volunteerplaintalk

Category: volunteer recruitment

  • “We want to work with staff who have drunk the Kool-Aid,” an interview with Laura Rundell, CVA

     

    An Interview with Laura Rundell, CVA
    Laura Rundell, CVA with a mug of Kool-Aid

     

    Recently I had the pleasure in chatting with Laura Rundell, CVA, the Volunteer Coordinator at LifeBridge Community Services in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

    VPT: Laura, tell us a little bit about your background in the volunteer management sector.

    L: I’ve been involved in the volunteer sector since 1999.  During grad school where I received my Master’s in History, I worked part-time for the Park service. I have also worked for several other organizations, including the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History in Weston, Massachusetts, the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania and I am currently the Volunteer Coordinator at Life Bridge Community Services in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

    VPT: And how long have you been at Life Bridge?

    L: I’ve been here since 2014.

    VPT: What brought you to volunteer services?

    L: It was at the Phipps Conservatory that I began to fall in love with volunteer management. I had come from a smaller organization to Phipps and found out they had over 500 names on their volunteer list, so the scope changed dramatically.

    VPT: And how did you come to be at Life Bridge?

    L: I moved to Connecticut and landed at Life Bridge in 2014.

    VPT: You’ve had a number of experiences thus far. What have they taught you?

    L: Not all my experiences were perfect. An already challenging job is much harder when the goals for the program and the roles for volunteers are less defined.

    I appreciate where I am as a volunteer manager now and loved my time at Phipps because they support the volunteer program and there are clear expectations and specific roles for volunteers.

    VPT: Can you give us an example?

    L: Yes. When I was invited for an interview at Life Bridge, I noted that the person who would be my supervisor had the CVA credential. It was clear they had put thought into their volunteer program and knew what it would take to make it successful. In my third interview, I was sitting at a table with all of the staff who would utilize volunteers in their programs. I was really impressed that they put so much thought and effort into recruiting for this position and knew then it was an organization I really wanted to work for. I was delighted to be offered the position.

    VPT: That is impressive.

    L: And, just recently, our Executive Director asked for a volunteer to be involved in researching best practices for a project. That shows commitment to engaging volunteer help at all levels of our organization.

    VPT: I’ve noticed you are weighing in on articles and blog posts more and more and that is great; we need more voices. What do you feel is the future of volunteer management?

    L: I see so many non-profits stretched thin and need more volunteers to take on a greater role.

    VPT: That’s a good thing for increased volunteer participation, right?

    L:  Yes it sure is, but I think the number one challenge for most volunteer coordinators is recruitment. It will be an even bigger challenge moving forward to keep filling those roles with qualified and committed volunteers. It means we all have to “step up our game”.

    VPT: Are you seeing changes in the volunteers who are stepping forward?

    L: There are more episodic volunteers, more students who are seeking career experience, and more individuals in the midst of a career change seeking resume enhancers and references. There are also more opportunities to recruit corporate and college groups.

    VPT: Are there inherent challenges with episodic volunteers?

    L:  We have had some really great short-term volunteers. Not every role is appropriate for someone who may only be with us a short time though. Some roles require clearances that can take 4 weeks to get back, so we really hope the person in that role can stay with us for at least a year. We’ve also gotten some really great college and corporate groups. However, walking that balance between offering the flexibility large groups may require and making it a meaningful opportunity that adds value to the organization is a challenge.

    VPT: What have you discovered about recruiting volunteers that you can share with us?

    L: You have to respond promptly when an applicant contacts you. When I relocated to Pittsburgh from Massachusetts, I contacted several organizations to volunteer and never got a return call. That was really frustrating.  After that first contact though, the applicant has to be invested — it has to be their choice to move forward. I have learned you can waste a lot of time spinning your wheels if an applicant doesn’t respond to a request to meet with you, doesn’t show up for an appointment or doesn’t follow up afterwards.

    VPT: Changing direction, do you feel as though volunteer managers are starting to build a community with one another?

    L: By the time I became a CVA, I was linked to a community of volunteer managers. But, often, a volunteer manager is a department of one and is isolated. When I was in Pittsburgh, I reached out to similar volunteer organizations and we volunteer managers would get together a couple of times a year to have lunch and share best practices. Here in Connecticut, we have Volunteer Square and they have done a wonderful job in creating a Professional Development Series for volunteer managers. I’m honored to serve on their advisory board.

    VPT: So, there are some steps being taken.

    L:  You know there is an Association of Fundraising Professionals (www.afpnet.org/) for those who are in the fundraising end but we have no association for volunteer managers.  I wish we had one nationwide organization. Not everyone can attend a national conference, but if we had a national association, we could have branches in our areas that we could connect with and could set national standards for our profession.

    VPT: What do you see as future challenges for our profession?

    L: As non-profit funding continues to decline, there will be more and more dependence on volunteer programs to pick up the slack and organizations will be utilizing volunteer services more. As everyone scrambles for a piece of the ever-shrinking pie, we need to have a unified voice instead of competing against one another for limited resources. For instance, if we all required that courts who refer mandated community service applicants to our agencies provide the funding necessary to fully vet, train and supervise these applicants, we might make some real changes in how court mandated service is assigned nationally.

