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Volunteer Program Management: An Essential Guide, 3rd Edition now available online!

Submitted by Tristan Dahn
on Mon, 03/12/2012 - 21:24

We’re happy to announce that the e-book version of Volunteer Program Management: An Essential Guide, 3rdEdition is now for sale in the Energize Online Bookstore. We’re particularly delighted because we are introducing the electronic version for the first time, making this important book easily available internationally.

January 16, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 01/16/2011 - 20:42

In its weekly Briefing, Youth Service America (www.ysa.org) notes: "Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. devoted his life to the work of building a more just and equal society. While we have made great progress, we still have work to do to realize Dr. King's dream. As Americans, that is a job for all of us – not just on MLK Day but throughout the year. To mark the 25th anniversary of the King holiday, and to encourage ongoing service throughout the year, [the Corporation for National and Community Service] will be launching the MLK 25 Challenge next week. It's a call to all Americans to honor Dr. King by pledging to take at least 25 actions during 2011 to make a difference for others and strengthen our communities. Stay tuned for the launch on www.MLKDay.gov, which will include a list of 100 ways for you to get started!"

But My Executive Won’t Read This!

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 00:00

You may have seen our new “executive set” – From the Top Down and Leading the Way to Successful Volunteer Involvement, two books designed to help agency leaders lay the groundwork for effective volunteer programs. And I bet many of you are thinking, “these books look great, but I can’t even get my exec to read one book on volunteer management, let alone two!” As Susan Ellis wrote in Stalking the Elusive Executive:

Book Review: 365 Ideas for Recruiting, Retaining, Motivating and Rewarding Your Volunteers

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Fri, 09/17/2010 - 00:00

Here’s a review of yet another new book on volunteer management – 365 Ideas for Recruiting, Retaining, Motivating and Rewarding Your Volunteers. It’s so exciting to see so much being published in our field!

I think this is a great “starter book” for new leaders of volunteers. It broadly covers many of the key topics in volunteer management, while providing a unique focus on creating a culture of success and empowering volunteers. One of the best aspects of the book is the real-life stories and ideas from volunteer leaders interspersed throughout. The book doesn’t delve very deeply into risk management issues, but this topic is expertly covered by a number of other publications, such as those by Linda Graff.

I chatted with author Sunny Fader via email to learn more about her and her book. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Book Review – “Generations” in Volunteering

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 00:00

Lately, there has been a lot of buzz about effectively recruiting and retaining younger (Generation Y) and aging (Boomer) volunteers. In the book Generations: The Challenge of a Lifetime for Your Nonprofit, author Peter C. Brinckerhoff argues that learning to work effectively with people of all ages is about more than getting a presence on Facebook or finding the right volunteer position for that retired executive who has offered her services. It requires a deeper understanding of how generational change is affecting all our organizations at many levels, and developing an informed response that benefits from the best that each generation has to offer.

This book was primarily written for leaders of nonprofits and how they approach their paid staffs, but it has an excellent chapter on boards and volunteers, as well as referencing those audiences throughout. Both the tech-phobic Boomer executive and the tattooed twenty-something IT guy will find it helpful in understanding, and

New Books Get Rave Reviews

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Mon, 04/19/2010 - 00:00

You’ve probably guessed that I’m excited about the volunteer management books that we carry in the Energize Online Bookstore. It’s not just me! Glowing reviews of two of the newest books we carry have just been published.

First, Tom McKee at VolunteerPower recently wrote a wonderful argument for knowing the “Whys” of involving volunteers… and how From the Top Down can help you illustrate those “whys” to top leaders in your organization. We’ve posted an excerpt below, but be sure to visit VolunteerPower to read the full article.

Most books on volunteerism are how-to books. From the Top Down: The Executive Role in Successful Volunteer Involvement by Susan Ellis is not a how-to book. This is a “why” book. It answers the question, “Why are volunteers essential?” And I don’t know of another book that addresses this question better…Executive directors are constantly thinking vision, mission and execution of the entire organization, and they should.

Recognition “Dos and Don’ts”

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Tue, 04/06/2010 - 00:00

In honor of National Volunteer Week, which is fast approaching in the US and Canada, I’d like to share a story. Several years ago, as a recognition gift for National Volunteer Week, an agency I was volunteering with gave high-quality pens featuring the agency’s logo and a Thank You message. Which seems really great, but the pens were in a big bowl by the sign-in area, with a scrawled note taped to it – For Volunteers. Take ONE only please.  I didn’t bother. It felt like an afterthought, like something the agency was doing because it had to, not because it really appreciated the work volunteers were doing. For me, a simple, honest (and free!) verbal thank you would have meant a lot more.

The point? Your recognition can be effective even if it’s not “fancy,” and ongoing thanks for a job well done can mean a lot more than an expensive yearly gesture that feels empty.

You might be frenziedly preparing for a big Volunteer Week event right now…or fretting because you haven’t figured out

Volunteers as Donors (plus Peek at New “From the Top Down”)

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 00:00

“Volunteers Donate, On Average, 10 Times More Money than Non-Volunteers.” That’s a headline sure to get the attention of anyone in the not-for-profit world. It’s just one of the important findings in a recent study released on December 3 by the Fidelity® Charitable Gift Fund and VolunteerMatch.  The findings support Energize’s long-held stance that volunteer-involving organizations should remember their “time donors” when looking to support volunteer involvement financially. In 1996, Energize President Susan J. Ellis wrote in her best-selling book From the Top Down, “studies have shown that satisfied volunteers frequently are so supportive of the organizations with which they serve that they become donors of money and goods as well.”

When revising her book, Susan greatly expanded her take on the connection between volunteering and donating funds.  Here’s an excerpt from the soon-to-be released 3rd edition of From the Top Down: The Executive Role in Successful Volunteer Involvement.

Author Interview – John L. Lipp

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Thu, 11/19/2009 - 00:00

Can you believe it – volunteer management now has its own Idiot’s Guide book! Working with the standard template, author John L. Lipp  crammed a lot of very useful information into 304 pages, all in bite-sized chunks.  Read on for our interview with John and a taste of the great information you’ll get from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Recruiting and Managing Volunteers.

Energize,Inc. (EI): What makes this book different from previous books on volunteer management?

John Lipp (JL): As a profession, we’ve been very fortunate to have some great books on volunteer management. Many of those books gave me a lot of guidance over the years and the feeling that I wasn’t alone. I’m hoping this book will do the same for a whole new generation of leaders in the field, especially those who might not even think of volunteer management as a profession.

I wrote this book from the perspective of a practitioner.

Book Recommendations: The “Art” of Volunteer Management

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Wed, 08/19/2009 - 00:00

Now we want to hear from you, since a blog is all about interaction.  So we’ll pose a question that we plan to continue as a feature of this blog:

What book that is not specifically about managing volunteers has helped you most in your work?

To put it in another way – we all know volunteer management is as much an art as it is a science. You can have a targeted recruitment campaign, airtight interviewing and screening, and a perfect policy and procedure manual – and still have reluctant or dismissive paid staff, personality clashes and power plays among volunteers, and a headache at the end of the day. What books have helped you with the “art” of successfully leading volunteers, even if the author didn’t know that would be what you would take away?

Here are some starter suggestions, along with links to where you can learn more about each book on Amazon.com.

In her newest book, Visionary Leadership in Volunteer Programs, volunteer management pioneer Marlene Wilson recommends

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