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Volunteer Management Review
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About Volunteer Management Review™
The effective management of volunteers is critical to leveraging these essential strategic resources by nonprofit organizations and institutions, yet is often relegated to second-thought status by senior managers and boards. The original articles contributed to Volunteer Management Review by in-the-trenches CharityChannel colleagues collectively provide the best practices for volunteer resources management.
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Tips on Volunteer Leadership Succession for Nonprofits
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
by Norman Olshansky
Leadership succession planning in nonprofit organizations is a critical and high stakes endeavor. Too often nonprofit organizations struggle to fill vacant top leadership positions. The consequences of poor succession planning can be devastating....
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Engagement 2.0: Cultivating Volunteer Relationships Online
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
by Joshua Fixler and Jill Friedman Fixler
We have been hearing a lot of buzz in the media about the impact of Web 2.0 on nonprofits. Many nonprofits are starting to incorporate social networking and social media into the work they do. However, we have also found that many nonprofit leaders feel overwhelmed and confused by this new trend and are having trouble imagining how it will enhance the work that they do. It can seem like a large and chaotic wilderness; it is difficult to find the path to incorporating the social web into their work.
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Are We Asking Too Much? Charging Volunteers for Training
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
by Tiffani Hill
With less and less funding available, how do we meet the needs of a 21st century program? A growing trend is to charge volunteers a fee to attend required trainings....
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Volunteer Management in the Online Age
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
by Kelly R. Moore
In a recent conversation on volunteer management with colleagues, I was surprised to discover that a few of them had been experiencing some negative support from their management teams regarding their activities online. “Activities online?” I wondered aloud. What kind of activities are you naughty volunteer managers getting up to?
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Volunteer Discipline: It All Starts With You
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
by Shandran Jones Thornburgh
Do the thoughts of talking to a volunteer about a performance issue sometimes make you cringe? Do you put it off as long as possible? Chances are, you are not alone! Many of us may perish the thought of having to correct one of our favorite (or maybe not-so-favorite) volunteers. I would venture to say that many managers of volunteers frequently rely on compassion, employing subjective ways to evaluate situations and act accordingly. It’s easy dealing with the positive, but the negative? Not so much. Even so, there is no escaping it! With a few tips and tricks you can handle those often delicate situations with a little more ease.
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Hang Up Your Cape and Empower Leaders
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
by Tammy Vega
Volunteer managers are often thought to have super-human strength and stamina, and the ability to single-handedly coordinate large teams of people. Yet, even the best of us can quickly become burned out and disillusioned. It’s time to hang up your red cape and retire from your Super Coordinator role!
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The Individual Volunteer Plan: Developing Top Volunteer Talent
Saturday, February 2, 2008
by Jill Friedman Fixler and Jennifer Rackow
Volunteer recognition and retention are inextricably intertwined if you approach both strategically. Traditional recognition events (banquets) and rewards (pins, certificates) are not likely to retain the best and brightest talent -- people who could add tremendous value as volunteers anywhere. It is not enough to update your events or rewards, though there is often value in doing so. You must actively cultivate top performers.
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Measuring Volunteer Program Results
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
by Jill Friedman Fixler and Jennifer Rackow
If you share our drive to strengthen non-profit organizations, you probably also share a sense that your organization’s volunteers and staff members are “doing good work.” But how do you know the differences your programs, services, and volunteers make? How do you prove it to current and potential donors and volunteers? They want to know what their time, effort, and money changes. How can you use this information to tell the whole story about the impact of volunteer engagement to your stakeholders?
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Changing our Message: Communicating the Value of Volunteering to Fix the Looming Volunteer Crisis
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
by Deb Anderson
I recently listened to the audio messages from the “Who Cares” initiative led by Paul Reed and Linda Graff. It’s a sobering message. Volunteering is on the brink of major change that is going to impact our communities in ways that can not even be estimated to their fullest extent. We know that rates of volunteering are declining. Between 1997 and 2001 Canada lost a whopping 1 million volunteers.
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Ten Reasons to Come to Dallas!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
by Celeste Sauls-Marks, CVA
The Association of Volunteer Resources Management (AVRM) will be holding its first national conference in Dallas October 3-5, 2007. The conference theme, Building Bridges to Our Future, brings together volunteer resources managers from across the United States for training and networking sessions. Below are some of the reasons why you should consider attending this conference.
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The Considerations When Engaging Short Term Volunteers
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
by Celeste Sauls-Marks, CVA
Many situations require nonprofits to place volunteers quickly or in short duration positions. Examples include during a disaster response and special events. There are many considerations when designing these types of positions so that everyone remains safe. As a volunteer resources manager, you have the responsibility to ensure the safety of the client, the other volunteers and the organization’s reputation. There are several ways to accomplish this goal.
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Capacity Building Part 2: Creating a Tipping Point for Change
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
by Jill Friedman Fixler
In my travels around the country working with nonprofit organizations on creating a culture of volunteer engagement, where do we start? This may seem like a basic question but it comes from a deep concern about how to make sustainable change within organizations. We are all too familiar with the big initiative roll out. They are snazzy and capture our attention for the moment, but in the end are rarely sustainable.
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Is a Vacation Volunteer Program for Your Organization?
Friday, July 13, 2007
by Tiffani Hill, CVA
Vacation volunteering is not a new concept. According to a March Christian Science Monitor issue, Global Volunteers started offering volunteer trips 23 years ago (http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0309/p25s01-lihc.html). This Minnesota-based nonprofit has been joined by organizations such as World Volunteer Web and Globe Aware in providing opportunities for individuals and small groups to make a difference while they travel. The Volunteer Family, based in Massachusetts, focuses on promoting volunteer vacations for the entire family. These are just a few examples that offer vacationers the opportunity to make a difference while escaping from the stresses of daily life.
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A Growth Model for Volunteer Retention
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
by Celeste Sauls-Marks, CVA
Volunteer retention is a common topic of discussion among volunteer resources managers (VRMs). VRMs continually strive to create avenues that enhance each volunteer’s experience and ensure that they will continue their volunteer service over time. There are many suggestions for achieving this goal. This article will discuss one model for a volunteer program structure that allows volunteers to grow and gain more responsibility.
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The Many Hats We Wear
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
by Celeste Salus-Marks, CVA
Last night, I spent a rejuvenating evening reading a book while on a patio overlooking Lake Michigan. The cool breeze and the breathtaking sunset slowly began to clear my mind and all tensions. I mentally noted that I needed to add similar quiet times to an already packed schedule. This was the perfect conclusion to my training tour of Michigan. However, it reminded me that while I may be an industrious person, we all sometimes just need to take a break, listen quietly and admire the world around us.
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Would You Like to Write for CharityChannel?
CharityChannel was created in 1992 as a community of nonprofit-sector colleagues who shared a vision to create a professional community where members can help each other by sharing their expertise with each other. One of the most important avenues for the exchange of expertise is the opportunity to write original, down-to-earth articles. CharityChannel contributors have penned thousands of articles over the years, and they're just warming up – in the next weeks and months, we're going to expand the article subject areas.
If you have at least several years of experience in the sector and a specific expertise, as evidenced by a demonstrable record of accomplishment, in any of the topic areas listed to the left, you are invited to raise your hand to join one of our Contributors Panels organized around each topic area.
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