    VPT: What advice do you have for new volunteer managers?

    L: After I moved to Connecticut, I remember talking to a volunteer I worked with in Pittsburgh and the volunteer said, “We want to work with staff who have drunk the Kool Aid.” If staff is unhappy, or does not believe in the work, then volunteers pick up on that. If an agency has a lot of turnover and has difficulty retaining paid staff, than recruiting and retaining volunteers may be an uphill battle.

    L: I would also say, make sure you connect with other volunteer managers in your area. I have learned so much from my colleagues. Just an hour spent talking with another volunteer coordinator over lunch or coffee can be invaluable. You can learn “It’s not just me…others have this problem too” Also, obtaining the CVA (certified volunteer administrator) is very helpful. I feel like the CVA credential has given me more of a standing in my organization. The CVA gives me ethical standards to adhere to and by virtue of my having it, my volunteer program is elevated.

    L: Also, you need to have rules and policies in place and stick to them. If someone wants you to waive the requirements for a new volunteer, remember this: There are bad actors who seek out vulnerable populations. This is why we don’t bend the rules. Make sure you have a volunteer manual, written policies, and an agreement letter for the volunteer to sign.

    VPT: What makes a difference for you?

    L:  I feel blessed to do what I do. Yes, there are challenges, yes there are frustrations, but a well-run volunteer program can leverage the passion and talent of volunteers.

    L:  I’ll leave you with my favorite story about a volunteer. Before I was at Phipps, I was in charge of an exhibition opening of student art work in Pittsburgh. The students, their parents and the artist they worked with were all on their way, along with a volunteer to help at the reception. Right before the event, we had a severe storm warning and most of our staff left the building. Meanwhile, our volunteer drove through the storm to be there. The kids and their parents all had a great time at the exhibition opening because the volunteer made a commitment and the storm wasn’t going to stop her from coming! That is just one of the stories that keeps me motivated and gets me up in the morning.

    VPT: Thank you Laura for your insights and for sharing with us today. We look forward to hearing more of your voice in the volunteer management arena.

     

     

  • The Volunteer Ripple Effect

     

    I’m convinced. We, Leaders of Volunteers (#LOVols) hold in our hands more power to affect positive change than we can even imagine.

    We have the opportunity to impact the world beyond filling tasks and adding to our volunteer base. The intuitive feelings within each of us are spot on: There’s so much more going on than our excel spreadsheets show.

    I remember long ago struggling to find volunteers who could be with clients while loved ones attended church or synagogue or temple or mosque. I would look for volunteers of that same faith and hoped that they would be willing to give up their own attendance to help someone in need. It was the way it had always been done and it was frankly, exhausting.

    Then one day, a volunteer stepped forward. Hannah offered to sit with Christian clients on a Sunday morning. (I’d love to take credit for thinking this solution up, but, no, it came from this wonderful, selfless volunteer.) Bam! The light went on.

    I feared that mixing faiths (or cultures, or beliefs) would be a challenge in itself, but you know what? (Of course you know what comes next) It ended up uniting people in mutual respect and a desire to understand one another. The mere act of reaching across a cultural or spiritual divide created its own sense of wonder.

    And here’s the thing. For the volunteers, it was never about, “oh, I’m so enlightened that I want to transcend these differences.” No, it was, “you know what? I’m free on a Sunday morning and you need someone, so what could be a better fit?”

    The deep meaningful by-products of volunteering are seldom the initial goals. They just naturally evolve because the volunteer ripple brings out the best in everyone: Clients, families, volunteers, volunteer managers, staff, neighbors, community, everyone.

    Think about that. Volunteer programs impact society in rippling positive ways beyond the delivering of meals, or escorting a tour group or passing out information. Our programs share love. Our programs open the doors for unity, connection and understanding to naturally take hold, and not just during holidays.

    We often witness a profound change in people. We glimpse moments of powerful interconnection through the simplest of assignments. We stand, watching that small pebble create ripples of inspiring stories.

    As you are running around this holiday season, scrambling to fill tasks, stop for a moment and think about the societal change you are helping to bring about. Because you value the innate worth of each human being and believe in their ability to transcend, you are spreading that change like a ripple in a vast sea.

    Volunteerism is a rippling movement.

    And leaders of volunteers are tossing the pebble into the water.

    -Meridian

  • Press “2” For That Volunteer Question

    Press 2 For That Volunteer Question

    “Yeah, so, this is Ginny from donor relations,” the voice on the phone sighs. “My next door neighbor’s fourteen year old daughter, April has a volunteer assignment for school. Why they are coming to me, I don’t know but just because I work at a non-profit, they think I’m free to help with all their little projects. When is the next volunteer training, or better yet, you call them. I don’t have time for this nonsense.”

