Sabotage Part Two: How Managers of Volunteers Diminish Their Role

An interesting movement is emerging in volunteer management: Some managers of volunteers are limiting themselves to being responsible for only one part of their organization's volunteering scheme − the most 'traditional' part − while their organizations build new ‘pro bono’ and ‘community involvement’ programs without them.  While this is not a new phenomenon, what is new and concerning is that there has recently been significant growth in this ‘non-traditional’ volunteering. The change is undermining the role of the manager of volunteers and hampering the ability of community organisations to adequately meet the needs of the community. In this article, the authors consider what factors prevent or limit a manager of volunteers from taking responsibility for all volunteering responsibilities, and they also present a strategy for change.