Profession/Field of Volunteer Administration

| Share |

Long-time, Dependable Journal of Extension Free to All

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 18:36

.

We are generally primed to get excited by things that are new. But it's important to remember that traditional materials can remain useful, even vibrant. One great example is the Journal of Extension (JOE), the official refereed journal of the U.S. Cooperative Extension System (which includes 4-H, Master Gardeners, nutrition advisors and other volunteer-centered programs). As of June 1994, JOE has been published exclusively on the World Wide Web at www.joe.org. And the full contents are accessible to any site visitor at no charge.

Paperbacks from Volunteering Risk Management Expert Now Available – While They Last!

Submitted by Tristan Dahn
on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 21:34

The Energize Bookstore is pleased to announce that we have back in stock print copies of four of Linda Graff’s books!  A long-term friend of Energize, she is president of Linda Graff and Associates, Inc., based in Ontario, Canada and is internationally acknowledged as the volunteer field's leading expert in risk management issues.   Her books have remained consistent best sellers from our store in e-book format, and there’s a good reason.

The Best Conversations in Volunteer Leadership Move from i-Volunteer to the New “ivo”

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Thu, 04/19/2012 - 19:32

For some time now I have been impressed at the level and quality of the blogs and discussions across the pond in the UK via the social action platform, i-Volunteer.org,uk.   A range of volunteer management practitioners use this forum to post thoughtful commentary, often on provocative themes, and – amazingly – other members respond in kind!  Bravo to our British colleagues! 

The 2012 Summit on Advanced Volunteer Engagement

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 16:48

Details have just been released on the Summit on Advanced Volunteer Engagement (SAVE), a preconference for directors of volunteer resources on June 16-18,  immediately before the start of the 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Chicago.  SAVE (the successor to the previous Advanced Volunteer Management Institute) has gathered a great faculty.

Getting Thoughtful on Thursdays (on Twitter) about Volunteer Management

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Wed, 03/14/2012 - 20:09

Colleague Sue Jones from Volunteer Centre Warrington, England, is our guest blogger today – and invites you to learn about and be a part of a weekly volunteer management “Tweet chat” that happens every Thursday.

Every week, we host a ‘Tweet chat’ discussion focusing on volunteer management issues, which we call ‘Thoughtful Thursday’. We use the Social Action Network i-volunteer to blog about our selected topic or focus and then encourage participants to comment, share ideas and discuss the issues raised via Twitter.

December Hot Topic: My Personal “State of the World's Volunteering” Report

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Fri, 12/02/2011 - 00:09

To close IYV+10, United Nations Volunteers is set to issue its State of the World's Volunteering Report. In this spirit of celebration and reflection, Susan looks back at all that has happened professionally in our field – things we have done or were done to us – and asks for your retrospectives, too.   This hot topic is available at: http://www.energizeinc.com/hot/2011/11dec.php

November Hot Topic: Part-time Volunteer Management Means Equally Limited Volunteer Involvement

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Tue, 11/01/2011 - 04:00

The majority of people who lead volunteer involvement do so only part-time. There is a serious disconnect between an organization’s desire to engage volunteers and an understanding of how much expertise and time are needed to assure success. Why is the position underestimated? How can we show that spending time on volunteer management is a necessity, not a luxury?  Read the full hot topic

International Volunteer Managers Day is November 5th!

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Mon, 10/31/2011 - 04:00

 2011 has been a busy year for volunteering – it is IYV2011+10 and the European Year of Volunteering 2011, to name just two high profile campaigns.  And now once again we’ve come to International Volunteer Managers Day (IVMD) – 5 November – which has been building its own momentum.  Andy Fryar, chair of the steering committee for IVMD, reports:

 Already I am hearing of plans for events to mark the day and discussions online about how the publicity for the day can be used to help promote the importance of effective leadership and management of volunteers.  It is in this context that we (the steering committee) see 2011 as a year of consolidation for International Volunteer Managers Day. We have no major developments planned for 2011. Rather we want to concentrate on promoting what is already happening to mark the day and sharing that to keep the profile high.

You can participate by doing some concrete things:

  • Follow the day on Twitter and promote your plans by mentioning @IVMday in

May 29, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 00:00

29 May: Idealware (www.idealware.org, tagline: "Helping Nonprofits Make Smart Software Decisions"), in partnership with well-respected TechSoup (www.techsoup.org), has just released A Consumers Guide to Volunteer Management Systems, It's available for free download with registration at http://www.idealware.org/volunteer_management.

The report summarizes information from interviews and hands-on system demos. It gives volunteer resources managers a starting point for considering their volunteer tracking software needs, which is an important contribution to the field. Unfortunately, however, the booklet falls short in a number of arenas, and is not the "all-in-one-place guide to help nonprofits understand and choose the best volunteer management system" it claims to be.

It compares only three dedicated volunteer management systems to three well-known donor management software packages that also offer a volunteer management module, The report seems to lean in the direction of not seeing

Copyright © 2012   Energize, Inc., 5450 Wissahickon Ave., Philadelphia PA 19144, 215-438-8342, Fax: 215-438-0434