- Author: Kelly Scott
Amongst the hustle and bustle of the holiday season donors to the UC Master Gardener Program came through with strong support of our programs. Across the state we raised more than $86,000 (cumulatively during Nov. and Dec.) for county programs. Giving Tuesday donations alone account for more than half of those funds ($46,000). In looking at the year as a whole, 1,230 donors made 1,591 gifts which raised a total of over $270,000.
It's with these numbers in mind that making sure our donors know how grateful and appreciative we are of their support is at the top of my list for 2022 goals. As we think about volunteer appreciation as a key component to maintaining participation in our program, donor stewardship is its equivalent in fundraising.
Organizations in the non-profit industry all face a common challenge: donor retention. It's typical for organizations to lose up to 60% of their donors to attrition on an annual basis. This puts organizations in a cycle of constantly needing to bring in new donors to maintain funding. Why do donors stop their giving? Often it's the result of not hearing back from the organization as to how their donation made an impact.
Knowing that this is a common threat to our fundraising goals, how can we address it? In addition to stewarding donors with a thank you note, if we take the extra step of letting donors know how their gift made a difference, we gain their trust and make it much more likely for them to give again. Simply put, the act of reporting back will help donors to keep coming back.
This year I encourage programs to incorporate a You Made A Difference (YMAD) communication piece to your donors. Highlight the innovative programs you are delivering, snap a photo of a newly constructed demo garden, or share a glowing quote from a satisfied program participant. I promise you, this little act of gratitude will go a long way to build lasting relationships with your donors and will make it more likely for them to give again the next time you ask.
If you're interested in learning more about specific examples and exploring this topic further please view this recent webinar that I participated in: “Stewardship: The Key to A Lasting Relationship With Your Supporters” recorded February 9, 2022. The recording is posted on the UC ANR Learning and Development website under the fundraising category.
I'm here to support you, please contact me for questions about donor stewardship or any fundraising topics.
Kelly Scott
kdscott@ucanr.edu
Donor Relations Officer
UC Master Gardener Program
- Author: Elaine Lander
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
As we continue in virtual and hybrid environments, UC IPM is focused on providing quality online resources with research-based pest management information. We have some new and exciting resources to share with you, all of which can be also be found on the "IPM for UC Master Gardeners” resource page on the UC IPM website. Please share these with your volunteers and clientele.
Home & Garden Pest Newsletter
UC IPM's Urban & Community program has a new newsletter! The Home & Garden Pest Newsletter (which replaces the Retail Nursery & Garden Center IPM News) is designed to help provide California residents with the latest pest information from the University of California. The newsletter has a completely new design and is ADA accessible for print and online viewing. Our first issue is now available and you can sign up to receive the newsletter electronically. Anyone can subscribe so please share widely!
Wildlife Pest Identification Tool
After years in the making, our new Wildlife Pest Identification Tool (WiPIT) is now available online. Identifying vertebrate pests that burrow under porches, eat fruit off your trees, or cause holes in lawns can be difficult if you don't see the culprit in action. If you think you have an animal pest but are not sure what it is, the new tool will help you narrow down potential vertebrate pests using signs such as typical damage, tracks, and droppings (scat). Search results will then take you to the Pest Notes to find solutions for prevention and management.
IPM Webinars
The monthly Urban & Community IPM Webinars have had a great turnout. These free monthly webinars cover topics that range from identification, using pesticides around the home and garden, to pest-specific management. Registration for upcoming webinars is live on the Urban & Community IPM Webinar website. We are taking a hiatus in December and will resume with our January 20 webinar featuring invasive pests. If you have suggestions or topics, please email Elaine Lander. Previous webinar recordings are also now available on UC IPM's YouTube channel.
Thank you for all you do to share IPM information with your communities!
Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Associate Director for Urban & Community IPM
kwindbiel@ucanr.edu
Elaine Lander
Urban & Community IPM Educator
elander@ucanr.edu
- Author: Lauren Snowden
Many counties are looking for training content and are communicating with each other to find recordings and online offerings. If you are looking for a training or have one you would like to share Extension Campus is a good place to start.
Add a Recording
If you have training to submit and the permission of the content creator and would like it reviewed and listed as a resource please complete the Recorded Training Submission survey. Provide proper titles of speakers, complete training description, quizzes, and required/recommended readings, if you are not sure of those items contact the speaker to get their input. Click here to submit a training.
