
• Volunteers will work in the organization’s best interest and the opportunity they are engaged in. Their focus will be on the membership’s whole best interest rather than what they want to see.
• If a volunteer misses 2 meetings in a row without providing a reason for their absence, the Director of Governance will reach out to determine if the volunteer’s commitment, time, or availability to serve has changed.

After a volunteer engagement, the following should occur:

• The committee chair notifies the volunteer that the end of their term is up.
• The committee chair and the HQ staff thank the volunteer for their service.
• The committee chair provides volunteers with an update on their work status.
• The Director of Governance ensures that all volunteer activity in the database is current to show the ending of their service.

February – May

• President and CEO/Chair approve committee chairs and appointments.
• Committee chairs review charges and objectives with Staff Liaisons.
• Establish any volunteer needs for the committee.
• Call for Volunteers Application is set up and distributed.

June

• Select members and input into the system.
• Thank volunteers for their efforts over the year – official automated email to all volunteers sent from the HQ on behalf of President and CEO/Chair.
• Encourage committee chairs to also thank the volunteers directly.

August

• Hold a kick-off meeting and layout plan for the year and how it connects to the strategy.

Remainder of volunteer term

• Do work outlined.
• Provided updates and requests as needed.