Evaluation/Program Assessment
What Are Your Volunteers Saying?
On a recent visit back to the United States, I heard very different opinions about volunteerism from two good friends. The first said that she will never volunteer again...she tells why. The second friend said she couldn't get enough of volunteering...and she tells why.
These two testimonies regarding volunteerism make me wonder if the organizations these two assisted are aware of their feelings. And so I ask volunteer managers reading this to consider: What would people who have volunteered with your organization say about their experience?
Do you know? Do you care?
If anything, these two episodes have made me realize yet again the value of surveying volunteers about their experience, and how easily this can be done using e-mail.
Beyond Competencies
In the mid-1970s, the Association for Volunteer Administration embarked on a revision of its professional credentialing program. AVA selected a performance-based system, based on a core group of competencies deemed essential for the effective administration of volunteer programs. At the recent international conference in Toronto, Canada, Sarah Jane Rehnborg - the system developer - offered her reflections on the competency-based credentialing format. This article is based on her presentation, which includes an important call to recognize that "our work is steeped in purpose and energized by passion."
Valuing Volunteer Time
One of the most frequent questions on listservs for volunteer program managers is: "What is the value of volunteer time?"
Since we're really tired of reading both the question and the responses, we decided to provide the definitive list of places to learn far, far more than you ever wanted to know about this subject. We've organized this into four categories:
- No theories, I just want a number
- Esoteric theory about what volunteers are really worth
- Statistics on what entire countries of volunteers are worth
- Using this information to make your program look good