Coretta is a striking 85-year-old artist. As she enters a room, images of her as a young, startlingly beautiful woman trail her like ethereal mists. Her blue eyes take one in from a perfect face and I feel like a mouse scrutinized by an eagle. Her husband Glenn, is a commercial artist and they have shown me pictures of his artistic product designs for major companies, most of them from the 1960’s. They shared these pictures to show me they are legitimate. Luckily, they seemed to like me.
Coretta offered to design a journal for our use. The journals would be given to patients or family members who would like to record their thoughts. The journal would have poetic prompters to help them visualize things to say. Coretta has written short haiku poems to be incorporated into the sides of the pages, giving the journal a professional quality. She and I corroborated often about how to distribute the journal, types of patients and methods of discovering how the journals were utilized.
As we worked together, Coretta told me in her breathy voice that she had gone to another agency and was initially welcomed with enthusiasm. She was going to paint a flowering vine for their lobby that would be filled with pictures of the clients served. She mused that it would be not only a lovely welcoming addition, but also a therapeutic exercise for the participants. Trouble is, as with many short-staffed, overworked organizations, no one at that agency could take the time to help her get started.
Frankly, if I let myself say it, I’m also too busy for the fluffy projects. But, there was something about those blue eyes that compelled me to scratch out the time from somewhere. And besides, I have gotten a bit self-serving. I need breaks from all the minutiae that weigh me down. Coretta let me float for just a bit.
My plan was to ask some very crafty volunteers to put these journals together and to begin by distributing them to select patients. Over the years, I’ve found that asking for permission to do a project takes forever, so by experimenting and proving that a project works, it makes it easier to sell. Anyway, we finalized her designs, complete with a Coretta sketch of a rose adorning the cover.
She stopped in the other day to talk to me. As we were chatting, she said, “I have been thinking about this whole project. I’m certain that other organizations would like to have it for their clients too, so I think that I would eventually like to market it. That is, after we’ve seen how it is received here and after some modifications.”
Boom, the eagle swooped in and ate me as I was nibbling some cheese. “Oh, how interesting,” I managed. Now, at that point, my brain started shrieking at me, “What!!!! Are you kidding???” And as I let those initial thoughts burst and flutter like confetti in my mind, I looked back into those blues and said, “Coretta, that is your prerogative. This is your work, your ideas, your poetry and art. You own that.”
She nodded with an artist’s smile and I continued, “if you want to do that, then we absolutely can’t use it here and stamp our logo on it. It is yours and you are entitled to keep it and protect it. But I cannot in good faith continue with this project.”
She studied me for a bit and said, “yes, well, I appreciate your honesty.” I could feel her talons caressing me, the me that spent precious time helping her. “I appreciate all your hard work and have thoroughly enjoyed learning about your organization.”
I didn’t say anything to anyone, especially anyone (well, everyone if you must know) who has been making fun of me for wasting my time with this pompous (their words) lady. Honestly, they wanted nothing to do with her.
See, here’s where I sometimes get myself into big trouble and then sometimes I uncover a golden volunteer nugget. I have to do more than just get to know people who want to volunteer. I have this weird side that feels like I’m digging for the next great volunteer. I’ll bet you have a side like that too.
While I’m not sure what will happen, because Coretta may rethink and decide to give her works to us, but really, I doubt that will happen. Did I waste my time with her and did she just want to use me to develop a product to sell? Maybe, but I’m choosing to think not. I’m choosing to think that she had good intentions, at least at the start. And we all know that there are plenty of volunteers with good intentions that don’t continue for some reason. We can only move on.
So, the question becomes, do we continue to dig, oftentimes alone for those volunteer nuggets even though we occasionally come up empty-handed? Until the day volunteer nuggets rain from the sky, I guess we’ll have to.
-Meridian
If It is Too Good to Be True…
02 Wednesday Oct 2013
Posted in tough jobs, Uncategorized, Volunteer, volunteer coordinator, volunteer retention
volunteerplaintalk 
The 1% factor comes into mind. It applies nowadays to every human transaction. 1% of the people we encounter do not have some sort of hidden agenda about something. 99% of everyone else do.
