volunteerplaintalk

Volunteer Plain Talk

for today’s leaders of volunteers

  • Dealing with Regrets: Should We Let Go or Is There Another Way?

    Photo by Kamaji Ogino on Pexels.com

    Regrets. We all have them. I have some real doozies in my volunteer engagement career, and I’ve read plenty of advice about how to deal with regrets, including the advice to “let go.”

    I don’t know about you, but letting go is not that simple. I still am disappointed at some of my bone-headed mistakes, especially the ones I made, knowing that I shouldn’t have. Those are the tough ones to swallow. (cause, shhhhh, we’re not perfect)

    I’m thinking of the time I no-showed a volunteer’s funeral, the volunteer who always came in when I asked and oh, btw, gave a very thoughtful present to one of my children for graduation. I knew I would regret not going, but hey, I told myself I was too busy. Or tired. Lazy, maybe? Doesn’t matter; that one stings.

    Or when I knew sending an often unreliable volunteer to that home would result in a disaster. Sure, I had no one else. Sure, it was a tough case. Sure, I wanted to complete the assignment cause I was egotistical about filling assignments. But, I knew it was a mistake and yet, I did it anyway.

    Or when I was too busy to double-check on that assignment, cause my gut told me that times and location had changed, but I let it go, until volunteers frantically called me because they were in the wrong place. Yep.

    What was I thinking?

    Fortunately, I don’t dwell on these lapses in common sense. But I also can’t wipe them from memory like they never happened. Not entirely. So, is feeling guilty the answer? Can I do anything to make amends and wipe the deed from the universe’s memory?

    Constructive vs unproductive

    When you make a mistake you regret, look for the lesson. Two weeks ago I wrote about volunteers who teach us to be vigilant. The mistakes we personally make teach us not only are we human and fallible, but we are also adaptive and teachable. The beauty of being human is our ability to grow and learn.

    Harness mistakes as a blueprint for improving

    There are some ways to keep regrets from eating away at you. Being constructive and choosing to use the mistake as a springboard to improving puts you in control. Harnessing mistakes means:

    • first and foremost, get rid of unrealistic expectations-you know what I mean, the “I have to be perfect, because, (insert every disastrous outcome here, like volunteers will not like me) and set expectations that allow for a few mistakes to occur.
    • give yourself attainable goals and parameters-stop the “I must NEVER again do anything wrong” baloney and ease up. Try, “I’m working towards a reasonable goal in steps that are not perfect.”
    • forgive yourself, but remember the lesson and use it to motivate, not berate yourself.
    • record all the examples of you doing something amazing and compare to the one or two missteps-you’ll find that you are actually, pretty amazing.
    • dialogue the lessons: Journal the conscious steps you are taking from lessons learned.
    • remind yourself that volunteers and your organization are better served by someone who learns from mistakes and grows than someone who lives in paralyzing guilt and stays stuck in guilty-mode.
    • name regrets out loud(this is a tough one)-don’t fear admitting blunders, to volunteers, to staff, to administration. But always add, “and because I assigned a volunteer who I knew wouldn’t follow through, I have learned that it is more important to give our clients reliable volunteer help than just filling an assignment to fill it. And here are the steps I’m taking to make sure we always give our clients our best.” Besides, if you own your mistakes, guess what? You get to define them and stop any inaccuracies from becoming organizational lore, such as “oh, the volunteer department never sends reliable volunteers.” Own the narrative.

    Forgive without forgetting

    Let those tucked away regrets motivate you to be constructive so they don’t turn into full-on guilt. Regrets can either keep us paralyzed by guilt or they can motivate us to grow by making us constructive.

    And hey, think about this. Which would your volunteers prefer? A paralyzed by guilt leader or one beautifully human, who embraces constructive changes and is visibly growing in leadership skills?

    Not a tough choice.

    -Meridian

    If you are having overwhelming feelings of guilt, shame or hopelessness, please reach out to a trusted family member, friend or colleague. These days, additional stressors can exacerbate our feelings of guilt, hopelessness and anxiety. We all experience tough times and knowing when to ask for help is courageous and necessary. Be important to yourself. We need you.

  • Happy Thanksgiving!

    Wishing everyone a moment of reflection and acknowledgement for the work we do to make our world a better place.