    “Hey, I’ve been calling you for an hour. Where are you? Anyway, this is Jazz from administration.”  The voice message plays, Jazz sounding out of breath.  “I need volunteer stats ASAP for a grant for our project that, oh, never mind, I just need some stats and fast to complete this application.  How many hours did volunteers give last quarter? This is the last component on the grant and it’s due today so I need this right away. Call me immediately.”

    “Yo, this is Dean in records. The new volunteer, Charles, the one you sent us last month hasn’t been logging any hours, at least I don’t think so. I thought these volunteers knew what they were doing. Anyway, where does he fill out his paperwork again? And should he just make up hours for the time he worked?”

    Do you get tired of answering the same questions over and over? While we are conditioned to give that personal touch, our time is pretty precious and continually answering simple questions can eat into our efforts spent cultivating volunteers, forging new recruitment avenues and solving challenges.

    Taking a proactive approach can help. Think about all the standard questions repeatedly asked by staff and volunteers. Can these be put into a cheat sheet? Where can these cheat sheets be stored for maximum viewing?

    We have to remember that folks don’t necessarily remember something told to them one time. Volunteers will forget specifics taught to them in orientation. Staff is too busy with their own pressing duties to remember the date of the next volunteer training. So, storing these cheat sheets in multiple areas will cut down dramatically on repetitive phone calls.

    For volunteers, some visible places to store cheat sheets:

    • on a designated area of your website
    • as reminders in your newsletter
    • posted in your office
    • included in your welcome packet
    • given to volunteer mentors to share with newbies

    For staff:

    • on an internal website
    • sent out as a quarterly email blast
    • given to department heads to post
    • at departmental meetings (ask to attend other department’s meetings to answer volunteer related questions, explain policies, intercept issues etc. )
    • on surveys sent to staff
    • posted in your office in case you are not at your desk
    • training dates posted prominently in your office (whiteboard, poster etc)
    • training dates printed on flyers, cards etc and given to staff (great recruitment tool also)

    Besides cutting down on repetitive questions, posting core volunteer information creates an informed team of staff and volunteers who will disseminate correct information to potential volunteers. And, if volunteers have to constantly try to pin you down for simple questions, or if they always receive incorrect information from uniformed staff, they will quit out of frustration.

    Elevating our vocation includes creating a comprehensive base of information visible to staff and volunteers. The more we polish the fundamentals of our volunteer programs, the more we can build upwards.

    So, go ahead and press “2” for that volunteer question. But press “1” to leave the name and contact information of a prospective volunteer.”

    Let’s make our systems work for us.

    -Meridian

     

  • Is Volunteer Management a Science?

    Is Volunteer Management a Science

    In 1959, novelist and scientist, C. P. Snow gave a lecture entitled  The Two Cultures. Essentially Snow argued that the humanities and science were split into opposing cultures, each one not understanding the other.

    Most of us would probably categorize volunteer management as a humanity.  In the post  The Volunteer Investor I likened volunteers to humanity investors.  But while humanity is at the heart of volunteering, isn’t the management of volunteers a science? And, by treating it as a science, does that automatically remove the humanity?

    Well, what if we look at other science based professions that serve humanity?

    • Does the researcher seeking a cure for cancer not dream about the potential millions of people saved?
    • Does the engineer developing a new prosthetic not imagine the first time an amputee puts on that device and walks?
    • Does a safety engineer never think about the children she may keep safe?

    Re-framing volunteer management as a science will not remove the humanity. Instead, it will elevate the skills volunteer managers possess. 

    So, then how can we re-frame volunteer management to reflect the science of it? Do we stop talking about the heartfelt work volunteers do? Do we become invested in cold stats? Or, can we do both? Can we still convey the humanity while highlighting the precise steps taken to achieve outcomes?

    When we, leaders of volunteers separate the volunteers’ incredible outcomes from the systematic steps needed to achieve those outcomes, then we can begin to identify and speak to the science of volunteer management.

    How? Well, we can, as volunteer management professionals begin to:

    • Temper human stories with solution stories and the steps necessary to achieve results
    • Speak in management language when discussing volunteer engagement and challenges
    • Remove emotion when dealing with difficult situations and instead, utilize scientific methods such as observation, gathering of data, testing and logical thinking to solve problems
    • Re-evaluate programs based on priorities, time involved and solutions achieved
    • Re-think in terms of humanely leading volunteers, but managing projects
    • Tout the science of volunteer engagement in terms of strategies, social metrics and road-maps
    • Categorize the skills used to engage volunteers, such as motivating, knowledgeable delegating (not just delegation because anybody can delegate), problem solving, results orienting, relationship building, strategical planning, innovating and big picture thinking
    • Chronicle the methodical steps necessary to engage volunteers
    • Create data that leads to goals, such as maps, diagrams etc
    • Experiment and innovate

    The perception that we coordinate volunteers who require nothing more than a phone call negates the methods required to fully engage these investors in our missions.

    Do we do ourselves a disservice when we blur the lines between the hearts of our volunteers and the hard work we do? Do we sometimes become so emotionally invested in our volunteers’ humanity that we lose our management voices?

    The results of volunteer involvement is humanity’s crowning achievement but the skills, knowledge and sheer hard work is the science of getting to those results.

