The ability to measure the processes and outcomes of organizational initiatives is vital to understanding whether an organization has achieved its mandate. But determining the best method to measure the impact of volunteers and how to successfully report on those findings are…
On November 5, 2014, for the 15th consecutive year, volunteer management professionals around the world will celebrate International Volunteer Managers Day (IVMDay). This global event acknowledges the people who lead volunteers, salutes them for their essential role in creating…
“In the early hours of 20th September this year, my friend and colleague, John Ramsey, passed away after a long illness.”
So begins e-Volunteerism's Rob Jackson in a special tribute for this issue's Voices. As Jackson explains, John Ramsey was an influential voice in the…
Though online volunteer recruiting has been around for decades, it is still a rapidly evolving field. Today, online recruiting is boosted along not only by technological advances but also by the ingenuity and determination of dedicated nonprofit professionals who recognize the…
Understanding the health benefits of volunteering for older adults can provide multiple opportunities for increasing the impact of nonprofit organizations, and the quality of life generally in our communities. From a volunteer management perspective, this has implications for…
Volunteer for four hours and get a free concert ticket. Volunteer for 100 hours and get a tax rebate. Or volunteer for 500 hours to organize a gala fundraising dinner, but pay for your own admission ticket to eat.
Do we need to offer incentives to people to get them to volunteer…
As social media expands throughout the world, it has spawned a unique sub-category of virtual volunteering dubbed “clicktivism” – letting people who are online or on a Smartphone make an impact on their causes in a short amount of time with very little effort. The name comes…
Take a moment to think about your worst job ever. The one you struggled to get out of bed to go to. The one you gleefully left at the end of your shift or the start of your weekend. What job design factors contributed to your dissatisfaction? Was the work boring or repetitive?…
Intrepid Australian volunteer and traveler Louise Rogers writes:
Don’t you love travelling? The preparation…the journey…the reflections…the recollections…and ah!...the experiences to be had?
I’ve had an amazing journey over the past 25 years, working in the voluntary sector in…
A central issue in the volunteer field has long been the lack of true support for volunteers (and of our professional roles) by organization executives. Oh, there’s been lots of lip service with lavish praise along the lines of “volunteers are the heart of our services.” But…
Three British volunteers founded The National Trust in the UK 1895. In 2013, the Trust celebrated the involvement of over 70,000 volunteers in this conservation charity, one that protects historic places and green spaces while opening them up forever, for everyone. In terms of…
The BBC News Web site reports that the worldwide prison population stands at around nine million, with the U.S., China, and Russia ranked as the three countries with the most prisoners. Together, these three nations imprison half of all the world’s prisoners, with the U.S.…
Founded in 1901, the Junior League rapidly became the most influential women’s organization in the United States. Today there are also chapters in Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Its mission statement puts volunteering and women front and center:
The Association of…
Organizations use many different approaches to attract and retain volunteers. For instance, one attempt at a macro level is required high school service, which aims in part to inspire large numbers of students to continue with volunteering into their adult lives by having them…
Over the last 10 years, a number of formerly thriving national Volunteer Centres in English-speaking countries have faltered, forced to find avenues of new funding or to merge with other organisations. But what about the fates of local and regional Volunteer Centres? How have…
Cees M. van den Bos, a pioneer in the volunteering field in the Netherlands, recently discovered that there was very little academic research on the subject of volunteering infrastructure. So he set out to investigate the establishment, development, and functioning of local…
What does a successful and relevant Volunteer Center look like? In a time when many question the viable future of Volunteer Centers, what common traits and best practices do thriving Volunteer Centers share?
In this edition of Along the Web, authors Arnie Wickens and Erick C.…
Most Volunteer Centers have no independent purpose apart from the volunteer community they serve. So it would seem vital for a Volunteer Center to develop strong, mutually-supportive relationships with any organization committed to engaging or deploying volunteers of any kind.…
This quarter’s Research to Practice contributes to the theme of Volunteer Centers. Reviewer Laurie Mook looks at a study of the direct and secondary impacts of the HandsOn Network and its affiliated member organizations: Measuring the Impact of HandsOn Network: An Evaluation of…
This much is clear: Volunteer Centres are vital to build and sustain local and regional volunteer ecosystems. Often seen as the “one-stop” help for individuals looking to get involved in the community, Volunteer Centres are not only remarkable at surviving funding and policy…