Hi, I am glad you are here! Volunteerplaintalk is a blog for and about volunteer managers and the unique challenges we face.
Like you, I’m guessing, I began my volunteer manager career with lofty intent. Over the years, I have been humbled, inspired, frustrated, renewed, downcast, amused and shocked. What a learning experience it has been so far!
I have spent over 25 years in volunteer management, have held the CVA certification (http://cvacert.org/) since 2005, have presented on the state and national level, have written for several publications on volunteer management and a few years ago, wrote a book on volunteer management (the Volunteer Shelf Life) which came about because heck, volunteers leave for lots of reasons and I was tired of blaming myself every time a volunteer “quit.”
For the last several years, I have been researching ways to elevate volunteer management and volunteerism and have compiled all that research into my latest book, (The Disruptive Volunteer Manager). It’s time we, volunteer managers are given the professional status we’ve earned in the non-profit sector.
The menu bar on this site will take you to:
Home-my current posts
Pinterest-articles that pertain to volunteer management and personal development-I update these boards daily
Contact Me-I would love to hear from you.
VPT Tips-#VolTipTalk-these are categorized quick tips that I hope will help get your creative juices flowing. I update these often, the newer ones will appear at the top of each category so check back often.
On the left sidebar, you will see my Twitter feed @MeridianSwift
Volunteer Plain Talk is now on Zazzle offering merchandise for Leaders of Volunteers, nonprofits and volunteers. Let’s show pride in our profession!
The Volunteer Plain Talk podcast is available on Buzzsprout, Stitcher, Apple, Spotify and Google Play. Binge listen to great guests and their tips, advice, experiences and inspiration for leading volunteers.
But, in all, I sincerely hope this site is worthy of your valuable time.
If you truly want more, there are a couple of other pages here:
VPT on YouTube-videos about managing volunteers.
The Quit-O-Meter-my silly reasons we want to quit being a volunteer manager.
-Meridian
volunteerplaintalk 
Pingback: THE QUIT O’ METER | Volunteering Counts
You should consider joining our club ‘Cyber Kiwanis’ as your service to the community as volunteer manager is great. How about I do a feature on you as our “Community Friend”.
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Hi Hina!
Thank you for that offer, I would love to learn more. How do I join and yes, if you think a feature on a volunteer manager would be helpful, by all means. Just let me know what I can do.
-Meridian
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Hi Meridian,
Great blog. Keep up the good work!
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Thank you!
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Pingback: Corporate Volunteerism: Thinking “Strategic” Isn’t Enough My Friends | Community Health Charities
Hi I’ve been trying to get into volunteer management, with no success due to the fact I have no formal qualifications other than what I picked up doing it as a volunteer, if you have any wisdom on how I could do this it would be much appreciated.
John Carkit
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Hi John, One way to get started would be to volunteer at organizations in your area, especially those you would like to work for..many organizations hire volunteers as staff and that is a great way to show your skill set-offer to lead a volunteer team or take on a pilot project to show you have the skills necessary to lead volunteers. Look at your work history and highlight those skills that you feel translate into volunteer management and build a resume that speaks to leading and inspiring volunteers. Best of luck!
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