Profession/Field of Volunteer Administration

In this latest Points of View, we look back to an early Points of View column from Engage founders Steve McCurley and the late Susan J. Ellis. Published in July 2003, the article posed this question: Is All Volunteering Created Equal?

We strongly encourage you to read Susan and Steve’s thoughts before continuing here.

In this Points of View, co-editors Erin R. Spink and Rob Jackson conduct a video debate on a topic that they readily admit they need input to resolve: Are National Volunteer Weeks fit for purpose? Indeed, what are they for? What have they achieved? And frankly, are they even still worth doing?

What is your organization’s mission? Hopefully, you know. But we are guessing that unless you’re a volunteer centre, your mission doesn’t reference involving volunteers based on community input?

It’s been our goal for over 20 years at Engage to get Volunteer Engagement Professionals to interact with our content and each other. On our "About" page, we state clearly that our articles are "interactive, inviting you to contribute comments and additional materials.”

We know, however, that this rarely happens. Sure, we get the occasional comment about content we publish, but that rarely gets any kind of conversation going.

So in this issue, we are trying something new.

In honor of the start of our 25^th year at Engage (formerly e-Volunteerism), authors Rob Jackson and Erin R. Spink revisit the first ever Points of View from our journal's founding co-editors, Susan J. Ellis and Steve McCurley. Never known to mince words or shy away from a spicy exchange, Ellis and McCurley are at their best debating the important topic, “Should Volunteer Administration Be a Profession?”

The year 2024 marks the 40^thanniversary of International Volunteer Managers Day. With this in mind, Erin did a little digging. She discovered that in just three years from now, 2027 will mark the 80^th anniversary of the first document that discusses the management of volunteers as a paid job, leading to the development of the professional Volunteer Manager.