From Experience Required to Experience Developed: An Ethical Reflection on Strategic Volunteer Recruitment

“Experience required” has long been a standard in volunteer recruitment, an understandable way to ensure that competent people fill key leadership roles. But when prior experience becomes the main pathway to meaningful participation, it’s worth asking how that readiness is built in the first place, and who gets the opportunity to build it. Using the Council for the Certification in Volunteer Administration's ethical framework as a lens, Ethics author Jamie Gray explores how Volunteer Engagement Leaders can uphold high expectations and also invest in intentional leadership development, design clear pathways into board and committee service, and strengthen governance practices in ways that reflect their values.

Available June 26