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A Note About Terminology
For the purpose of this project and this article, we use the term ‘disbursement’ as a general term referring to any type of financial value provided to volunteers by an organization in the course of their volunteer service, including reimbursement, payment, or non-cash benefits, defined as follows:
Definitions are important. But when it comes to volunteerism, a focus on the language we use can often result in a lot of navel gazing and little practical action. In this Points Of View, Rob Jackson looks at the ethical implications that can arise when we aren’t clear on the terms we use. Erin R. Spink relates this to actionable advice for anyone working in volunteer engagement. As these two authors clearly point out, not everything that is ‘voluntary’ is ‘volunteering.’
The year 2017 is behind us and a shiny new year lies ahead, full of promise and potential. But before we look to the future, we should take a moment to reflect on the year past, to look back at the journey taken over the last 12 months, and consider whether that journey is setting us in the right direction for the new year—both individually and as a profession.
In this Points of View, Rob Jackson and Erin R. Spink raise important questions about the concept of legacy in the Volunteer Engagement profession; present three reasons to explain why there is often a disconnect between the purpose and the impact of volunteer management work; and challenge everyone to take action now to define a better legacy in the year ahead.
Loyal readers of e-Volunteerism will remember Ivan Scheier as part of the journal’s advisory team and frequent contributor until his death in 2008. He was a pioneer and mentor to many of us and we devoted an entire issue in 2009 in tribute to him. He was also a prolific writer. In this Voices, we reprint one of Scheier's article on values that evolved in various stages between 1975 and 1998. It does not surprise us that the challenges Scheier laid down more than 40 years ago remain pointed today.
Here is part of Scheier's introduction to the topic:
I believe volunteerism has the potential to integrate with the best and most powerful values in our society today. We can draw more fully on that power if only we will understand, appreciate, and publicize values. This means raising our own consciousness first, launching dialogue and debate, reaching some decision on what the main values are, then announcing them. The first announcement should be to ourselves – volunteer leaders and volunteers. Then announcements should be made to the world. The purpose is to buttress our case for fundamental, rather than ornamental, status in the world of work and caring, to place us more securely in the mainstream of society. This article attempts to stimulate dialogue.
In this special Voices, Allyson Drinnon, the director of the Volunteer Resource Center for Habitat for Humanity International in Americus, Georgia, reports from the field at the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) World Volunteer Conference that took place in Mexico City, November 2016.
Through her reports and on-the-spot audio interviews, Drinnon presents an array of diverse voices and opinions from the international volunteer community, capturing thoughts on issues, challenges, and ideas. Read and listen as Drinnon talks with Joselito C. De Vera, Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency; Alex Torres, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Viviana Zazil, Centros de Integracion Juvenil; Anita Ramachandran, Micromentor; and Alejandro Mayoral Banos, PhD student from York University.
Was Olive Cooke, a 92-year-old volunteer for the Royal British Legion, hounded to death by fundraisers this past May? In this Points of View, intrepid sleuths Susan J. Ellis and Rob Jackson turn the Olive Cooke case inside out and use it to debate a question that volunteer organizations everywhere need to address: What is or should be the connection between donating money and donating time?
“It’s been our experience that too many organizations place a great divide between people who volunteer and people who write checks,” write Ellis and Jackson. The authors then outline how to integrate money donors and time donors; how to compare and analyze the two groups for greater efficiency; how to ask volunteers to give money to an organization; and how to ask money donors to give their time and talents.
“Integrating engagement with all your supporters is key to running an effective non-profit in the 21st century,” the authors conclude. “If more of this takes place, then something good will have come out of the sad death of Olive Cooke.”
In this Points of View, authors Rob Jackson and Susan J. Ellis debate an issue that every volunteer manager must confront: Should you compare and contrast your volunteer engagement to that of other organizations? Is finding a comparison a sign of achievement, or is it compromised by the limits of benchmarking? And given the diversity of settings in which volunteers serve, is comparison even possible?
“We certainly have our reservations,” the authors note, as they explore the limits imposed by benchmarking, numbers crunching, retention and turnover rates, and the ubiquitous Key Performance Indicators or KPIs. This article, which is a follow-up to last quarter’s Points of View on the problems of sharing template documents, will challenge everyone to reconsider how they measure volunteer involvement, mindful that they should resist comparing elephants to acorns.
Andrew G. Haldane, Chief Economist, Bank of England, recently stated that “whether seen from an economic or social perspective, volunteering is big business, with annual turnover well into three-figure billions.” And in his recent lecture to the Society of Business Economists in London, Haldane also pointed out that volunteering “is a well-hidden jewel, whose social worth is rarely the subject of a public valuation.”
In this special feature, e-Volunteerism presents an edited excerpt of Haldane’s lecture, which provides what Haldane describes as “a valuation, however imperfect” to help understand the social value of volunteering and exactly why this economist thinks it is so important. “If the value of volunteering remains largely out of sight, it is likely also to remain out of mind,” Haldane predicted. “The potential economic and societal benefits from volunteering then risk remaining un-tapped. Yet with a nudge, that volunteer army could swell further.”
Because Haldane is an internationally recognized economist, his presentation carries considerable influence and importance for the volunteer community. Haldane’s lecture includes a description of the fascinating volunteer service called Pro Bono Economics that he helped establish in the UK, which will be of great interest to all e-Volunteerism readers.
It’s understandable that overworked volunteer resources managers look for quick and easy ways to do things. A common approach is to discover what others seem to be doing successfully and then use those practices or templates. But in this Points of View, Susan J. Ellis and Rob Jackson argue that there are more than a few troubling consequences to this cookie-cutter approach. As an alternative, they offer some step-by-step methods that will encourage and recognize creativity while helping volunteer resources managers create materials and approaches that capture the right tone and purpose for their organizations.
Volunteer for four hours and get a free concert ticket. Volunteer for 100 hours and get a tax rebate. Or volunteer for 500 hours to organize a gala fundraising dinner, but pay for your own admission ticket to eat.Do we need to offer incentives to people to get them to volunteer? Are incentives simply a nice form of recognition or do they corrode the fundamental importance of volunteering as altruism? When do we ignore the money volunteers spend on top of giving time?
There has long been debate about the effectiveness of offering money, significant gifts, and other perks to stimulate volunteer recruitment. After outlining the problem, Susan J. Ellis and Rob Jackson return to the original Points of View format of “She says/He says” to highlight both sides of the issue.
“Yes!” argues Ellis. “Incentives sometimes make sense.”
“No!” counters Jackson. “We should not incentivize volunteering.”
In presenting their arguments, the authors highlight some difficult gray areas concerning the issue. And they both agree to keep in mind that “empowered, self-confident volunteers” deserve respect when the subject of incentivizing bubbles to the top.