Evaluation/Program Assessment
Uncivil Society: Questions for Leaders of Volunteer Engagement
As we slowly continue to transition from the pandemic, we are seeing increased and open demonstrations of anger, rudeness and other uncivil behaviours.[i] These go even further beyond the norm than those we have seen in societies around the world over the last two years[ii] and certainly beyond what we would typically anticipate experiencing pre-COVID.
New Year’s Resolution: Let’s Get Over Ourselves
The beginning of a new year . . . A blank slate and a golden opportunity to start fresh and embrace big shifts and new perspectives . . . The chance to dig deep and create real changes, in ourselves and throughout our profession . . .
So what’s stopping us? Well, to be blunt, we are. No, not Erin and Rob! But all of us as Volunteer Engagement professionals.
Radical Welcome as a Guide for Community Engagement
From the outside, the large agency looks like a model nonprofit when it comes to involving volunteers. It hosts a significant volunteer and paid staff team. There are volunteer applications, legal waivers and comprehensive training. The team is guided by operational plans based on lessons learned from the corporate world and nonprofit consultants. The leadership heeds and hones best practices for volunteer management; it collects and makes decisions using many, many data points. It has come a long way from its humble all-volunteer roots.
Change: Contemporary Will Soon Be Classic
I recently noted to our 20-something Volunteer Coordinator that she might have to explain what she meant by “cassette tape” after she sent out an email to some of our student volunteers. The Volunteer Coordinator remarked at how quickly the world was changing.
Showcasing Innovation in Volunteer Programs: Videos from Points of Light
At a recent Points of Light conference, a plenary session included short videos from volunteer programs around the world that showcased innovation in volunteer programs. Voices co-editor Allyson Drinnon found the videos inspiring, and gained permission to present a sampling of three videos for e-Volunteerism. These videos, along with Drinnon’s insightful narrative, clearly reveal why the terms “innovation” and “inspiring” are connected with these works.
Everything I Learned about Volunteer Management, I Learned After I Left It
Do you ever feel like you’re treading water in this vast volunteer management ocean? Struggling against perceptions of what you do that simply don’t match the reality? As Meridian Swift writes, “I know I did. It took getting out and drying off to uncover what was missing in my volunteer management career.”
In this e-Volunteerism feature, well-known volunteer expert Swift reviews how leaving the profession helped her gain new perspectives and insights into volunteer management, and helped Swift see that what she really needed, metaphorically speaking, was a “boat. . . a sturdy foundation that would keep me from treading water.” As Swift writes:
“I began to look at it in a different light. What could have made volunteer management more respected? I dove into researching everything from HR trends, to systems and project management, to ecological symbiosis. Research made me realize that it is we, the volunteer managers, who must control the perception of volunteer management. . . So let’s pull ourselves out of the water and build a boat that lifts high the volunteerism sail.”