United States

In the 1970s, many in volunteer management were concerned with making the field more professional by adopting and adapting personnel practices from private business.  Ivan Scheier believed this was not only wrong-headed but almost the opposite of what we should be doing.  Instead, Ivan preferred and promoted a way to develop roles for volunteers that he called “The People Approach.”  In this article, Rick Lynch explores the application of Ivan's People Approach to designing roles for volunteers in the present-day world.

One of Ivan Scheier’s unique contributions to the volunteer field was his multi-day retreats for experienced practitioners, which he called “Challenge Think Tanks.” He hosted these retreats in various places across America during the 1980s and 1990s, whenever he could find a host organization. Ivan led the Think Tanks as a facilitator, not an instructor. He constructed the program to make people think and provided plenty of time for small group discussions and individual reflections. Most attendees remember their Think Tank opportunities with gratitude, and many credit them with changing the course of their careers.

The Challenge Think Tank approach is remembered in this article. It includes examples of  different retreats and explains how elements of the program continue today in events like the annual Australasian Retreat for Advanced Volunteer Management. Several colleagues share impressions and memories from their Think Tanks, as well as ideas for keeping the concept alive today and in the future.

The Association of Volunteer Bureaus (AVB) celebrated its 25th anniversary in Kansas City, MO., in 1976, coinciding with the American Bicentennial.  A gala celebration on the theme, “Volunteers:  Our Finest Natural Resource,” brought together the leaders of what are now called “volunteer centers” across the United States. In this Voices from the Past, we excerpt from the Proceedings book that AVB published, and see what has changed or stayed the same from 1951 to 1976.

Despite the prevalence of small nonprofits and all-volunteer organizations, training for leaders of volunteers is often geared towards the full-time volunteer manager working in a large organization.  While most training is valuable to volunteer managers in all sizes of organizations, this common focus does not give the leaders of volunteers in small organizations a chance to explore the challenges when volunteers are responsible for most of the work and staff resources are slim to nonexistent.  How to insure follow-up? How to avoid burn out? How to bring in new members? 

This Training Design is offered with small nonprofits and organizations in mind.  It is designed specifically to be delivered by volunteer centers, nonprofit management centers, academic programs and trainers/consultants who wish to meet the needs of volunteer leaders in small nonprofits, community-based groups and other informal all-volunteer organizations. It will provide participants with an opportunity to address common challenges, share ideas and learn practical tips to maximize their success through volunteers.

When Elizabeth Ellis was Volunteer Development Manager for the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys, she managed, promoted and expanded their “Talent Match” database. This database listed the specific skills, preferred service locations, age group preferences and availability of individuals specifically recruited for this database. Both staff and adult volunteer Girl Scout leaders utilized this resource through a password-protected search to match their unique needs to volunteer interests and availability.

In this feature story, Ellis reviews the multiple benefits of creating a similar "talent" database for organizations, and explores the potential of “banking on volunteer talents” and time. She also reviews the multiple benefits of developing a similar "skills bank," and shares a model for how to make it work. Says Ellis, “Being on the front lines of volunteer recruitment, I had the opportunity to experience the growing interest of potential volunteers using this model, as well as experience first-hand the impact of this end user-friendly matching technique."

Have you ever wondered what grantmakers and foundations look for when considering whether or not to give money to your group? In this excerpt from the new book, Grassroots Philanthropy: Field Notes of a Maverick Grantmaker, leading philanthropist Bill Somerville and writer Fred Setterberg take you behind the scenes and describe how the search for outstanding people often drives the process, and explain why it should. Somerville outlines how he defines “outstanding” people, and reveals what grantmakers should look for in nonprofit leaders. You’ll want fundraisers in your community to think like this!

With its insights into fundraising and its application to volunteer management,
e-Volunteerism readers will no doubt find this article both interesting and valuable. Consider how a search for outstanding people might affect your volunteer recruitment goals. 

How do you manage volunteers who don’t choose to be in your organization, those volunteers who often show up after being “bullied” into service? In other words, how do you manage the non-volunteer volunteer?

In this e-Volunteerism feature story, volunteerism expert and author Thomas W. McKee discusses this overlooked issue and offers a step-by-step guide to help organizations and managers face the problem. McKee outlines special considerations for working with this large category of volunteers, and offers additional advice for volunteers who lead other volunteers (especially those who would rather not be volunteering).  McKee uses authentic examples of non-volunteer volunteer situations throughout the article – ranging from the soccer field to an elementary classroom to the board room.  His personable and purposeful technique will engage volunteer managers from all sectors. And they will have no trouble relating to McKee’s descriptions and learning valuable coping techniques from his experiences. 

In 1983, Jane Mallory Park wrote one of the early books on volunteerism: Meaning Well Is Not Enough: Perspectives on Volunteering.  In this book, Park discusses the legacy of volunteering that shaped what volunteers were doing in 1983, provided some solid, practical management advice, and looked to the possible future of the field. 

In this Voices from the Past, we’ll excerpt sections from one of Park’s chapters, “Vision Volunteering.” Here, Park proposes “What if?” scenarios and speculates about such intriguing concepts as “promoting volunteer liberation” and “appealing to enlightened self-interest.”

Formal volunteer awards are designed to acknowledge the extraordinary achievements of extraordinary individuals, those volunteers who’ve extended themselves beyond expectation and contributed their services to an issue, project or cause. But it’s not easy to jump into the award nomination process. Criteria vary widely, nomination deadlines don’t always coincide with a particular time of year, and awards aren’t always well publicized. The good news, however, is that award opportunities for volunteers are increasing with the growth and accessibility of the Internet. And there appears to be a growing appreciation and understanding of the value of nominating volunteers for individual awards.

In this Training Design, we review how to avoid existing road blocks when nominating a volunteer for an award. We’ll also highlight the multiple benefits that come from seeking formal recognition for volunteers. Training Design materials include the development of a nomination timeline, award do’s and don’ts, and techniques for writing a winning nomination. This training will inform participants from start to finish on the process of nominating a volunteer for a formal award. And it will emphasize the benefits and value of tackling such a process by answering, “Why should our organization nominate a volunteer for an award?”