I wonder sometimes when dealing with those 99% if it would be beneficial if I moved my home office up into an Alcatraz type guard tower at the corner or my property. We have an abundance of alligators here in Florida, maybe building a moat to protect me might be a good idea. I’ll just have to settle for keeping my guard up and acting like a Mossad agent profiling who I deal with – and that includes plenty of people just like your “artist” and her spouse.
Golden volunteer “nuggets” are both rare and fleeting. They’re somewhere in the 1%. That is somewhere “deeep” in the 1%. Should you encounter such a person, by all means, cultivate a safe working relationship with them. Should you “dig” for them, opening yourself and your organization up for possible disappointment? Absolutely not. Either way drains “us” of emotional energy, but that is price of doing “business” today.
PS/From your description of the situation, I think it was you who had their talens in her. You “acted” appropriately, fairly and with strength. Give yourself a pat on the back. As far as your colleagues saying we told you so, you sound like the person who has to do what they think is right, so the “heck” with them.
PS2/Write up a brief policy statement and put in your volunteer handbook. Be highly proactive, “nip” the potential dilemma in the “bud” and refer further questions to whomever in your organization would have the authority to green light such a project.
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This is a very unfortunate situation, but I honestly don’t think that it was due to any intent for the artist to take advantage.I think this is an issue with lack of clarification and two completely different assumptions going on. From what you indicate here, it doesn’t sound like you ever fully clarified with the artist that you wanted to place your organization’s logo on the journal and “brand” it as your organization’s. There was no contract stating that artist would turn the work over to your organization once it was completed. There was no exclusivity or ownership signed over or discussed ahead of time, so I think that the artist just assumed that she had full ownership over the work, while you were assuming that she was designing it exclusively for your hospice. This is one of those live-and-learn situations. In a case like this where it involves ownership of an artistic work, it is essential to have some sort of written contract, even it is work being done on a pro-bono basis.
As an artist and a writer who has been through a similar misunderstanding as a volunteer, I can tell you that these situations can be very hurtful when they go bad. Everything should have been clarified from the beginning, before the artist even embarked on beginning the work. I don’t think that she in any way meant to “use” you. I think she saw an opportunity for artistic expression, and, as her work began to develop, saw it’s potential for use in other venues. Without an clear understanding from beginning that she was going to be signing the work over to you, that was a totally understandable trajectory. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of a project and lose sight of the fact that you need to be very hard-nosed about getting things in writing and making agreements about ownership ahead of time.
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Hi Kristen!
I think you are absolutely correct, the thrill of having a great project, idea, new type of volunteering, whatever can certainly cloud all the little clarifications that need to be worked out ahead of time. I know for myself, I get so excited when presented with creative ideas and people and I let that trump everything else, even common sense. I know I learn new things every day and hopefully do not repeat mistakes twice. Good ideas never go to waste though, which is wonderful, but they sometimes have rugged paths. Thanks!!!
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Hi mjgruskin!
Thank you for commenting on this post. By working with volunteers in a hospice setting, I’m finding that most people I come in contact with are innately good and truly want to help others. It’s a really great way to spend my day, watching human beings simply want to help other human beings. I get so much from it and I think most volunteer coordinators have a pretty optimistic view based on experiences. I, in no way meant to bash Coretta and I think I may have inadvertently given that impression. Some people, especially those with some really amazing backgrounds can intimidate me, but that’s my issue, not theirs. I love spending time with her and her husband, even if nothing visual comes of our time together. I, however, have learned from our interaction and from them. When you love working with people, you start to appreciate their complexities. Hospice work has taught me that. And yes, the volunteer handbook is great, but sometimes I feel like ours just “grows” with legal jargon.
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Rather a difficult lesson here Meridian and thank you for your honesty in telling it – because I’ll bet we’ve all been there, misjudging a person or a context. My principle has always been to trust, until such time I learn it is misplaced. Most times it pays off. In the end you were able to give Coretta a firm response, and all it has cost is the time you invested. Next time it really will be a golden volunteer nugget!
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Thanks Sue, I too, prefer to trust people because honestly, the vast majority are wonderfully intentioned folks. I’m never going to be perfect at my job and maybe that’s what’s so great about it, because the learning never stops.
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