    If we project our profession as a science with a humanity outcome, we can then elevate the precise, nuanced methodology required to achieve our humanitarian goals.

    Lab coat anyone?

    -Meridian

     

     

     

     

  • Need Inspiration? “Progressive Organizations Don’t Want Bosses, They Want Team Leaders and That’s What You Are As a Volunteer Manager.”

    Sally Garrett
    Sally-Ann Garrett

    Do volunteer managers possess the skills required to succeed in the corporate world?

    I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sally Garrett, a recent leader of volunteers who has taken a managerial position in the world of retail. Sally was the manager of a St. Vincent de Paul depot, an Australian branded “Vinnies” retail thrift store, the highest grossing and net profit store in Western Australia while under her leadership.

    VPT (volunteerplaintalk): Can you briefly describe your current job?

    S (Sally): My Current job is as a Retail Manager of a lifestyle super store with 26 paid staff.

    VPT: How long have you been in this position?

    S: I have been here 1 month.

    VPT: Before this position, what was your job as a volunteer manager?

    S: I ran a large not for profit processing and pick up depot and retail outlet.

    VPT: How long were you in that position?

    S: Two and a half years.

    VPT: What skills do you feel you developed as a volunteer manager and how did they translate to the position you now have?

    S: The biggest skills I developed are empathy, patience, organizing people, time management and being able to teach others that they are more than they believe they are.

    VPT: What skills helped you the most in moving into your new position?

    S: I guess because I had been rostering and managing large volumes of people all doing small roles, the biggest skill that has helped me in my new role is patience. You can’t rush volunteers and you develop a skill of being able to step back and look at the bigger picture all the time, so it became a habit to stop, look and listen. This has helped so much in my present job, because as I have a lot to learn, I am not at all overwhelmed. I am much more rounded in my approach to my team and I listen a lot more and act less, but it’s action with conviction. This means when I do act, it is for the long-term and not the short-term.

    I have already found that many people can sort out problems for themselves and become self autonomous rather than needy. I can quickly detect when people are good at what they do or need better training because I’m watching them and listening. I’m not trying to learn their job so much anymore, but placing acknowledgment in what they can do. This has made my new team feel more confident and then their skills began to shine.

    The second skill is having learned to not take credit for what others do, but rather celebrate their gifts and achievements. I don’t feel the need to own others’ successes. I have developed the ability to lead, not manage.

    The third, most important skill is that I don’t take anything personal. I am impartial to people because I know it is about them not me, and every action someone takes says things about them, not me. So, if someone is frustrated they may call me names or tell me I am not doing my job but this translates into the fact that they are telling me they need more training and are feeling overwhelmed or vulnerable. This took a long time to learn. I always thought I was doing things wrong in this situation until a volunteer pointed out to me that the other 120 people loved what I did and felt supported, so once this skill kicked in it just meant going back to basics and taking time for a cuppa and a chat and getting to the real problem which was 100% of the time the person left feeling vulnerable for some other reason.

    VPT: When you accepted this new position, did you find that your volunteer management experience helped you get the job? Any actual feedback from your new supervisor on your volunteer management experience?

    S: When interviewing for the position I applied for, I was calm and confident as I knew I had become a leader and not a manager so the interview process was easy and effortless. I had nothing to prove; they either wanted my skill set or they didn’t. If I wasn’t a good fit, I didn’t want to be there.

    I was asked to take on a much larger role than I applied for in the interview; the position was in another shop as they felt I would be of value in that role with a larger team and a busier store. As it turns out I came across as soft and compassionate but with a deep knowledge of people. This is what progressive organizations want. They don’t want bosses anymore, they want team leaders and that’s what you are as a volunteer manager.

    VPT: Are there skills that volunteer managers lack, or do not realize are important if they are seeking jobs other than in the world of volunteerism?

    S: Acknowledge your value!

    I believe a volunteer manager is much more qualified at team leadership than anyone gives them credit for, including themselves. It is a huge task being a volunteer manager and when in the role it doesn’t feel it is that important, but you touch the very core of people when they are a volunteer. Because they aren’t there for money, you find out more of what makes people tick so translating that to paid staff roles, you are able to make your staff really feel cared for when they come to work.

    You have developed an ability to shut the work-space out and make eye contact and listen to them and answer their questions. whether it be personal or work related. You have developed the ability to validate people, and that’s what our world needs more of. You are also able to adapt quickly because volunteer management deals with absences regularly.  You know how to get work done with few, if any help. Acknowledging the confidence that you know it will get done when the team is there, gives you a calmness and that drives people to help more and work harder. People love that you are in control and that you  appreciate their efforts rather than stressing and then making them feel less when they are giving more. All volunteer managers develop this skill.

    VPT: How can volunteer managers prepare themselves to enter the world of corporate management?

    S: Be the very best version of yourself, it’s really that simple; being authentic and not promising things you can’t deliver, the rest falls into place. When you develop the calmness of self-confidence, you can learn anything; the skill of managing people is the highest of all skills you need in life and work and you have that in the bag once you are a successful volunteer manager.

