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Part-time Volunteer Management Means Equally Limited Volunteer Involvement Updated: 2011-11-01 05:01:01 Description: The majority of people who lead volunteer involvement do so only part-time. There is a serious disconnect between an organization’s desire to engage volunteers and an understanding of how much expertise and time are needed to assure success. Why is...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Part-time Volunteer Management Means Equally Limited Volunteer Involvement Updated: 2011-11-01 05:01:01 Description: The majority of people who lead volunteer involvement do so only part-time. There is a serious disconnect between an organization’s desire to engage volunteers and an understanding of how much expertise and time are needed to assure success. Why is...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD What Leaders of Volunteers Can DO to Gain Executive Attention Updated: 2011-10-01 05:01:01 Description: Susan offers 8 essential approaches to generate greater support from top management - using the tools leaders of volunteers already have in more powerful ways....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD What Leaders of Volunteers Can DO to Gain Executive Attention Updated: 2011-10-01 05:01:01 Description: Susan offers 8 essential approaches to generate greater support from top management - using the tools leaders of volunteers already have in more powerful ways. ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Addressing Volunteerism Issues in the Blogosphere Updated: 2011-09-01 05:01:01 Description: Some truly wonderful and provocative blogs have emerged recently. Here are some of Susan’s favorites, all written by authors who are willing – in fact, determined – to address philosophy, ethics, and the "big questions" facing the volunteer fie...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD I’ll Never Understand Why Executives Still Don’t Understand Updated: 2011-08-01 05:01:01 Description: Inexplicably, the subject of volunteer involvement is still far from a priority in most organizations. Susan highlights key points to use as "sound bites" or "elevator speeches" in advocacy for our work – and invites you to share yours. ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Needed: A Multi-level Approach to Credentialing Volunteer Management Updated: 2011-07-01 05:01:01 Description: Many want a universally-accepted credential to "professionalize" volunteer management and recognize that successful volunteer engagement requires special knowledge and competence. The problem is that we are in danger of settling for a one-size-fits-...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Is the Corporation for National and Community Service on the Right Track for Volunteerism? Updated: 2011-06-01 05:01:01 Description: The US Corporation for National and Community Service is experiencing rough waters: severe budget cuts and a very recent leadership change. Guest contributor Paula Beugen wonders if the Corporation needs a serious makeover no matter the budget. Read ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Short Attention Spans versus Long-term Causes Updated: 2011-05-01 05:01:01 Description: We are unlikely to end hunger, cure disease, or achieve world peace in our lifetimes, yet some volunteers are willing to work toward such goals one day at a time. Yet, we live in a world of very short attention spans. How can we reconcile the long-t...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Celebrate Collective Accomplishments, Not Volunteered Time Updated: 2011-04-01 05:01:01 Description: It's April and National Volunteer Week arrives in the United States and Canada, to be followed by similar events in other countries in May and June. Susan believes volunteer recognition is a powerful tool for leaders of volunteers that remains largel...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Choice of the Citizen: Pay Taxes, Do Without, or Volunteer Updated: 2011-01-01 05:01:01 Description: A major conflct between volunteers and labor unions in an under-funded California school district raises critical implications. With more financial hardships and budget cuts ahead of us, what are the rights and responsibilities of citizens - public ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD When Volunteers Resist Change Updated: 2010-11-01 05:01:01 Description: If everything in the world is changing, how can volunteering be the only thing that stays the same? Of course, it cannot and has not. We are all identifying ways to respond to new situations, usually requiring a fresh approach to volunteer work desig...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Good Intentions Going Nowhere - Again Updated: 2010-10-01 05:01:01 Description: Just because a corporation dangles money in front of us, do we have to jump? American Express and NBC-TV, in their new call for volunteering to help America’s schools, are only the most visible, recent players in the competition to outdo others in ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Online Information Overload - and How to Cope Updated: 2010-09-01 05:01:01 Description: Today the most important tool for life-long learning is the Internet and, in only two decades, we’ve seen the evolution of ever more powerful electronic tools. The trouble is that we are drowning in data. What does this mean for our own professiona...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Limiting Volunteers through Insurance Requirements Updated: 2010-08-01 05:01:01 Description: Self-help and other volunteer groups are increasingly being prevented from serving the community because of demands to carry liability insurance. It may sound reasonable to require insurance, but is this just another way of saying "no" to volunteer i...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Self-Directed Volunteer Updated: 2010-05-01 05:01:01 Description: A conference in April explored a new (maybe) type of service: the self-directed volunteer. Learn what this is all about and decide for yourself whether it's a trend you can adapt in your organization. Is it "organized neighborliness" or something rea...