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Keeping Your Service Enterprise Moving


After the initial excitement of receiving Service Enterprise certification, it can be challenging to keep the momentum for change going. While most volunteer engagement professionals who have led a Service Enterprise initiative would agree that it’s not a race, but a marathon, other priorities and organizational shifts can become bumps in the road forward, and make moving ahead with Service Enterprise objectives tough. Some of the biggest bumps can be programmatic changes or turn-over of key staff involved in Service Enterprise work.

MAVA and its Service Enterprise Hub partner, HandsOn Twin Cities, recognize that bumps like these can become roadblocks to progress for Service Enterprise organizations. As a team, we are here to support your ongoing work on your Service Enterprise goals and help you adapt Action Plans when organizational or staff changes alter the road map. At the start of the most recent Service Enterprise cohort, certified organizations that experienced turn-over among their Service Enterprise leads or other significant changes were invited to send staff to the initial cohort trainings, to get grounded or re-grounded in key Service Enterprise principles. Eight organizations sent 11 staff members, shown here, to refresh their Service Enterprise knowledge and re-engage in Service Enterprise work. An added benefit for these participants was the chance to meet with peers and share ideas on how to keep Service Enterprise vital at their organizations.

We have more resources to support you in gaining traction on your Service Enterprise plans, and connect you with others sharing this journey. The quarterly online Service Enterprise meeting resumes on April 25th, while the bi-monthly Metro meet-up will take place on April 11th. If you represent a certified Service Enterprise organization and have not been receiving information about these gatherings, contact me at proach@mavanetwork.org to get on e-mail alert lists or watch the MAVA events calendar for updates. And if you have taken on leadership of an organization’s Action Plan when taking a new position, get in touch with me for a tip sheet on ways you can jump into the Service Enterprise driver’s seat and keep the engine running.

MAVA and HandsOn Twin Cities recently began working with the first certified Service Enterprise organizations in Minnesota on maintaining their certifications – in fact, both of our organizations are going through this process right now. Are you are coming up on the end of your organization’s three year certification cycle and wondering what happens next? More information will be coming your way soon. In the meantime, let me know if you are interested in having a virtual or in-person gathering to learn more about the steps toward renewing your certification, and connect with peers on ways to get your team involved in the process. We want you to stay on path to certification, so let us know how we can help you along the way.