    VPT: Is there any advice you would like to give your fellow volunteer managers?

    S: Give them (volunteers) 15 minutes undivided attention and induct, induct, induct!

    Make sure when your volunteers start, you have given them your time whether it is 15 minutes at the start or the whole induction if you can, that time is what the volunteer remembers, because volunteers revere you; they know how hard your job is and they see you as their guiding light. If you only knew how powerful you are you wouldn’t worry about a thing. But that’s where volunteer managers are the most successful. We don’t settle for second best because it always has to be the best. Aiming for the stars on every task is what we do. Landing on the moon is not good enough for us, but it’s great to everyone else. 

    Know you are saving lives!  There is a high number of volunteers that are volunteering due to mental illness preventing them from holding down a paying job. Know that you are potentially providing the healthy, stable and compassionate environment that these people need to gain new skills and give their life purpose. It surprised me to be told on three occasions that it was because of me, personally that three people got up and tried again another day rather than ending their lives. It both shocked me and made me seek help myself to understand my role more fully. The knowledge of each person over my time in Volunteer Management truly made me see how I changed lives and how powerful and responsible my role was and how important it was to be transparent in all I did. I had to understand that it wasn’t my responsibility to take this knowledge on board personally and that it was only a part of the role. But the knowledge was confronting and it changed my dealings with people. Compassion isn’t being weak, it is the exact opposite.

    Relax more and stress less, develop the ability to tell people they can do it on their own. Softly, gently encouraging and convincing people they are wonderful and able, is the greatest skill ever. It is the most productive management tool in the workplace.

    What incredibly inspiring words for leaders of volunteers. Thank you Sally for sharing your wisdom and experience with us. All the best to you in your new position. They are very fortunate to have you on board.

    So, the next time all of you volunteer managers feel under appreciated, remember these words from Sally: I was asked to take on a much larger role than I applied for in the interview; the position was in another shop as they felt I would be of value in that role with a larger team and a busier store.

    Volunteer management matters.

    -Meridian

  • Taking Extra Care to Support Volunteers

     

    Taking Extra Care to Support Volunteers

    The recent spate of natural disasters has cast a light on incredible volunteers across the globe helping people in need.

    Although not always news worthy, volunteers daily walk towards a crisis instead of running away. In organizations everywhere, volunteers are doing the hard work, the emotional work. Because they feel so deeply, they are affected by the tragedies they witness such as in this story:  Volunteer shares harrowing account of how Hurricane Irma ripped toddler from woman’s arms

    In our training programs, we encourage our volunteers to have empathy (the ability to understand and share the feelings of another) so they can better serve our clients. But can empathy take a toll?

    I remember a new volunteer, Jenna and the first time she was present with a patient who died. Jenna had hours of volunteer training. She and I had talked at length about her strengths and capabilities. She was prepared… on paper.

    Minutes after she left the room, allowing family members to gather, she sought me out. I was in the middle of some urgent matter that I have long forgotten. I looked up and saw Jenna’s face and I knew. You can’t mistake a face that has been profoundly affected by what was just witnessed. It’s there in the tiny muscles that make up the eyes and mouth. It’s there, deep in the irises that reflect a life altering experience. It’s there in the reverent voice asking for “a moment of your time.”

    We found a private spot and sat for several long and quiet minutes while Jenna gathered her thoughts. It was difficult for her to put into words how she felt. She only knew that she felt changed, different, profoundly transformed somehow.

    And if you think about it, how does each volunteer cope with the things they witness? Does training and on-boarding take care of the emotional investment our volunteers make when accepting roles placing them in life’s most profound situations?

    Volunteers have an amazing resilience and ability to cope when faced with deeply personal scenarios. But what if a situation becomes more personal? In what situations can this happen to a volunteer, even if they have received excellent training?

    • a volunteer works with a person who reminds them of a family member (child, partner, parent, sibling)
    • a volunteer witnesses tragedy over and over and it accumulates
    • a volunteer is dealing with a crisis in their own lives
    • a volunteer is in a situation in which they perceive their help makes little difference (in outward appearance)
    • a volunteer gets caught up in the narrative of the situation
    • a volunteer feels the frustration of the client

    We can’t prepare our volunteers for every situation, story and person they will encounter. So, how can we provide extra support for volunteers in order to prevent burnout? A few of the things we can do are:

    • ask clinical staff to be on the lookout for signs a volunteer needs support
    • ask clinical staff to be available to speak with volunteers who may be overwhelmed
    • enlist experienced volunteers to routinely call the volunteers who are working with clients. Experienced volunteers are the perfect candidates to do these check-ins because volunteers are comfortable speaking to other volunteers. (This is a great assignment for volunteers who physically can no longer do the job-instead of “retiring” them, elevate them to mentoring status)
    • create a monthly coffee klatch or tea time and encourage volunteers to share tips, stories and feelings
    • use newsletters to offer tips on self care
    • incorporate stories of volunteers who experienced emotional challenges into training and emphasize that this is not a sign of failure
    • designate a portion of each volunteer meeting to discuss “what’s going on with you”
    • intervene when noticing a volunteer experiencing emotional challenges (this can be personal, professional etc.)

