Preparing Your Agency

One week after this issue launched, the 2017 National Summit on Volunteer Leadership Engagement began in St. Paul, Minn. A special track at the summit convened a group of funders (public and private foundations and other donors) who met with volunteer resources managers and other nonprofit organization leaders. The purpose? To discuss the challenges of funding volunteer engagement efforts. JFFixler Group, led by Beth Steinhorn, partnered with Jane Leighty Justis of the Leighty Foundation and volunteer training expert Betty Stallings to revise and republish a “guide for funders” that was originally developed in 2003 to provide companion resources for nonprofits. Summit participants received this hot-off-the-press booklet on site, which is also available electronically for free at the Leighty Foundation website. 

In this article, Steinhorn excerpts and consolidates tips and strategies from the guide to help non-profits make the case to funders: investing in volunteer engagement is beneficial.

Much has been written about the differences between paid staff and volunteers and the need to develop a management style for volunteers that takes into account their unique characteristics. But to date much volunteer practice has lagged behind the research, with many organisations continuing to adopt a traditional ‘workplace’ model for involving volunteers drawn from standard HR practice that treats volunteers as unpaid members of staff.

In this issue of Research to Practice, internationally known British researcher Justin Davis Smith looks at a new study from Switzerland that examines probable elements in a distinctive volunteer management approach. The focus is specifically on the need to treat volunteers as a unique group within an organization, and to manage their relationship with other key stakeholders such as paid staff, senior leadership, and members. The study has important practical implications for the way we think about involving and managing volunteers in our organisations.