In response to COVID-19, Together Project's staff and volunteers had to quickly adapt and pivot their programs in order to continue providing social support to newcomers in Canada. While their new model is only a few months in the making, Together Project has learned a great deal about how to set up an online volunteering program. In this presentation, Anna Hill and Andrew Lusztyk (from Together Project) share with us their insights, including: - How to get started setting up an online volunteering program; - Tips and tools to develop a greater capacity to onboard and train volunteers remotely; - Benefits and challenges of online volunteering; - How online volunteering can help vulnerable demographics––from equipping volunteers to tackle new challenges View the webinar recording here: https://youtu.be/NEm0Vu-IhpA

1. Also referred to as “asylum seekers”
”A person who claims protection in
Canada”
Refugee claimant (not technically a
refugee until their claim is recognized)
TogetherProject
HOW NONPROFITS
CAN WORK WITH
ONLINE
VOLUNTEERS
Illustration: Emilie Muszczak

2. Part 1 – Anna Hill
- THE WELCOME GROUP
PROGRAM
- PIVOTING TO AN ONLINE
VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
TogetherProject
Agenda
Part 2 – Andrew Lusztyk
- BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES
- SUCCESS FACTORS

3. TogetherProject
The Welcome
Group PROGRAM
Photo: Lisa Kannakko

4. HOW CAN TOGETHER PROJECT HELP BUILD MORE
WELCOMING COMMUNITIES?
TogetherProject

5. INTEGRATION AS A TWO-WAY STREET
-Government-Assisted Refugees, Refugee Claimants and
established Canadian volunteers are all beneficiaries of our work.
TogetherProject

6. BUILDING SOCIAL BUILDING CONNECTIONS
TogetherProject

7. HELPING NEWCOMERS MAKE PROGRESS TOWARDS INTEGRATION
PRIORITIES
TogetherProject

8. WELCOME GROUP PROGRAM FEATURES
Based on the “Group of 5”
model of private sponsorship,
we have been matching five
or more volunteers with
government-assisted
refugees for six months of
social support since 2017. To
date, we have connected
about 700 volunteers with
140 refugee newcomer
households in 5 cities across
Ontario.
TogetherProject
Key program features:
● Targeted volunteer training
● Group matches
● Translation/interpretation
support
● Evaluation & iterative learning
● Focus on integration priorities
● Preference matching
● Collaboration with agencies
● Use of WhatsApp to supplement
in-person social support

9. What is a
refugee?PROGRAM
IMPACT
TogetherProject
www.togetherproject.ca/resources
Online VOLUNTEER
Resources

10. Also referred to as “asylum seekers”
”A person who claims protection in
Canada”
Refugee claimant (not technically a
refugee until their claim is recognized)
TogetherProject
PIVOTING TO AN
ONLINE VOLUNTEER
PROGRAM
Illustration: Emilie Muszczak

11. THINK ABOUT A PROGRAM SHIFT IN TERMS OF STAGES OF AN
INNOVATION CYCLE
TogetherProject
Illustration: Future Skills Centre

12. IDENTIFY NEEDS (AND OPPORTUNITIES) WITH KEY
CONSTITUENTS
TogetherProject
Key Constituents
● Newcomer Program Participants
● Volunteer Program Participants
● Program Delivery Partners: COSTI
Crossroads Clinic at Women’s
College Hospital, Peel
Multicultural Council
● Funding partners: TD Ready
Commitment, Toronto
Foundation, Ontario Trillium
Foundation, McConnell
Foundation, Community
Foundations Canada, Mississauga
Community Foundation
● Toronto Police Services (VSS)
● Academic Partners

13. DEVELOP A CONCEPT HYPOTHESIS:
ENGAGING NEWCOMERS IN REMOTE SOCIAL SUPPORT
TogetherProject

14. TogetherProject
DEVELOP A CONCEPT HYPOTHESIS:
ENGAGING VOLUNTEERS In Remote Social support

15. RESEARCH AND PROTOTYPE NEW RESOURCES TO SUPPORT
ONLINE VOLUNTEERING
New Resources:
• New, six-month
communications strategy
• New COVID-19 resource page:
togetherproject.ca/covid-19-
updates
• Monthly volunteer newsletter
with resources for remote
social support matches
• “Concept hypothesis”
illustrations
TogetherProject
Illustration: Emilie Muszczak

