Volunteer Program/Resources Manager, Role of

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."

There are many words to describe volunteering and voluntary action, reflecting the many forms of people helping each other survive and prosper over the challenges of their time and place. Whether it is trabalho voluntario in Brazil, benevolat and volontariat in France, gotong royong in Indonesia or harambee in Kenya, supporting each other for mutual survival is a key ingredient to community the world over. In this issue we look at a very ancient, yet still modern, form of community interaction and service to each other that, even though it is no longer extensively practiced, is still is a relevant way for people to be involved in service to each other.

I remember trying to recruit church volunteers for regular, one-to-one visits with jail inmates. I wasn't having much luck, until I realized that my broader, "real" or "true" goal was not one-to-one visits. It was, instead, providing healthy outside contact and influence for inmates and possibly, too, friends outside when they did get out of jail. Once I realized this, it was easy to see that pairs or small groups of volunteers could visit with one inmate and achieve the same goal - maybe better. On that basis, I started getting plenty of volunteers. Good people who were probably somewhat uneasy about solo visits in an unfamiliar and quite threatening environment, could now stand "back to back," so to speak

I also remember a group trying unsuccessfully to get a grant to buy playground equipment for a community park. Finally getting un-fixated on the grant method - children can't play on grants - they realized that a combination of community fundraising and donated equipment might do the trick - and it did.

Volunteer voices, millions of them, all speaking up and speaking out with passion about what they're doing and what they believe in. Lots of people responding to what they're hearing and giving time to volunteering for whatever they're passionate about. Now that would be something. And that's what Speak Up! Speak Out! is on the way to achieving.

Speak Up! Speak Out! is a unique project that helps volunteers and volunteer managers become compelling ambassadors for volunteering by teaching communications skills. Simple really. It's about helping volunteers speak with strong feeling about what they're doing to audiences of all sorts - at conferences, seminars, in the media, team meetings, interviews, anywhere.

Research years ago showed a very high turnover rate among Coordinators of Volunteers -- the figure I remember is one out of three leaving the field every two or three years (though often staying in the same organization). It was a substantial percentage, anyhow, and I expect it still is.

Four or five years ago, I became part of that statistic -- though after thirty-five rather than three years in our fulfilling and fascinating field. Learning of my retirement from organized volunteerism, a friend and colleague, whose initials are Susan Ellis, observed:

"You can't retire from volunteerism" (that is, it isn't possible) because you can take a person out of volunteerism, but you can't take volunteerism out of a person.'"

"Just watch me," says I, (silently but sincerely).

The future of volunteer management as a profession is a hot topic on both sides of the Atlantic, if not in other parts of the world. As evidence, consider the fact that the inaugural issue (Fall 2000) of e-Volunteerism featured several articles dealing with this subject.

If our field is to have a future that managers of volunteers sign up to, then those of us working in these roles must engage in the debates taking place around us. This requires an ability to plainly convey where our field is now to clearly articulate a vision of the future.

Here lies the issue I wish to address.

Retaining volunteers is both an indicator of and a key to success in volunteer management. When volunteers keep coming back, it is a sign that the program is being managed in a reasonable way. The return of trained and seasoned volunteers gives the volunteer program manager more time to be creative and effective in carrying out the mission.