    If we make it clear that we are serious about supporting our volunteers, we will help them remain emotionally healthy and keep them from burning out.

    This is the irony of non-profit work: We want our volunteers to share in our clients’ pain (Empathy) in order to better support the clients. But that empathy can lead to our volunteers experiencing their own emotional pain. Let’s make sure we support them so it doesn’t get out of hand.

    -Meridian

     

     

     

     

  • The Volunteer Investor: Is It Their Time or Something More?

    The Volunteer Investor Is It Time or Something More

    Time=Money. We all say it and that’s why we call volunteers “time donors.” They donate their time, and of course, skills, expertise, talents etc. But is that what they really are? Donors? Maybe there’s a more descriptive word for our volunteers. And what is the difference between the terms donate and invest anyway?

    donate: to present as a gift, grant, or contribution

    invest: to use, give, or devote (money, time) as for a purpose or to achieve something:

    Hmmmm, there’s a subtle, but profound difference in the two definitions.

    Volunteers don’t just show up, give a few hours and walk away. But outdated thinking categorizes them in this way. Doesn’t it feel like investing is closer to what volunteers do? Maybe we should start to rethink this whole time donor idea.

    Let’s take this further and examine investors. Investors invest money, right? But why? Why do they invest money in startups. non-profits, real estate, stock markets and other ventures. To make more money? Or is it more than that?

    Money is a currency. So what do investors really invest? Many things. They invest their future, hoping to be financially secure. They invest their dreams, hoping to achieve a goal. They invest their essence, hoping to give back. They invest their good name, hoping to attach to a cause that is worthy of their currency. They invest employee engagement, hoping to attract great employees. They invest their clout, hoping to further a cause that supports their vision.

    Investors invest so many intangibles, and their currency is money. They don’t give startups or organizations money, they devote their money in order to achieve a goal.

    How would this apply to volunteers?

    If money=currency, then time=currency.

    So if volunteers’ currency is time, then what exactly do they invest?

    They invest their humanity.  (the quality or condition of being human)

    Volunteer managers everywhere instinctively know this. We feel this every day when hearing and observing our volunteers’ intangibles. How do we feel this?

    • by the rewards volunteers tell us they personally feel
    • by their belief in us and our missions
    • by the passion exhibited by volunteers
    • by the camaraderie volunteers forge when bonding with like minded citizens
    • by the commitment volunteers show
    • by the enrichment volunteers gain by volunteering with us
    • by the sense of pride volunteers feel in their work
    • by the support and love they extend to us and other staff
    • by the initiative they take when doing word of mouth marketing in their communities
    • by the care they wrap around strangers in need
    • by the desire they exhibit in wanting us to grow and succeed
    • by the pure joy they infuse into our lives
    • by the amount of time they spend away from us helping us off the clock by recruiting, marketing. finding resources, donating, improving themselves, etc.

    Investors, according to experts, want the following things from the areas in which they invest:

    • they want to build a relationship
    • they want to partner
    • they want to invest in a “team”
    • they want to see a better future
    • they want to grow
    • they want to understand concepts

    Sounds an awful lot like the wants of our volunteers, doesn’t it? Calling volunteers “time donors” implies that they give time and walk away and are mostly disconnected from us. Nothing could be further from the truth.

    So, do volunteers donate their time or devote their time if devote implies giving for a purpose? I think devote wins hands down.

    For years and years, we have been trying to equate time donation with money donation. Time and money are simply two different types of currencies. And besides, we all know that volunteers do so much more than give their time to a task. They also raise money, find resources, advocate, broadcast, recruit, and market for us. They have chosen to invest a huge chunk of what makes them human in our missions. They have chosen to connect their precious humanity to us.

    Let’s stop constantly trying to shove volunteers into the round money hole by equating time spent with dollars saved, which isn’t a true measuring stick at all. Let’s erase the idea that volunteers have no more connection with us than a few hours here and there.

    time donors=minimal involvement

    volunteer investors=fully engaged

    Instead, let’s elevate the volunteers’ role as investors. Investors who devote their time, money, skills, talents, resources, passion, commitment, expertise, experience, knowledge, drive, zeal, perspective, and so much more to helping us further our causes.

    Humanity Investors.

    What could be more important than that?

    -Meridian

  • The Volunteer Periphery

    The Volunteer Periphery
    Sea of peripheral volunteers

    I have a friend who never seems to see the people around him. He lets the door swing shut just as an elderly man is about to walk through and he never sees the mom carrying a baby needing to get by as he blocks the aisle in the store. It’s as though he has no peripheral vision. It got me to thinking about managers of volunteers and how we develop our peripheral vision to the point of hyper awareness.

    You know what I mean. You’re the kind of person who:

    counts the number of people behind you in the buffet line at a friend’s party and then you mentally divide up the pasta portions in the pan to make sure that you don’t take more than your share.

    looks around at a concert, sizing up the height of the crowd and then squeezes into a spot that ensures you don’t block the petite woman to your left.