16. ADAPT EXISTING PROGRAM DESIGN:
WHAT CAN and Can’t HAPPEN REMOTELY?
TogetherProject

17. USE PLATFORMS AND TOOLS TO BUILD ONLINE
CONNECTIONS / CONSIDER BUDGET REALLOCATIONS
TogetherProject
● WhatsApp
● ZOOM
● Google Meet
● Mailchimp
● Survey Monkey
● Mobile phones
● Laptops / devices
● Shared office space -
mail only membership
● Transportation- N/A

18. BECOME A LEARNING INITIATIVE
TogetherProject
Check in with your constituents via email, video chats and phone calls.
Find new approaches to storytelling. Renew relationships with funders.
Revise approaches to program evaluation. Learn from your partners.
Become a learning initiative.
https://togetherproject.ca/blog/

19. TogetherProject
● Incorporating new
program design mid- and
pre-delivery meant two
perspectives
● Program adaptations
based on previous
learning and needs
assessment
● Prepare to track progress
and learnings
Delivering our first iteration

20. Program Delivery Takeaways
TogetherProject
Successes
● Providing virtual option
opens the door to a lot of
new volunteers
● More efficient volunteer
intake/training
● Existing program design
gave us a head start with
our prototype
Challenges
● Services were in flux
● Communicating the new
concept – leap of faith for
volunteers to try something
new with us
● Reallocating staff time for
an unintended pilot

21. Success Stories: Program Snapshot
TogetherProject
Large family
• Health
• Education
• Language
• Employment
Individual
• Language
• Socializing
• Services
LGBTQ+ youth
couple
• Education
• Socializing
• Employment
Single parent
• Employment

22. VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK: Demographics
TogetherProject

23. VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK: Communications
TogetherProject

24. VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK: Volunteer Satisfaction
TogetherProject

25. VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK: The Pandemic Effect
TogetherProject
The effect of a global
pandemic on developing
social connections:
● Shifting priorities
● New goalposts
● Broken routines
● Technological challenges
● Frustration

26. VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK: Advantages of remote support
TogetherProject
● Flexibility in terms of scheduling/availability
● Streamlined onboarding/training
● Emphasis on online tools and resources can keep
some groups better organized (cloud software, shared
calendars, etc.)
● In some cases, some newcomers report greater
comfort with initiating connection remotely

27. VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK: Limits of Remote Support
TogetherProject
● Video calls can be overwhelming/difficult to
understand – easier doesn’t mean better!
● Technological/internet challenges
● Difficulty feeling "connected", "unified", "comradery"
without face-to-face interaction
● More limited range of support activities
● Language barrier is more significant

28. TogetherProject
Success Factors for Online Volunteering with
a Vulnerable Population
1. Access to, and comfort with, technology

29. TogetherProject
Success Factors for Online Volunteering with
a Vulnerable Population
1. Access to, and comfort with, technology
2. Low language barrier

30. TogetherProject
Success Factors for Online Volunteering with
a Vulnerable Population
1. Access to, and comfort with, technology
2. Low language barrier
3. Shared commitment to the program

31. TogetherProject
Success Factors for Online Volunteering with
a Vulnerable Population
1. Access to, and comfort with, technology
2. Low language barrier
3. Shared commitment to the program
4. Availability and reliability for building trust

32. TogetherProject
Success Factors for Online Volunteering with
a Vulnerable Population
1. Access to, and comfort with, technology
2. Low language barrier
3. Shared commitment to the program
4. Availability and reliability for building trust
5. Set reasonable expectations for goals and
activities for both organization and participants

33. TogetherProject
Success Factors for Online Volunteering with
a Vulnerable Population
1. Access to, and comfort with, technology
2. Low language barrier
3. Shared commitment to the program
4. Availability and reliability for building trust
5. Set reasonable expectations for goals and
activities for both organization and participants
6. Provide clear guidance but remain flexible

34. What’s Next for Together Project?
TogetherProject
1. Incorporating learning into our next iteration – scaling
existing and modified programming?
2. Sharing our findings more broadly – affecting broader
systems change within and beyond our sector

35. THANK YOU!
anna@togetherproject.ca | andrew@togetherproject.ca
togetherproject.ca
@together_hello
TogetherProject