    -Meridian

  • Thanks to the volunteers who lied, stole and created havoc

    Photo by Samuel Wu00f6lfl on Pexels.com

    Do you ever gush, “Thank you to of all the wonderful volunteers who have inspired me, enriched my soul and taught me compassion?” Yeah, that’s my go-to line because I mean it and I bet you do, too. Besides, isn’t thanking what we volunteer managers do best? (well maybe next to being annoyingly humble)

    Volunteers shape us and teach us how to be better leaders. So, maybe we should also thank the volunteers who taught us the lessons that strengthen our characters. You know the ones. Their memories are seared into your psyche like the time you dropped your phone when you learned a trusted volunteer called a client “idiot.”  You slunk back to your office when the CEO told you a volunteer tried to sell his daughter’s beat up Chevy to a client’s son. You found a seat way in back and kept your mouth closed in meetings after a volunteer wrote that oddly kind, but wildly misguided letter to the editor, calling your staff “an army of swat unicorns who invade with guns shooting helping dust.”

    Mop-up lessons are hard when they occur

    You never intended a volunteer to try and convert a client’s family to their religious or political beliefs. These are the mop-up lessons. You mop up the mess, apologizing profusely, hoping no one thinks that all volunteers act this way, while explaining that you never gave volunteers permission to move in with a client or take out an ad in the local paper and alter the logo to make it look like it was smiling.

    But, honest mistakes aside, think about all the clients saved from unscrupulous volunteers because you learned a hard lesson. Think about all the necessary precautions you take because you were put through the wringer. Think about the watchful eye you developed because you were caught unaware.

    Mopping up after mistakes equips us with vigilance.

    Many years ago, volunteer Jacob lied to my face. Again and again. I believed him, not because he was charming and convincing, but because I wanted to believe him. I believed in the romantic notion that all people would set aside their personal agendas for the greater good. I lived in a faerie world in which all volunteers understood the mission and eagerly awaited my instructions so they could change the world.

    Jacob showed me that I had to be realistic if I truly wanted to do right by our clients. He showed me that healthy watchfulness did not diminish my job, but rather elevated it to a higher level of purposefulness.

    Matching volunteers to vulnerable clients takes more than kindness

    You’ve been through this. We struggle to explain all the carefully measured thought and actions required to match volunteers to clients and programs.  Faeries are lovely, but we live in the real world. In the real world, placing volunteers with vulnerable clients takes discerning judgement, careful pairing and keen watchfulness. 

    I’ve had volunteers who stole, volunteers who pushed an agenda, volunteers who wanted to take over and volunteers who were just mean. I’m still surprised by volunteers who talk a good game and then cause real harm. I’ve also had volunteers who messed up royally because they did something nice, but so misplaced that it caused real harm.

    So, I thank Jacob and the others for giving me a discerning nature, for strengthening my resolve to do right and for teaching me that compassion takes the courage to be a sentry.

    The volunteers who cause harm never intend to teach us anything. Their intent lies deep within their own needs.

    But every one of these volunteers teach us lessons that mold us into a better leader of volunteers. They teach us to trust, yet verify and to protect the vulnerable people we serve. A successful leader of volunteers must be strong. Conviction means doing what is right, even when it is hard. It means saying no with kindness.

    So, let’s silently thank them for those often painful lessons that shape us into stronger leaders.

    They never intended to teach us something valuable, but they did, so thanks, you guys.

    -Meridian

    This is updated from a 2017 post.

  • Hey #LoVols Reputation, Meet Our Self-Identity

    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    So, what’s next for leaders of volunteers? #WeGetToRevampEveryVolunteerRoleSoVolunteersActuallyWantToVolunteerWithUsWhatAConcept!

    Ok, maybe we should take it one step at a time. To reframe volunteer engagement and impact, we first need listeners who become supporters who then become advocates for our vision.

    Tall order, right? It’s hard enough to get anyone to listen, much less champion the ideas we are advocating for. This is where reputation comes in.

    And who will listen to us if our reputation paints us as:

    • meek and mild
    • having fun
    • doing easy stuff
    • always apologizing
    • always running around putting out fires
    • reactive versus proactive
    • unable to fill requests
    • babbling on and on about how wonderful the volunteers are
    • in charge of the fluff
    • not involved in the nitty gritty planning work
    • going along to get along

    Being known as proactive vs. reactive

    Taking control of the conversation surrounding your volunteer program begins by taking control of your reputation as the leader of volunteers. Look at it like this: Let’s say you go to a bank to open an account. Two bankers are working that day and as you wait, you listen to them talk to clients.

