News in the Volunteer Field

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This Month's Hot Topic 

January 2011

What Would the Perfect Volunteer-Involving Organization Look Like?

by Susan J. Ellis
What would your organization look like if it practiced everything we preach about creative, welcoming, and effective volunteer management? If we cannot picture the results of our efforts – and like/want the future we envision – we won’t be motivated to do the work necessary. Start the new year by looking ahead with aspirations and resolutions.
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Nonprofit Spark Radio Interview Makes Great Advocacy Tool for Volunteer Resource Managers

Submitted by Cara Thenot
on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 16:43

Thanks to Nonprofit Spark, an online radio show for new or emerging non-profits, volunteer resource managers have a new tool for garnering attention to the importance of volunteer involvement in their organizations. The January 23rd show, “The Case for Strategic Volunteerism in Your Non-profit,” makes a compelling case for being as strategic about involving volunteers as nonprofits are about other management issues such as fundraising.

Volunteering by Migrants: One Step toward Social Inclusion

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Thu, 01/19/2012 - 21:55

Increased migration – by choice or by force – throughout Europe has created economic and social concerns in many countries.  Last year, through the impetus of the European Year of Volunteering, Portuguese academic Henrique Pinto invited a range of scholars and practitioners to write articles about the connection of volunteering and migration for a special theme issue of Migrações Journal, “Migrantes e Voluntariado.”  It was published in December 2011 with half the chapters in Portuguese and half in English.

Volunteers Prove the Printed Book is Not Dead. It’s Free.

Submitted by Tristan Dahn
on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 20:28

Situated on a small side street off of a busy commercial lane is an unassuming warehouse.  Inside, however, one finds a bustling scene.  Community members, such as libraries, publishers, authors, and individuals, drop off donations of unwanted books, while volunteers sort them and shelve them.   Everyone is welcome to come during open hours to take as many as they’d like, for free.

Do 4 UK Charities Have Volunteer Work Worthy of a Duchess? Do You?

Submitted by Cara Thenot
on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 20:24

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, announced four charities for which she will serve as honorary patron, as the BBC reporrted on January 04, 2012.  Coming up second fiddle in this story was her decision to volunteer in person for her local Scout Association.

So many questions arise here from a volunteer management perspective: Why must Kate’s volunteering role be presented as an afterthought to her patronage? Won’t she garner the same spotlight/media attention for the Scout Association? Does anyone else view her volunteering choice as the role that’s perhaps closer to her heart?

Are You Putting Volunteers in Harm’s Way?

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Fri, 01/06/2012 - 21:58

The U.S. Peace Corps announced in late December that they would be suspending volunteer efforts in Honduras and other countries because of increased security concerns.  It’s not uncommon to hear reports from organizations such as the Peace Corps that they must place the safety of their volunteers above program service goals.  

January Hot Topic: What Would the Perfect Volunteer-Involving Organization Look Like?

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 01/01/2012 - 00:00

What would your organization look like if it practiced everything we preach about creative, welcoming, and effective volunteer management? If we cannot picture the results of our efforts – and like/want the future we envision – we won’t be motivated to do the work necessary. Start the new year by looking ahead with aspirations and resolutions.  This hot topic is available at: http://www.energizeinc.com/hot/2012/12jan.php

The “Spark Plug Theory” of Volunteer Recruitment

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Thu, 12/29/2011 - 16:08

It’s always fun to apply theories from one field to a completely different one.  In an online Bloomberg Businessweek article, "The Spark Plug Theory of Marketing,"  author Steve McKee notes that many business ads fail because “companies cram too much into them trying to make their case, or expect that they can open and close the sale in one fell swoop. The best advertising is like a spark plug that leaves a small gap for the audience to fill in for themselves . . .

How to Use and Add More Events to VolunteerMatch’s 2012 Volunteer Engagement Calendar

Submitted by Cara Thenot
on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 22:14

Thanks to Engaging Volunteers, VolunteerMatch’s informative and focused blog, for starting Google calendar with dates and ideas for motivating volunteers throughout 2012. You can download the calendar by clicking on the tiny “Google Calendar” button at the bottom of the calendar on their blog post.

Volunteer Journalists Capture Recent European Volunteer Centre Conference

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Fri, 12/09/2011 - 21:15

On October 19-21, the European Volunteer Centre (CEV) sponsored a symposium in Berlin on "Volunteering and Active Citizenship: Two Sides of the Same Coin?"  I had the opportunity to participate in this event which was being videotaped by a team of volunteer journalists. The director and editor, Brian Christopher Griffin, just let me know that two videos have been posted to YouTube.

5 Ways to Get Involved in Your Community in the Right Way

Submitted by Cara Thenot
on Fri, 12/02/2011 - 20:54

Have you noticed that the holiday season brings all sorts of public service messages like “5 Ways to Get Involved in Your Community” or “10 Do-Good Activities for You and Your Kids”?  While these notices may have good intentions, they are over-simplified – and have the potential to set up individuals for frustration and disenchantment. People are likely to discover that they can’t just walk into an organization, be received with open arms, and be put to work on the exact day of their choice (and without any application and screening process). 

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