    Does this sound like you? I thought so.

    We all have peripheral volunteers. These are the volunteers who are episodic, temporarily inactive, retired, yet to be trained, prospective, or absent. And unlike the world of paid staff where rosters consist of those receiving paychecks, our peripheral volunteers remain on our stats and radar.

    We don’t have the luxury of ignoring them because they are potentially contributing volunteers. Or they may have given years of service and we owe them our attention. They float around in the periphery, bobbing in and out of view because we have a fluid connection with them. And how about the guilt that comes with not paying proper attention to them. (Yep, just think of how you felt when you forgot that volunteer’s 80th birthday, the one who gave twenty years of service to your organization)

    What can we do with these outlying volunteers? How can we keep them in view as we scurry about in our busy day? Where do they fit into statistics?

    This is one area in which:

    1. technology serves us well
    2. volunteers can assume pivotal roles
    3. stats reflect the monumental balancing we do
    4. volunteer message sharing can actually help

    When lists that capture prospective, episodic, absent, retired, ill and every other category meaning non current pile up, it’s time to create some systems that help.

    Create categorized email lists-prospective volunteers, group and corporate volunteers, temporarily inactive volunteers etc. Decide which groups get which messages, e.g., upcoming training sessions, newsletters, notices about volunteer events or vacancies, etc.

    Recruit volunteers to oversee the periphery-lists are only helpful if they are accurate. It’s humbling when you take a call telling you that volunteer Dave died a year ago and his family keeps getting mail addressed to him. A volunteer or volunteers in charge of overseeing other volunteers on the periphery can focus on keeping lists up to date. They can also make phone calls, interview, do impromptu surveys, offer new opportunities, gather information and compile statistics. The scope of the potential work can fill a full-time position or several part-time positions.

    Report your time spent managing peripheral volunteers-this is an invisible area that requires a lot of time so report it as part of your recruitment, retention, and cultivation. Refer to your efforts to engage “prospects”, retain episodic volunteers, build community awareness, increase visibility, maintain good relationships, cultivate donors, supporters etc. This nuanced area of our work is critical and should be accounted for.

    Share messaging with other organizations, but be careful. Bombarding potential volunteers with multiple messages can be off-putting, so don’t overload emails with “spam.” Instead, co-op with other volunteer organizations and include “other good work opportunities” at the end of every other month newsletters (or other scheduling) with contact information. As your volunteer opportunities are added to the internals at other organizations, you’ve just exponentially increased your recruitment efforts.

    Volunteer management casts a wide net. Presiding over the sea of active, potential and former volunteers is daunting. Systems in place to oversee peripheral volunteers will help to ease the overwhelming burden and free us up to concentrate on innovation and solutions.

    Out nets are huge and always jumping with activity. If our eyes and hands are always on every inch of those nets, then we can’t steer the boat.

    -Meridian

     

     

     

     

     

  • Innovation and Sustainable Volunteering

    Innovation and Sustainable Volunteering

    What would sustainable volunteering look like? Besides many of the innovations already being implemented, what would nurturing a volunteer garden shared within our communities involve? Is this a 180 degree leap or is it more of a naturally occurring shift that we have been moving towards all along? Are we, volunteer managers coming together in an organic movement to help one another and therefore all volunteers and all good work?

    What can we try? Will this take extra work, headache and heartache to achieve? Just as in gardening, there are necessary steps to achieve a bountiful crop.

    I’m going to list some ideas in a season of planting using the gardening metaphor.

    TILLING THE SOIL (preparing to garden):

    • Make a list of agencies and organizations in your area that utilize volunteers and reach out to introduce yourself to each leader of volunteers
    • Join any clearinghouse agencies such as United Way, and Volunteer Centres in your area
    • Join a DOVIA (Directors Of Volunteers In Agencies) or a similar group in your area or if none exists, reach out to another volunteer manager and start a peer group
    • Create a list serve or simple newsletter to share with your fellow volunteer managers in your locale

    PLANTING (seeding the way):

    • Share your volunteer opportunities with other volunteer managers (at your peer group and by list serve) and ask for theirs-regularly check in to gauge the fluidity of roles, etc.
    • Discuss volunteers’ skills and interests at peer group meetings. Offer other volunteer managers the opportunity to contact one of your volunteers if their mission or opportunity more closely aligns with your volunteer’s passion
    • Share background checks if you are able in order to cut costs
    • Pair up with other organizations to conduct a visible volunteer project and involve local media to cover the event
    • Create volunteer educational conferences with other volunteer managers to benefit all volunteers in area-share space, costs of snacks or printed materials creating more bang for the buck
    • Share cost of a national speaker with other volunteer programs and invite all volunteers in area-have plenty of information on volunteering opportunities available

    FEEDING (nurturing the collective):