    A tale of two bankers, or who the heck would you trust with your money?

    One banker is animated, showing her client the various accounts available. She points to stats, but doesn’t rattle off numbers. She explains how each statistic impacts the client’s vision for financial success. She offers multiple paths to success so the client can grow their investments. She explains in detail how each account functions, their positives and their challenges and yet assures the client that with her expert guidance, financial success will come.

    Photo by Frans Van Heerden on Pexels.com

    The other banker looks harried. He fumbles through a stack of papers, dropping them on the floor and apologizes for the lack of available options. He grabs a board he obviously made himself that displays the various colors the client can choose for a checkbook cover and points to the blue one, saying “this color is really pretty, don’t you think? “

    Who would you pick? (and if you picked the banker who spent his time showing checkbook cover colors, you’re most definitely a volunteer manager who has spent a lot of time “rescuing people,” am I right?)

    Perceptions are created in the first few minutes.

    And to make matters worse, once a perception is established, people then look for signs that reinforce the perception. (We all do it BTW, which is why I always gave this one pompous marketing executive the incomplete copy of a report-cause I figured he’d never read it and I always waited for him to ask where the rest of the report was, but he never did) So, if you’re perceived as being in charge of fluff, people will notice anything that reinforces that perception. Boom, you now have a reputation because people talk.

    Establish the reputation you deserve

    Start by doing small things that produce big reputation results.

    • Speak up in meetings in an advocating way-most of us get caught off guard in situations so create a few well-crafted opening statements and memorize them. For example, “Volunteers have contributed a lot to that program and here’s how,” or “This is a great opportunity for our volunteers to contribute, let me show you how,” or “Just a reminder that our volunteers are involved in that initiative and so far, they’ve…” Opening statements make it soooooo much easier to quell any jitters about speaking up. And you know what? Pretty soon, when you open your mouth to speak, others will chime in, “yeah, we know, volunteers are contributing because….” But that’s great, because the phrases will cement themselves and your professional reputation improves.
    • explain how volunteers are having fun because you are working at making a welcoming environment for volunteers. Say, “because we don’t pay our volunteers, their reward for a job well done includes having an enjoyable atmosphere in which to work. That’s why I work hard to create fun around them.”
    • explain the work involved in engaging volunteers (see Not So Fast, Captain Obvious for more on explaining volunteer engagement)
    • NEVER, EVER apologize because a volunteer can’t fulfill an assignment (see Volunteer Managers are better than These 3 Phrases for more about re-framing apologies)
    • flip the perception which means emphasize the positive versus reacting to the negative. When staff say, “I have a last minute request, so not sure if you can get someone,” instead of saying, “I’ll try,” say “Most volunteers are willing to do last minute requests because they want to help us reach our goals.”
    • offer solutions with this caveat: we can do more with me at the planning table
    • stop going along to get along to be liked. Instead aim to be respected as a professional. Being respected has little similarity to being liked. Liked is for your friends, family, dog, hamster, hairdresser, maybe the guy who rotates your tires cause he’ll throw an oil change in for free. Respected is the professional’s goal. Respected means you accomplish stuff and do the hard things without complaint. It means you are fair, mission focused and strong.

    Know it or not, YOU are the face of your volunteer program and the perceptions of how your program is run, lies with you. It can feel overwhelming, but once you take control of the perceptions, you emerge with the reputation as… a leader of volunteers.

    I’m not saying it’s easy and I’m not saying it’s instantaneous. But it is doable.

    And besides, when have you, volunteer professionals ever backed down from a challenge? (Uh huh, thought so)

    -Meridian

  • International Volunteer Managers Day November 5: What’s Next?

    Photo by Pressmaster on Pexels.com

    International Volunteer Managers Day is tomorrow and the theme for 2020 is: What’s next?

    I’ll tell you what’s next. Change-big, big, gargantuan change, that’s what’s next. Sweeping changes, whether we initiate them by adjusting volunteer programs, or they occur naturally in spite of what we do. But changes in volunteerism have been drip, dripping in for years and the pandemic has merely loosened the change valve and allowed a wave of changes to gush in.

    Shall we get red in the face and shout?

    So, do we simply amplify our change voices?

    Should we yell in the next meeting that “volunteers need respect and true recognition, you fools, not balloons and cute sayings?” Scream over the intercom that “volunteers need meaningful roles, people” and hope that sticks? Put up posters with sayings like “volunteers are human beings, not tools,” or “the volunteer exodus is real?”

