As the Foundation approached the HALO Award’s 10th year, we paused to reflect on the evolution of the program and the incredible impact of volunteers on nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve. Since the Award’s inception, the Foundation has been inspired by angels in the community, both the volunteers who go above and beyond to promote the betterment of their communities and the nonprofit organizations whose work motivates and supports such volunteers.
Out of these important moments of reflection, the HALO Award Stories project was born. Over the past decade, the HALO Award program has worked with nearly 70 nonprofits in Los Angeles County from a wide range of program areas, impacting over 60,000 volunteers who serve those organizations. Each year, the Foundation’s commitment to supporting volunteerism deepened as we witnessed how building the capacity of volunteer programs adds to the overall capacity of nonprofit organizations.
Ten years of investing in volunteer programs taught us about the power of and returns on investment in volunteerism.
Through this project, our hope was to elevate the stories of the many people – nonprofit leaders and staff, individual volunteers, and selection committee members – that have been part of the program in some way and have been impact by the HALO Award. We called on our HALO Award community to share their unique experiences – the challenges, successes, and lessons learned – from participating in HALO.
Our HALO community answered the call, and we were overwhelmed by the inspiring responses!
We received video submissions that captured HALO Stories from every HALO cohort since the Award’s inception, brought back familiar faces, introduced us to new volunteers and staff from recipient organizations, and featured funders and nonprofit leaders that played critical roles in selecting the nonprofit recipients each year.
HALO Award Stories confirmed the Foundation’s belief that strategic investments in volunteerism have outsized effects on an organization’s ability to meet its mission.
In addition to inspiring stories of impact, the HALO Award Stories project features key insights and learnings from the last 10 years and ways that we all – individuals, nonprofits, and funders – can take action in lifting volunteerism as a force for good in our communities. If you haven’t already, we invite you to WATCH STORIES, EXPLORE INSIGHTS, & TAKE ACTION at haloawards.org/stories!