UC Master Gardener Recorded Training
If you are looking for training to use the UC Master Gardener Recorded Training offered on Extension is growing due to your help and sharing of resources.
Course Table of Contents:
- Home Survival in Wildfire-Prone Areas Design & Maintenance Considerations (Fire)
- Maintaining an Existing Landscape (Drought Related)
- Planning a Low Water Landscape (Drought Related)
- Introduction to Horticulture (Training Class)
- Weeds (Training Class)
- Weed Management in the Landscape (Training Class)
- Control of Weeds in the Garden Landscape (Training Class)
- Diagnosing and Managing Arthropod Pests (Training Class)
- Plant Identification- tools and techniques for learning how to identify plants (Training Class)
- Plant Propagation (Training Class)
- Vertebrate Pest Management (Training Class)
- Plant Diagnostics (Training Class)
- Entomology (Training Class)
- Climate Change: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions (Climate-Related)
- Asian Citrus Psyllid for Backyard Growers (IPM)
- Slugs and Snails (IPM)
- Avocado Cankers and their Causes (IPM)
- Avocado Root Rot Disease Management (IPM)
- Laurel Wilt Disease (IPM)
- Invasive Shot-hole Borer (IPM)
- Bee Gardening (Horticulture)
- Container Gardening (Ornamentals)
- Gardening in Crisis: An American Norm (General)
- Creating an Oasis for Yourself and Others (General)
Virtual UC Master Gardener Mini-Conference:
- 1A: Growing Together Through it All! (General)
- 1B: Gardeners with Heart: Incredible Volunteers Doing Incredible Work (General)
- 1C: Houseplants: Soil, water and such for sustainable indoor growing (Horticulture)
- 2A: Composting for Soil Health (Horticulture)
- 2B: Search for Excellence Winner: Reminiscence Gardening (General)
- 2C: Search for Excellence Second Place: Gardening with Underserved Communities (General)
- 3A: Fire Safe Landscaping, S. Calif. (Horticulture)
- 3B: Preserving Your Garden Harvest (General)
- 3C: Search for Excellence Third Place: Mornings at Martial Cottle Park...Lessons in the garden for school children (General)
UC Master Gardener LIVE Series:
- Pollinator Party! Three Principles for Bee Gardening (Horticulture)
- Tomato Troubles! Common Tomato Problems in the Home Garden (Horticulture)
- Healthy Soils Week: Tips to keep your garden soil healthy (Horticulture)
- Invasive Plants: Planting right with PlantRight! (Horticulture)
ABC's of Horticulture (Spanish and English) (Horticulture)
Accessing eXtension Campus
Navigate to the eXtension online campus website https://campus.extension.org/login/index.php
Create a free account or log in as a guest.
- Some courses may allow guest access, some require an account.
- It is highly recommended to make an account to track progress, see your history and receive updates as classes are added
- Search for UC Master Gardener Recordings (no special access/permission required)
- Click title of training to get in
Distribute this information easily with others by sharing and linking to the UC Master Gardener eXtension campus webpage: http://mg.ucanr.edu/Resources/eXtension_Campus/
- Author: Lauren Snowden
Inclusive Volunteer Selection Materials:
- Volunteer Position Description (PDF, Word)
- Program Application (PDF, Qualtrics)
- Volunteer Screening Interviews (PDF, Word)
- Inclusive Volunteer Selection Strategies for UC Master Gardener Personnel (PDF)
Implicit Bias Training
UCLA's Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has made its Implicit Bias video series open to the public. According to Jerry Kang, UCLA Vice-Chancellor, implicit bias refers to the unconscious shortcuts (stereotypes or biases) our brains use when we are confronted with making real-world decisions. "We are all susceptible to automatic cognitive processes that throw our decision-making off course," says Kang.
While biases are normal, they can produce unfair results, particularly for those who are not members of dominant groups. All UC Master Gardener volunteers with recruitment and selection responsibilities will have access to these critical training resources. Assign one or all the Implicit Bias playlist to those helping with the recruitment process for new UC Master Gardeners.
