Cal Poly Corporation, San Luis Obispo, California

Cal Poly took a capacity-building approach and used its SaYES mini-award to market and promote VolunteerSLO, a comprehensive online database of local volunteer opportunities. The resulting marketing campaign targeted local baby boomers near retirement and encouraged them to become involved in K-12 service-learning projects and activities. Among other accomplishments, Cal Poly produced a complete set of targeted marketing materials, including pens, postcards, letterhead, and key chains and convened seven outreach events targeted at baby boomers and high school students, as well as other community volunteers. As a result of these efforts, VolunteerSLO was used for the first time ever for online registration for Make a Difference Day and yielded a record number of volunteers—more than 800!