Despite a few official volunteer statistics, we really do not have many facts. If we want to encourage researchers to do serious data collection about our field, then we need to articulate some better questions to ask.
In part 2 of her response to the dissolution of AVA, Susan explains why it’s important for a professional association to start with (and usually maintain) a single-nation focus rather than an international one.
Legal and financial counselors too often say "no" to what we want to do with volunteers. And they do not expect to be challenged. As advocates for volunteer engagement, we need to remember that we, too, have expertise to offer.
Do you have volunteers working with you? If VPMs become role models for how to design roles for volunteers and how to work with them successfully, we’d do more to bring dubious staff around than just talking the talk.
Susan reflects: The more things change, the more they stay the same. While there have been exciting developments in volunteerism, many challenges are still looming windmills to fight.
There are some sterling examples of strong professional networks in our field, but they are sadly few and far between. Most are struggling. Why? Which came first: weak professional associations or a weak profession?
Guest author Steve McCurley offers an alternative proposal to the Corporation for National and Community Service's initiative to deploy AmeriCorps members.to build volunteer management infrastructure.
The new study,Volunteer Management Capacity in America's Charities and Congregations, is probably the strongest argument ever seen in the U.S. for the value of investment in volunteer management.
The complete absence of discussion of volunteers in most professional academic curricula means many of our colleagues are unprepared to team with volunteers successfully. What can we do about it?
The quest for “tell me what’s standard for all volunteers” emerges endlessly, but there are few universal answers. Start by examining the factors of your organization and determining what is best for you, not others.
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