Engage Library
Volunteer stress is an important topic. While there are a good number of studies looking at this in terms of implications for the volunteer’s health and well-being, this quarter’s Research to Practice reviews exploratory research that analyzes the issue from an organizational…
October 2015
On June 6, 1939, youngsters who loved to hit a ball and run some bases played the first Little League baseball game at Park Point in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Today, what began as a three-team organization has grown into Little League® International (LLI) – spreading across…
October 2015
A community organizer is usually a social agitator who wants to build grassroots power. While a volunteer manager may be working toward social justice, the primary goal of this position is usually tied to a pre-determined objective, like service delivery or broader…
October 2015
A lot has been said about “spontaneous” volunteering when it materializes as an emergency response to natural disasters – the human impulse to help in some way, any way, when needs are life and death. But every once in a while, these unexpected circumstances illuminate not…
October 2015
“People just don’t commit like they used to!” is a common complaint of leaders of volunteer engagement who find themselves confronting the new trend of shorter-term volunteers. Many of us struggle these days with recruiting volunteers – or, at least, the kind of long-term…
October 2015
Most people are very familiar with the concept of a telethon, a word coined to combine "television" and "marathon." It’s a televised fundraising event, lasting many hours or even days, in order to raise money for a charitable or other worthy cause by combining a variety show or…
July 2015
In this feature article, Elisa Kosarin introduces behavior-based interviewing as an extremely effective screening method for assessing highly-skilled volunteer applicants.
Kosarin’s article is based on the author’s extensive experience working for Fairfax Court Appointed…
July 2015
Was Olive Cooke, a 92-year-old volunteer for the Royal British Legion, hounded to death by fundraisers this past May? In this Points of View, intrepid sleuths Susan J. Ellis and Rob Jackson turn the Olive Cooke case inside out and use it to debate a question that volunteer…
July 2015
In the last issue of e-Volunteerism, volunteer Stephanie Myers wrote about her journey to start Mind for Athletes (M4A), an organization that helps recognize mental health issues among student athletes. e-Volunteerism has pledged to follow Myers’ efforts in future stories, but…
July 2015
When it comes to workshops for managers of volunteers, the regular training topics that we too often wheel out represent a continuous cycle: a repetition of recruitment, policies, procedures, regulatory environment, support and recognition for volunteers, and maybe something on…
July 2015
In this Research to Practice, Laurie Mook reviews a study examining factors that influence volunteer satisfaction and volunteer contributions, defined as a combination of the number of programs involved in and the number of hours served. Specifically, the study looked at…
July 2015
We all know that an organizational culture that values volunteers and volunteer management is an ideal environment in which to engage citizens in important, meaningful service. But how do we foster this culture? One approach is to design and implement in-house training and…
April 2015
In 2014, Paul C. Muller and his team of researchers published a report called "The Economic, Social and Cultural Value of Volunteering to Tasmania," the first such study in that Australian state. The report agrees with the authors of previous e-Volunteerism articles that…
April 2015
In this Points of View, authors Rob Jackson and Susan J. Ellis debate an issue that every volunteer manager must confront: Should you compare and contrast your volunteer engagement to that of other organizations? Is finding a comparison a sign of achievement, or is it…
April 2015
Irish-Australian colleague DJ Cronin speaks his mind with passion and humor, reflecting on the importance of truly loving the role of leading volunteers.
I love my job. I am in love with my job. I intend to live forever! So far so good! But saying such things in today’s society…
April 2015
"A person's a person, no matter how small." Dr. Seuss
This quote from American writer and cartoonist Theodor Seuss Geisel embodies the theme of this edition of Along the Web: children as volunteers. While not a new idea, the thought of incorporating the efforts of young…
April 2015
This quarter’s Research to Practice reviews an article that presents a way to measure the social returns on investment in volunteer recruiting, training, and management. Called Social Return on Investment, or SROI, it is a type of cost-benefit analysis that compares the present…
January 2015
There has been considerable development since the April 2004 Along the Web article on “Volunteers in Arts and Culture." In this 2015 issue, Along the Web returns to the topic and explores a range of recently created resources that have been developed either by or on behalf of…
January 2015
Andrew G. Haldane, Chief Economist, Bank of England, recently stated that “whether seen from an economic or social perspective, volunteering is big business, with annual turnover well into three-figure billions.” And in his recent lecture to the Society of Business Economists…
January 2015