    Starting where change must first begin: with our approach to enacting change

    “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”
    – Lao Tzu

    What is your perception of yourself? Well, that’s easy, right? Let’s see, I’m

    • hardworking
    • dedicated
    • kind
    • creative
    • forward thinking
    • humble
    • a team player
    • a believer in possibilities

    But what is your reputation (not self-identity) within your organization?

    Your self-identity may not be the same as your reputation. You know you possess all those wonderful traits, but how do you exhibit them at work? Or, could it be that (as I’ve experienced more times than I care to admit) what seems obvious is not obvious at all?

    Maybe your humility is viewed as weakness. Maybe your kindness is viewed as a lack of gumption. Maybe all of your hard work behind the scenes is not seen at all. Maybe your dedication is viewed as having fun with volunteers. Maybe your forward thinking is perceived as complaining.

    Shouting won’t change the perception of who we are and the importance of our volunteer programs

    Think about a person you respect and/or admire. When they say something you listen, right? Now think about a person you’re ambivalent about. What happens when they say something? Do you listen with the same intent? Probably not.

    Change will never happen until people want to hear what we have to say

    We can argue and advocate all we want, but if our reputation hinders us, people won’t listen deeply to understand what we are saying. And we must get through to our organizations. Why? Because volunteers are rapidly changing, irrespective of Covid’s impact, and we know that organizations must adapt to sustain volunteering.

    For years, volunteers have been changing because:

    • they look for flexibility
    • they need meaningful roles
    • they want instant access
    • they want to have say in what they do
    • they crave being told how they’ve impacted missions
    • they hate red tape
    • they demand transparency
    • they want to know more about organizational inner workings
    • they don’t feel bad about leaving for better opportunities
    • they want to be educated and more involved
    • they want to feel totally integrated
    • they want to use their skills, not be slotted into tedious roles
    • they want to create an identity within the organization
    • they want more control over their volunteering
    • they want to be on an even par with donors
    • they want to be recognized for their additional support outside of their recorded volunteer hours

    That’s a butt-load of changes, isn’t it? These changes are not new; they’ve been coming for years and now, they’re here in our laps. So, we can shout all we want, but we need listeners.

    Who are we in the nonprofit world?

    Take a moment and think about perceptions. Look at the behaviors that might create the wrong perception. Do you ever…

    • stay quiet in meetings
    • phrase your advocacy in terms such as “but, volunteers don’t want to do that.”
    • hang back so volunteers are in the spotlight
    • assume everyone sees how hard you work
    • look harried at times
    • get down or mad because no one seems to get it
    • react defensively when staff doesn’t respect volunteers
    • use phrases like, “I’m putting out fires”
    • talk about “having fun with the volunteers”
    • avoid confrontations with challenging volunteers
    • just sit back and hope for the best

    Now, remove yourself and picture a random person (let’s call her Matilda) exhibiting any of the above behaviors. What would your perception of Matilda be? What would Matilda’s reputation at work be like? Would she be thought of as a visionary, a leader, a go-getter, an innovator, a solutions gal?

    So, for International Volunteer Managers Day, the “what’s next” question for me means this: Forget for a minute all that needs to change when engaging volunteers and think about how we can make change happen.

    What needs to change is our self-identities as innovative, mission-supporting, forward thinking, visionary people must match our reputations within our organizations.

    Once we are viewed in the way we self-identify, we can successfully advocate for the changes we seek because people will listen.

    Next time: An action plan

    -Meridian

  • #LoVols, Beware: It’s Zombification Season

    Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

    The night air is cold and your breath hangs, a web in the blackness. Your heart races, threatening to burst as something draws near, just over your shoulder. You close your eyes as it creeps behind you, opening its mouth to strike.

    But you’re exhausted from running, and maybe if you just stopped, blissful oblivion will take over. Maybe zombification isn’t so bad.

    A year like no other

    The challenges this year have exponentially added to the stressors from overwork, revamping volunteer programs, and onboarding an influx of new volunteers while retaining furloughed volunteers.

    Being zombified means through stressors, you’ve lost your vitality, your human essence. You’ve lost you. It’s a very real phenomena in everyday volunteer manager lives and especially now, with the added stressors.