    • Bring your volunteers to another organization on Make a Difference Day or another day of service and help that organization-build that camaraderie, use positive press to show cooperation:   Days of service include:
    • Good Deeds Day – April 15, 2018 (USA)
    • National Volunteer Week – April 15-22, 2018 (USA)
    • 911 Day of Service – September 11 (USA)
    • Make a Difference Day – October 28, 2017 (USA)
    • Family Volunteer Day – November 18, 2017 (USA)
    • MLK Day of Service – January 15, 2018 (USA)
    • Volunteers’ Week -June 1-7 (UK)
    • National Volunteer Week -21-27 May 2018 (Australia)
    • National Volunteer Week -April 15-21 2018 (Canada)
    • International Volunteer Day -5 December 2017 (UN)
    • National Volunteer Week -18-24 June 2017(2018 not published yet) (New Zealand)
    • Create a summer circle of volunteering for out of school students so they can sample the various opportunities in your area and participate in a well-rounded service learning experience
    • Conduct partner training sessions with other organizations
    • Partner with another organization to create a group of volunteers to cross-volunteer (a really rudimentary example – library volunteers + homeless shelter volunteers = a reading program for school aged children in the shelter. Library volunteers finding appropriate books, shelter volunteers utilizing them and perhaps some library volunteers venturing out to read to the children while shelter volunteers conduct a fundraiser for the library-and no this isn’t simple or easy but it can be a start)
    • Mentor new volunteer coordinators in your area
    • Offer your highly seasoned and trained volunteers to train/mentor volunteers at another organization
    • Partner with other volunteer managers to create a presentation that educates organizational staff on the nuances of volunteer engagement-allow all volunteer managers in your area to utilize
    • Create partnership recruitment efforts by sharing speaking engagements

    Future Bounty (what might come of this?)

    • Increased satisfaction and sustainability of volunteers
    • More flexible options for prospective volunteers
    • Sharing of best practices between leaders of volunteers
    • The showcasing of cooperation between non-profit agencies
    • Increased volunteer involvement in organizational planning and innovations
    • More good work accomplished within communities
    • Cooperative think tanks springing up
    • Less stress on volunteer managers

    We, volunteer managers are unique, innovative and forward thinking. Why wouldn’t we bond with one another and forge a new, co-operative garden in order to create sustainable volunteerism?

    Besides, we are generous and big picture oriented by nature. Let’s co-op.

    -Meridian

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Sustainability and Volunteerism

    Sustainability and Volunteerism

    Retention: the continued possession, use, or control of something.

    Does that sound like the volunteerism you know? Not to me either. Maybe it’s time to rethink using the phrase “volunteer retention,” because it conjures up images of a stagnant retention pond. It also rhymes with detention which is closely related to imprisonment. (shudder)

    So, if we stop using that phrase, then do we have to rethink the old principles behind it such as:

    • make the volunteers feel welcomed
    • say thank you a lot
    • be mindful of their time

    What???? But wait. Just because these principles are fluffy and nice, it  doesn’t mean they are still the best for the changing landscape of volunteerism. Maybe it’s time to retire volunteer retention and instead, embrace volunteer sustainability. Ok, so swapping phrases does not make for innovation. I get that.

    What is the difference then, between retention and sustainability? Well, we’ve all been moving away from the strategies that worked with the WWII generation for some time now.  Why not update our verbiage to match the creative ideas being implemented out there by so many forward thinking visionaries. And while we are embracing these changes, let’s go even further.

    Volunteer Sustainability vs Volunteer Retention

    *This is where sustainability is radically different from volunteer retention. Sustainability, unlike retention is the ability to maintain a healthy balance while avoiding depletion.  Sustainability, as it is being applied to agriculture, economics and ecosystems implementation implies that there is a larger network to be considered. It implies that resources are not hoarded (retention) and depleted.

    What larger network is there to consider when engaging volunteers? The larger network is all volunteer organizations and individual volunteer satisfaction. With that in mind, let’s ask these questions:

    • Why do we keep volunteers on waiting lists if we cannot use them in a timely manner or cannot find roles for their passions?
    • Why do more volunteers equal better volunteer engagement even if some volunteers are in name only?
    • Why do we stuff volunteers with specialized skill sets and interests into non-matching roles? Or try to tweak a role just to keep the volunteer?
    • Why do we cling to volunteers as though they are 23 year old offspring and we just can’t bear to see them fly?
    • Why do we blame ourselves when volunteers leave?

    It is time we, volunteer managers, think of other volunteer managers, our volunteers, all volunteer opportunities, all clients in our area, and all missions as a network serving the greater good.

    It is time we viewed volunteerism as a regenerating community garden that needs tending by all of us so that the bounty of volunteers is nurtured, regrown and sustained.

    It is time we added collective volunteer engagement, sharing and referral to our innovative methods in order to cultivate volunteer sustainability.

    How many times does a volunteer get frustrated and drop out when they have to wait too long to share their time and skill? Or how many volunteers quit because their passion is not being fully utilized? How are we serving our communities when we deplete our volunteer base by clinging to the archaic notion of volunteer retention?

    Next time: We can be the leaders of a sustainable movement. (Innovation and Sustainable Volunteering)

    -Meridian