Implicit Bias Playlist (30 mins total)
- Preface: Biases and Heuristics (5:13)
This video describes how biases and heuristics can influence our decision-making and behavior without us even knowing it. - Lesson 1: Schemas (3:12)
This video discusses schemas, which are mental short-cuts that help us navigate the world around us. - Lesson 2: Attitudes and Stereotypes (4:12)
This video explores the differences between two primary categories of automatic associations: attitudes and stereotypes. - Lesson 3: Real World Consequences (3:44)
This video explores findings that implicit biases can influence our real world behavior. - Lesson 4: Explicit v. Implicit Bias (2:48)
This video discusses the differences between explicit and implicit bias. - Lesson 5: The Implicit Association Test (IAT) (5:13)
This videos discusses the Implicit Association Test ("IAT") and the wealth of data it has generated. - Lesson 6: Countermeasures (5:22)
This video discusses three primary strategies for countering implicit bias: (1) mindset; (2) debiasing; (3) decoupling.
Full Playlist Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWG_vsmMJ2clEeGKVyrOIKlOYrjFnVKqa
Resources:
Coordinator Volunteer Appointment Page: https://mgcoord.ucanr.edu/Administration/VolunteerAppointment/
Blog- UC Implicit Bias Trainings-Now Available:
https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=39662
- Author: Tamekia Wilkins
- Contributor: Melissa G. Womack
The 2021-2022 program year marks the fifth year of data collection from public education events held across the state and, thus, the fifth year that we can tell a big piece of the UC Master Gardener Program story. It seems like just yesterday that we launched the statewide evaluation. Time sure does fly, especially for those of us who were affiliated with the UC Master Gardener Program during the initial stages of our evaluation efforts. Thank you to everyone who has helped with evaluation data collection!
Over the years, we have welcomed some new faces and everyone across the state has been doing an excellent job of helping your counties with the evaluation process. Whether you are a new face or have been around for a number of years, please check out the coordinator and volunteer program evaluation pages.
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UC Master Gardener Program Coordinator: Program Evaluation Webpage (Link: https://mgcoord.ucanr.edu/Administration/ProgramEvaluation/)
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UC Master Gardener Program Volunteer Information and Resources (Link: https://mg.ucanr.edu/Resources/For_Volunteers/Program_Evaluation/)
These pages are filled with resources to help you understand the statewide evaluation process and materials to collect the necessary attendee information and guidelines for submitting this information to the Evaluation Coordinator.
Every person connected to the UC Master Gardener Program plays a crucial role in the evaluation efforts, which allows the process to flow smoothly. Program coordinators and volunteer leadership socialize the evaluation process to volunteers and support them in understanding its goals. Supporting volunteers in this effort is essential because UC Master Gardener volunteers have direct contact with workshop attendees. Without them, we would not obtain the information needed from attendees to collect data.
Steps for recruiting evaluation participants:
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Collect participant names and emails for both in-person and online public education events.
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Socialize the survey at the end of each public education event.
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Submit a contact sheet to mgevaluation@ucanr.edu within one week of the event.
A contact sheet template is available on the coordinator and volunteer evaluation resource pages (see above). Once contact sheets have been submitted, Dr. Tamekia Wilkins, statewide evaluation coordinator, manages the process, follows up with all attendees, analyzes the data, and creates customized reports.
Each quarter, participating counties with survey participants receive a report that indicates attendees' responses. The most recent report was sent in September 2021, which included data collected from July 2020 thru March 2021. Quarterly reports are cumulative. The last report received with data for a given program year can be used as a local annual report for your county. Be on the lookout for this county report to be sent in Dec. 2021 just before the holidays.
Quarterly reports are used to help tell your county UC Master Gardener Program story. This was a key goal of the statewide evaluation – to tell our story and showcase the value of our programs. We have always believed the UC Master Gardener Program has tremendous value in our communities. Now we can more accurately show its value, which is vital for several reasons, including fulfilling the mission of UC ANR and funding opportunities.
Keep sending those contact sheets in, they are so important! If you need to expand your evaluation effort to include online public education, and or re-engage in the process as you re-start in-person activities, now is a great time in anticipation of a busy spring season. Participation in statewide evaluation is required of all counties. If you have questions or need support, please be sure to reach out.
Questions? Contact:
Tamekia Wilkins, PhD
Evaluation Coordinator
twilkins@ucanr.edu