    Stessors that zombify us

    • feeling underappreciated
    • feeling targeted
    • feeling like nothing ever changes
    • feeling like no one understands
    • feeling that it’s all for nothing
    • feeling like everyone is quick to criticize or give advice
    • feeling like everyday is the same
    • feeling like control is slipping away

    Zombification is just so….dead

    Zombified managers (and you’ve experienced one, right?) shuffle through the day, avoiding anything that takes energy because they have none to spare. When we, leaders of volunteers become zombified, what happens? (and trust me, I’ve become zombified at times, until a caring co-worker or volunteer bashed me in the head and work me up)

    • volunteers don’t get the inspiration they seek or are used to getting
    • difficult conversations with volunteers go unsaid and problems fester until they become full-blown
    • volunteer programs wither
    • the people we serve don’t receive the volunteer help that might have made all the difference to them
    • volunteers go elsewhere or fade away
    • potential is lost
    • and sadly, the joy a volunteer manager receives from being a volunteer manager dies

    The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection

    George Orwell

    We are not perfect and these times are far from perfect. When things look bleak or never-ending, it’s understandable to want to curl up in a ball and mentally detach. We’re not immune to our own feelings. We swim in feelings, whether it be volunteers’, clients’, staff or friends and family all day long.

    Anti-zombification repellant spray

    Remember, you cannot be perfect, because you’d lose your humanity if you were perfect and volunteers need your imperfect, caring self. What can you do when feeling zombified? Here’s some things, for better or worse, that I’ve used when I realized I was just shuffling through the day, a drop of spit hanging from my slack mouth.

    • watch the funniest movie or stand up comedy you can find and then, when you’re still giggling, start to think of the maddening things that weigh on your mind. Mentally insert those things into the funny movie and make them funny. Write yourself into the scene. See the things that bring you down in a different light.
    • Grab your best-est friend, co-worker or relative and dare each other to do something outrageous. The thrill of the dare can often break feelings of drudgery. My family does this all the time to each other. These episodes become some of our best memories and make us laugh.
    • Read or watch the saddest thing you can find. Cry, feel horrible and then go wallow in all the rotten feelings you’ve been experiencing. Get it out. Take each rotten feeling, turn it over in your head and then think about the sad movie or story you’ve watched/read. How did the person in that movie/book deal with their challenge? Find inspiration in the strength of others.

     When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.

    Fred Rogers

    Stress can easily zombify us when feelings of not being in control overtake us. But we know our volunteers look to us to lead and inspire them. They believe in us. We can, too.

    Volunteers don’t want perfect, robotic leaders. And sometimes, zombification comes when the desire to do everything perfectly meets the reality that we are imperfect creatures.

    Volunteers want imperfect us

    Volunteers want you, imperfect you, and all your quirky sayings, your crazy ideas, your funny habits. They want the way your nose wrinkles up when you hear that a staff member didn’t say hi to a volunteer. They want the way your brow knits in thought when you’re plotting a way to involve them in a new program. They want your voice raised an octave when excited about an upcoming meeting. They want that hastily made poster that says thank you in sloppy script.

    Volunteers want your human self.

    -Meridian

  • VPT Podcast: Elisa Kosarin of Twenty Hats

    https://www.buzzsprout.com/605416/episodes/5987878

    or pick one of the podcast platforms on the left; Google, Stitcher, Apple, Spotify

    iHeartRadio

    I was fortunate to chat with Elisa Kosarin, CVA, who is one of our important thought leaders in volunteer engagement. Listen in as Elisa shares her insights on:

    • strategic planning and how fun fits in
    • how volunteer managers should aspire to move up into senior management
    • achieving buy-in and the seven kinds of power
    • the future of virtual volunteering
    • how volunteer managers are embracing and adapting traditional roles to virtual
    • how new looks at virtual roles may create more inclusion and diversity
    • how doing uncomfortable things makes you grow
    • work/life balance
    • leadership, vision and creativity
    • the first step to achieving your vision

    About Elisa:

    Elisa Kosarin, CVA, helps nonprofits deliver fully on their missions by strengthening their volunteer programs. Her work is driven by the conviction that volunteers who are supported and valued have the potential to transform their communities.

    Elisa consults, coaches, and trains on volunteer management best practices.  She blogs regularly on her Twenty Hats website, exploring the skills and practices that leaders of volunteers seek to build confidence elevate their programs.
    Elisa’s blog on strategic planning at CASA: 

    Thank you Elisa for all you do for the volunteer management community and for sharing your passion and wisdom with us.

