Trends and Issues

During the last year, e-Volunteerism presented a number of retrospectives, looking at what happened in volunteering over the last decade. Now it’s time to look forward. 

Though Susan Ellis and Steve McCurley use their quarterly Points of View as an outlet for their opinions, the journal’s feature section editors generally keep their personal thoughts out of the pieces they edit. We decided that this special, re-designed issue was a great opportunity to share the voices and varied perspectives of our far-flung editors – professionals who are all deeply immersed in the field of volunteerism as authors, trainers, consultants and volunteer-involving agency executives, representing the United States (both coasts), England and Australia.

In this Voices, we ask each of our editors to respond to the following question: 

What volunteering trends and issues are you keeping your eye on that have the greatest implications or potential for the volunteering field in the next few years?

The responses are presented in recorded audio clips, so you can hear their “voices” for  yourself.

It seems increasingly complex to offer what the different generations of volunteers want, particularly Baby Boomers and Millennials: high impact volunteer opportunities, a range of choices of positions, ways to apply their workplace skills and more. The good news is there is a wealth of research on the topic. The bad news is that many of today’s leaders of volunteers don't have the time to sort through the gigabits of information on generation change, are puzzled by (or sick of) the hype on Boomers, and face real barriers in implementing the necessary modifications in their organizations.

Despite all the theory and research about Generation Y — those individuals typically born between 1977 and 1997 — there still appears to be a considerable amount of confusion as to how volunteer managers can effectively engage this generation. Could this confusion stem from not clearly understanding the key factors that shape the lives and thinking of Gen Y? Author Catherine Williams thinks so. In this feature article, Williams reviews how effective engagement with today’s young adults involves moving beyond the hype associated with this generation and developing a deeper understanding of what shapes the lives of our younger generations. By sharing the stories of a few Gen Y individuals (also called Millennials), Williams presents some important lessons about why young people are not engaging in traditional volunteer roles. She also looks at the implications for volunteer management practices, and explores some of the changes that volunteer managers may need to consider in order to make volunteering relevant to this generation.

In this Research to Practice, Steven Howlett reviews a recent research report that delves into how middle-aged and older Americans spend their time when they’re not at work. Published in January 2010 by AARP in Washington, D.C., this report collects information from a comprehensive survey of Americans over age 45 (with a smaller sample of younger Americans for comparative purposes). Although the report itself is largely descriptive, Howlett reveals that it outlines what organizations older Americans belong to, how they make connections and build communities, and what, if any, volunteering they do. The valuable insights offered in this research can be used to examine the latest volunteer trends in older Americans and to draw out implications for practice in the US and elsewhere.

On behalf of Osteoporosis Canada, volunteerism consultant Suzanne Lawson recently convened a telephone conference call that included Linda Graff, Marilyn MacKenzie, Susan J. Ellis and representatives of Osteoporosis Canada. These accomplished volunteer management experts proceeded to discuss how multi-level organizations are adapting to current trends in volunteer engagement and how the local level of "action" can best be structured. The call was recorded. This Keyboard Roundtable offers a lively exchange of that conversation, which covered such questions as:

• How are local chapters (or whatever people call them these days) succeeding or failing to bring new volunteers to a national cause?
• Do chapters tend to support established volunteers in their work - but not newcomers?
• Are there any new models for connecting volunteers at the local level to the activities of the organization - doing the work with engaged volunteers "around" a chapter structure or "instead" of it?
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After 10 years of e-Volunteerism, convening editors Andy Fryar and Rob Jackson look back at the Keyboard Roundtable concept. They review why this electronic roundtable discussion of experts, tapping away on their computer keyboards, came into being, and revisit some of the highlights from a decade of discussion by leaders in the field.  Fryar and Jackson then turn their focus to the future and discuss how the Keyboard Roundtable might develop and how readers might be able to get involved.

Is the worst of the recession over? Many nonprofits are still feeling a dual pinch - more clients to serve and less money to do it with. But despite the downturn, many organisations seem to report steady volunteer numbers. Anecdotal evidence from the UK even suggests that problems in the private sector may be resulting in new volunteers - and ones with exceptionally useful skills. This Research to Practice looks at two recent short reports to try and make sense of this rather surprising but welcome turn of events and to review ways to recruit and create opportunities for skilled volunteers.