In honor of the start of our 25th year at Engage (formerly e-Volunteerism), authors Rob Jackson and Erin R. Spink revisit the first ever Points of View from our journal's founding co-editors, Susan J. Ellis and Steve McCurley. Never known to mince words or shy away from a spicy exchange, Ellis and McCurley are at their best debating the important topic, “Should Volunteer Administration Be a Profession?”
The year 2024 marks the 40thanniversary of International Volunteer Managers Day. With this in mind, Erin did a little digging. She discovered that in just three years from now, 2027 will mark the 80th anniversary of the first document that discusses the management of volunteers as a paid job, leading to the development of the professional Volunteer Manager.
Susan J. Ellis was more than a passionate advocate for the change that great volunteering could make, and more than a passionate voice for the influence that Volunteer Engagement professionals could make while forging that change.
She ‘walked the walk’ and ‘talked the talk.’ She invested time, money, and her expertise into the development of resources that have become the benchmark of volunteerism the world over.
But more than that, she was a generous soul with a heart that was driven to not only help build volunteerism in her home country – but the world over. Whenever the name ‘Susan J. Ellis’ is brought up at a volunteerism conference or a DOVIA meeting, stories are inevitably shared by volunteer leaders about the knowledge they learned from one of her publications, or the encouragement they personally received while meeting her at the Energize booth during a conference or over a quick chat at the conclusion of a workshop.
To celebrate Ellis’ life, her long-time colleague, friend, and fellow writer Andy Fryar, who serves as manuscript developer for e-Volunteerism, approached key volunteerism leaders from around the world and asked them to share their personal insights about the difference she made to volunteerism in their country – and to them personally. This unique e-Volunteerism feature presents stories and reflections from 10 volunteerism leaders on the influential lift of Susan J. Ellis and her life’s work.
In this Voices, co-editor Tracey O’Neill reviews a new book called The Disruptive Volunteer Manager by well-known volunteer manager Meridian Swift. As O’Neill explains, the new book lays out six steps to increase awareness of volunteers and to try and elevate volunteerism by disrupting the volunteer management norm in a forward-moving way. Swift, who has more than two decades of volunteer management experience, calls it a “step by step journey to setting a new normal, one in which leaders of volunteers unleash the potential that awaits.” And O’Neill provides an assessment of Swift’s new book that promises to “reframe, redefine, reshape, and re-imagine” volunteer management.
Volunteer Engagement Professionals (VEPs) commonly feel underpaid and undervalued and believe that their work is misunderstood. In times like these, they often turn to organizations like the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA) for support, education, and connection.
To better understand the issues facing VEPs, MAVA embarked upon an important research study in June 2017, a study designed to validate the experience many VEPs described and to examine root causes. MAVA learned that: 1) there truly are equity issues in how VEPs are received, paid, included, and understood in the workplace; 2) the lack of true understanding about the essential nature of volunteers and those who lead them undermines the effectiveness of nonprofits and government entities; and 3) there are affirmative steps that can be taken to address the issues.
This e-Volunteerism feature by MAVA’s Karmit Bulman provides a comprehensive review of this important research study, “Stacking Up: How Volunteer Engagement Professionals Compare with Other Key Staff."
The disappointment began with a simple question: What are the significant issues facing volunteer managers today? And when the answers mimicked the exact same responses from 10 years before, volunteer management expert and Points of View co-author Rob Jackson’s heart sank: The profession of volunteer management hadn’t progressed at all over the last decade.
That was in 2007. Now, as Jackson and co-author Susan J. Ellis write, “it seems as if our profession is still stuck at the same stage of development. How are we ever going to succeed if we cannot collectively overcome the challenges that continue to dog us in our field?”
In this Points of View, Jackson and Ellis suggest a simple path toward change: Steer clear of the choice to mimic what others are doing and instead develop and follow a passion for volunteer management work by refocusing on its purpose and promise.