    -Meridian

  • Stock Pictures or the LoVols Picture on Volunteer Websites?

    Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Pexels.com

    Stock photos are just so……..stock

    Stock pictures are the visual equivalent of “volunteers give from the heart,” or “volunteers are priceless.”

    Or my all time favorite, “volunteers are the sprinkles atop our caring cupcake.” MMMMMM, I feel so warm and squishy inside.

    Photos of real volunteers in action on your website do double duty. They show potential volunteers their peers at work and the types of jobs available. But think about a potential volunteer’s questions when navigating your site. “Who is the first person I will meet? Who will train me, direct me, encourage me, coach me, teach me what I need to know to succeed? Who will be there for me when I have an issue?”

    Hint: It’s not this guy.

    Stock photos or worse, no photos on your site lacks the personal touch. But again, the potential volunteer is wondering, “who will lead me?” A personal welcome from you is inviting and eases the potential volunteer’s crucial first step: Walking through the front door, not knowing what to expect.

    I’ve observed that entering the building for the first time was the hardest part of a new volunteer’s journey. Let’s make that less intimidating. Go further and film a short video in which you personally welcome a potential volunteer, and dispel some of their fears.

    Kapow! you’ve just saved time.

    Bam! In that short video, you’ve gifted yourself all the time you’d have to spend soothing potential volunteers. You know what I’m talking about. A new volunteer nervously arrives into those awkward minutes when they size you up and down, wondering what you’ll say, what you’re like, whether you’re warm or cold, authoritarian or encouraging. Now multiply those awkward minutes by each potential volunteer and thank yourself for making that welcome video.

    After watching your welcome video, a new volunteer arrives to meet someone they’re already comfortable with. Be authentic, and be yourself. You can write a script that gives you the opportunity to say all the things you want potential volunteers to know without having to remember and repeat each time someone contacts you.

    Look, we are all on zoom now and all used to regular folks on camera so now is the opportune time to film that video. Make it fun. Make it warm. Make it you.

    I made a sample video here:

    Ok, maybe that sample video wasn’t perfect, but don’t let that stop you.

    It’s about putting a face to volunteering at your organization. Your picture, your quotes about volunteering, your experiences and assurances all serve to quell the trepidation volunteers feel when mulling over whether they should take that first step.

    We want volunteers to feel welcomed. We want volunteers to know that we’ll walk with them on this journey. We want volunteers to know we’ve got their backs.

    Let’s show them in that first moment when they click on our websites.

    -Meridian

  • Do donors wear different socks than volunteers?

    Photo by The Lazy Artist Gallery on Pexels.com

    In times of chaos, the flaws in our systems become starkly visible. One such flaw is the antiquated nonprofit notion separating donors and volunteers.

    The stark Covid reality is this:

    • There aren’t enough in-person or virtual volunteer roles for people who flock to help in times of crisis
    • Volunteers who are furloughed may not all return
    • Volunteer roles may forever change
    • Increasingly, people are finding ways to help informally and are bypassing formal volunteering
    • Donations remain a nonprofit’s top priority
    • Nonprofits operate in outdated systems

    If businesses ran like nonprofits, they’d go under

    In business, it’s all about acquiring and keeping customers. In nonprofits, it’s all about acquiring and keeping donors while using volunteers.

    Imagine if a business that made wool socks (the Wooly sock company) looked at customers this way. Customers who buy yellow wool socks get the red-carpet treatment while customers who buy red wool socks are expected to work unpaid for the company. Oh, and they’re also asked to help get the yellow wool sock customers to buy more yellow wool socks.

    An acquisition team at the Wooly sock company has a huge budget devoted to enticing yellow wool sock customers to purchase more yellow wool socks. For red wool sock buyers, eh, maybe one employee (the red wool sock coordinator) is handed the role of managing those orders. Oh, and when red wool sock orders are down, the red wool sock coordinator is blamed.

    The yellow wool sock acquisition team is given the latest trainings and attends the yearly “Get More Yellow Wool Sock Customers in 10 Easy Steps” conference. Meanwhile, the red wool sock coordinator answers the phones while they are gone.

