Handson Twin Cities

HANDSON TWIN CITIES WORKS TO INSPIRE, EQUIP AND MOBILIZE PEOPLE TO PROVIDE HANDS ON IMPACT TO SOLVE THE MOST PRESSING CHALLENGES IN OUR COMMUNITY.

VOLUNTEER MOBILIZATION:AT HANDSON WE MAKE IT EASY TO TRANSFORM YOUR PASSION TO ACTION. WE CONNECT PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES THAT ALIGN THEIR SKILLS AND INTERESTS.BUILDING ON 103 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS THE NATION'S OLDEST SURVIVING VOLUNTEER CENTER, HANDSON TWIN CITIES AND OUR MORE THAN 650 NONPROFIT PARTNERS HELP OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TURN THEIR PASSION TO ACTION THROUGH VOLUNTEERISM. WE SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS WHO WANT TO VOLUNTEER AS AN EFFECTIVE REFERRAL SOURCE, WE SUPPORT NONPROFITS IN THEIR ABILITY TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN VOLUNTEERS, AND WE STRATEGICALLY CONSULT WITH CORPORATIONS IN THEIR EFFORTS TO INCORPORATE VOLUNTEERISM INTO THEIR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STRATEGY.WE BELIEVE THAT VOLUNTEERISM CAN REINFORCE PATTERNS OF POWER AND PRIVILEGE, HOWEVER, WHEN THOUGHTFULLY DESIGNED, IT CAN BE A PART OF SUPPORTING AN END TO RACIAL INEQUITY AND SOCIAL INJUSTICE. THEREFORE, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO DEVELOP A HOST OF RESOURCES AND EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO CONTEXTUALIZE THE VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE AND BETTER PREPARE INDIVIDUALS TO SERVE COMMUNITY.IN 2021 WE LAUNCHED THE PODCAST "REDEFINING VOLUNTEERISM," WE CONTINUED BOLD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT VOLUNTEERISM AND EQUITY, AND FEATURED HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR PARTNERS THAT HELP CONTEXTUALIZE THE VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE, ALONG WITH THE CONTINUED OFFERING OF 1 CITY, 2 REALITIES, THE VIRTUAL REALITY EXHIBIT THAT HIGHLIGHTS SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. DESPITE THE CONTINUED CHALLENGES RELATED TO THE COVID PANDEMIC, THIS YEAR HANDSON TWIN CITIES DISTRIBUTED MORE THAN 66,000 CUSTOMIZED KITS (SNACK PACKS, HYGIENE KITS, ETC.), ENGAGED ABOUT 8,000 CORPORATE VOLUNTEERS, HOSTED MORE THAN 30 VIRTUAL VOLUNTEER PROJECTS, AND PROVIDED APPROXIMATELY $250,000 IN SUPPLIES AND GRANTS TO NONPROFIT PARTNERS.NEARLY 19,000 INDIVIDUALS ARE REGISTERED USERS OF THE HANDSON TWIN CITIES VOLUNTEER DATABASE AND THE SITE IS A POWERFUL YEAR-ROUND FORCE FOR CONNECTING INDIVIDUALS WHO WANT TO VOLUNTEER WITH THE MOST PRESSING NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.

CAPACITY BUILDING:HANDSON TWIN CITIES CONTINUES TO EXPAND OUR PRO BONO ADVISORY PROGRAM, WHICH SUPPORTS NONPROFITS AND SMALL BUSINESSES THROUGH HIGH-IMPACT CAPACITY-BUILDING PRO BONO PROJECTS BY LEVERAGING CORPORATE SECTOR TALENT.THROUGH OUR PRO BONO ADVISORY PROGRAM, WE TAILOR PRO BONO OPPORTUNITIES FOR CORPORATE PARTNERS THAT MAKE A HUGE IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITIES. IN WORKING WITH A CORPORATE PARTNER, WE TAKE A FULLY CUSTOMIZED CONSULTATIVE APPROACH TO ANY CREATION OF AN INTERNAL CORPORATE PRO BONO PROGRAM. FROM QUICK CONSULTATIONS TO DAY-LONG HACKATHONS; FROM ROBUST 12-WEEK PROJECTS TO IN-DEPTH YEAR-LONG LOANED-EMPLOYEE PROGRAMS; THE ENGAGEMENTS RANGE GREATLY DEPENDING ON COMMUNITY NEED, CORPORATE CAPABILITIES AVAILABLE, AND CAPACITY TO PROVIDE.CONNECTED FOR CHANGE DAYS (FORMERLY KNOWN AS IMPACT DAYS) ARE DAY-LONG, HACKATHON-STYLE WORKSHOPS THAT LEVERAGE CORPORATE SECTOR TALENT FOR SOCIAL SECTOR NEEDS. WE PAIR NONPROFITS IN NEED OF CAPACITY-BUILDING SUPPORT TO A TEAM OF EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELD WHO GIVE THEIR TIME PRO BONO TO TACKLE CHALLENGES AND DEVELOP TANGIBLE SOLUTIONS. WE OFFERED FOUR IMPACT DAY EVENTS PER YEAR WITHIN THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONAL AREAS: STRATEGY, HR, MARKETING, AND TECHNOLOGY. PARTICIPATION IS FREE OF CHARGE TO NONPROFIT PARTICIPANTS.THROUGHOUT 2021 WE WORKED WITH APPROXIMATELY 180 BIPOC-LED SMALL BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS, ENGAGING MORE THAN 800 VOLUNTEERS IN 27,000 HOURS OF PRO BONO SUPPORT. WE HOSTED REGULAR PRO BONO SCOPING WORKSHOPS. THIS INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP FOCUSES ON THE BEST PRACTICES OF PRO BONO AND GUIDES NONPROFITS THROUGH THE CREATION OF THEIR OWN SCOPE OF WORK TO HELP HONE NEEDS, SET EXPECTATIONS, AND IDENTIFY THE RIGHT PRO BONO VOLUNTEER EXPERTISE. PARTICIPATION IS FREE OF CHARGE.HANDSON TWIN CITIES ALSO OFFERS A NONPROFIT VOLUNTEER PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANCY TO PROVIDE CUSTOMIZED RESOURCES TO ORGANIZATIONS, ESPECIALLY THOSE UNDERSERVED, TO HELP INCREASE CAPACITY TO DELIVER ON MISSION AND BETTER LEVERAGE VOLUNTEERS. THIS PROGRAM IS ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE; AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY ORGANIZATION NO MATTER THE LEVEL OF "READINESS," CO-CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NONPROFITS TO MEET ORGANIZATIONS WHERE THEY ARE, IT IS FULLY CUSTOMIZED, INDIVIDUALIZED, AND ORGANIZATION CENTERED, AND TAKES A WHOLISTIC, STRATEGIC APPROACH FOR VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT.