Lessons from a Volunteer-Run Library of Things

We read a lot about Volunteer Engagement and Leadership from the perspective of agencies who have paid Volunteer Managers – employees in place to oversee, manage and coordinate the efforts of the volunteer team who are committed to support the work of their agency. And in that conversation, it’s often easy to forget that the vast amount of volunteer leadership actually occurs in ‘all volunteer-led’ organisations, where there is no paid staff member to take control and where the challenges can sometimes be a little different to having a single person designated to that leadership role.
In this feature article, consultant Nicole Bray shares her own experiences co-creating and ultimately closing one such ‘all volunteer-led’ agency. Said Bray, “I hope that my personal learnings might help Leaders of Volunteers – paid and unpaid – in the work that they do.”