    Volunteers vs. donors

    Nonprofits hold volunteers and donors in separate and unequal groups. Sure, nonprofits hit up volunteers for money and seek ways to “engage” volunteers in opening up their wallets. But the fact that nonprofits look at volunteers as a different, magically potential source of money proves their short-sightedness in separating donors from volunteers. And why are donors treated as breakable? Why are they shielded from participating in the nitty gritty work?

    The fallacy of silos

    One day, the Wooly sock company realized that customers who bought yellow socks and customers who bought red socks were all actually customers, because someone asked for orange socks. After that day, the company successfully treated all customers alike and offered socks in a wide variety of colors.

    Because our volunteers and donors all work towards furthering nonprofit missions, they are all advocates for our organizations and causes. They may differ in varying activities at any given time, but they aren’t starkly separated or unwilling to step outside their primary role. As advocates, they accomplish much more than giving a few bucks or a few hours a week.

    What do advocates do?

    • donate money
    • recruit other advocates
    • volunteer time and skills
    • engage new advocates
    • procure in-kind donations
    • market to their circles of influence
    • care about mission success
    • support mission staff
    • share knowledge
    • bring outside opinions and trends in
    • are a pipeline to community leaders
    • bring in potential people who could benefit from services
    • raise awareness in every community corner

    Dividing mission support into siloed “donating” versus “volunteering” misses all the overlap going on. Why don’t donors receive an invite to volunteer? Why don’t volunteers get invited to the gala? Why doesn’t the marketing team collaborate with volunteer services?

    Covid has given us an opportunity to make systemic changes.

    Sock companies realize customers buy socks in all colors and so they market to all customers, not just the ones who buy one color.

    It’s time for nonprofits to realize that advocates are all people (donors, volunteers, corporate partners, community voices etc.) who step forward to help in more ways than their siloed category. It’s time to treat them equally.

    -Meridian

  • Are We a Lone Nut or Part of a Movement?

    Everywhere #LoVols are saying, “Volunteerism is evolving and we must adapt to meet today’s volunteer needs.” We’re all saying it. But individually. We hear each other. But our organizations mostly hear us, and a lone voice is rarely heeded.

    I love Derek Sivers’ “How to Start a Movement” Ted Talk. It’s so good: (and only 3 minutes long)

    Are we, volunteer managers lone nuts? Do we whine, cajole, beg, furiously educate, preach, go back and squeeze our stress ball, then start again? I know I did, all the time. (I didn’t squeeze a stress ball though, I preferred sneaking in and turning off the light in the bathroom closest to the senior management offices-yeah, passive-aggressive, I know)

    We need to fix this lone nut conundrum and find the followers who can help create a movement. Let’s move our message outside the volunteer management bubble and get people who are not in our profession to follow our lead. It will not be easy, but we need the first brave followers to help lead change. (if you didn’t watch the video, the first follower is also a leader who has an important role-inviting others to join in)

    Where are these first followers? In your organization, who has benefited from volunteer involvement? Who on staff do the volunteers praise? I had one department in my organization that worked wonderfully with their volunteers. I wish I had tapped into that department’s potential to be the first follower but sadly, I didn’t know the importance of the first follower at the time.

    How do we create a movement within our organizations? Well, can you enlist staff who “get volunteer value” or an entire department who work wonderfully with volunteers to be your first follower? How?

    • equip the FF (first follower) with the phrases that advocate for volunteer engagement. Ask the FF to repeat key words when speaking. (for example, “our volunteers give my staff more time to complete their critical tasks.”)
    • ask a department who works well with volunteers to co-present a volunteer presentation at a staff meeting. (assure them that you will do the majority of work so they’re not bogged down) Ask the department to share success stories and invite others to join. Remember, the FF has a leadership role-inviting others to join.
    • invite your local volunteer manager peer group to speak to your organization. Ask them to share the trends they are seeing and how their organizations are striving to be “cutting edge” by adopting their volunteer manager’s recommendations. Remember, in a movement, no one wants to be left out.
    • share articles on volunteering trends with senior management. Give them the research to back up your advocacy. That makes you the FF, and not the lone nut.
    • find the “what’s in it for me” verbiage to entice followers. A movement is not something we throw at people, it’s something they choose to participate in.
    • join every volunteer management group you can, whether locally, nationally or globally. There’s many groups on social media. Together, we can’t all be lone nuts.

    We know our volunteer programs have so much to offer. We know we’re advocating for a better way for our volunteers, our organizations, the people we serve and our communities.

    We’re not lone nuts. We’re a movement.

    -Meridian