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD AmeriCorps and Senior Corps Targeting Volunteer Management Updated: 2010-03-01 05:01:01 Description: We are now seeing implementation of the idea that AmeriCorps (and also Senior Corps) members can be deployed as volunteer coordinators in organizations that do not have staff to lead volunteer involvement. Susan examines the potential and concerns of...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Both Recieving and Giving Updated: 2010-02-01 05:01:01 Description: Conspicuous by their absence in many settings are volunteers with a direct, personal connection to the work of the organization: recipients of service, their families and friends, or people in the immediate neighborhood of the facility. These are the...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Differentiating Volunteering and Working for Pay Updated: 2010-01-01 05:01:01 Description: Much of volunteer management today focuses on the similarities of volunteers and employees. As a practical matter, this is appropriate. But it is also limiting. It tends to push volunteers into uniformity rather than celebrating their potential to...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Media Blitz vs. Media Noise: What Are We Trying to Accomplish? Updated: 2009-11-01 05:01:01 Description: We've just ended the Entertainment Industry Foundation's attempt to mention volunteering in all types of media. What's important is not which popular shows carried the volunteering message or even how well. Susan raises key questions about the goals...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Separation of Service-learning from Volunteering…and Does It Matter? Updated: 2009-08-01 05:01:01 Description: Service-learning has evolved as a world unto itself apart from the field of volunteer management, despite the connecting link of the young people engaged in service. Why is it important for educators, students, and the public to see service-learning...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Days, Hours and Minutes of Service – Enough Is Enough! Updated: 2009-06-01 05:01:01 Description: With most people feeling time deprived, the old image of volunteering as an endless commitment, and a political climate urging civic engagement, it’s easy to see why single "days of service" have become popular. Organizing short bursts of volunteer...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Role of Volunteer Resources Managers in the Serve America Act: Stay Up-to-Date and Lead Updated: 2009-05-01 05:01:01 Description: The lengthy and complex Serve America Act has been signed into law. As a profession, we have a unique and strategic chance to influence effective implementation of the Act, draw attention to the skills of volunteer resources management, and assure th...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Confidentiality and Other Objections to Volunteers Updated: 2009-04-01 05:01:01 Description: It's easy for staff to stop any creative idea involving volunteers by raising concern over confidentiality, risk, or other issue solemnly pronounced as protecting clients. And too often it works. We must be prepared for these sorts of reactions and s...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Difference between Needing and Wanting Volunteers Updated: 2009-03-01 05:01:01 Description: Susan shares some true stories that highlight the gap between ever-expanding needs for volunteers and resistance from organizations who do not actually want this help. How welcoming is your setting? Whose responsibility is to question negative or inf...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD A New Era of Responsibility: An Open Letter to President Obama Updated: 2009-02-01 05:01:01 Description: As US President Barack Obama advocates volunteering as part of what he terms "a new era of responsibility," it's a unique moment in which the profession of volunteer management can make itself visible. Susan offers this "Open Letter" to present con...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD What’s Ahead for 2009? Updated: 2009-01-01 05:01:01 Description: In the spirit of the new year, Susan considers what 2009 might hold in store for volunteering – from actions of the new Obama Administration in the US, to developments in our professional associations, to the future of conferencing in our field. W...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD From Organizing Charity to Building Community Updated: 2008-12-01 05:01:01 Description: December tends to focus on charity to poor families. The challenge for volunteer resource managers is how to redirect the traditional one-way giving model into community building – moving from concentrated holiday events to year-round support and...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD How Will the Economic Crisis Affect Volunteering? Updated: 2008-11-01 05:01:01 Description: The global economic situation affects us all as private individuals and within community sectors. So, how will a recession affect volunteering? Will volunteering increase, decrease, or change in some way as the financial situation becomes more dire?...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Confusing Talk about "Service" Updated: 2008-10-01 05:01:01 Description: We've recently had a flurry of special events, legislative proposals, and media attention focused on the subject of "service." It was brought to a head by an event in New York City on September 11-12, called ServiceNation, at which both presidential ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Replacing Volunteers with Paid Staff Updated: 2008-09-01 05:00:00 Description: There is endless talk about making sure volunteers do not displace paid staff. But what about the opposite issue? When and how is it legitimate to place employees into roles traditionally held by volunteers? This emerging trend deserves attention...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Yin and Yang of China’s Olympic Volunteers Updated: 2008-08-01 05:00:00 Description: 1.7 million Chinese have gone through a rigorous application, screening, and training process to become Olympic volunteers, but much of the press coverage to date treats this not as quality volunteer management, but as suspect "government control." ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Volunteers Should Not Be Second-Class Taxpayers Updated: 2008-07-01 05:00:00 Description: The IRS has just acknowledged the soaring cost of gas by raising the tax deduction for mileage to 58.5 cents per mile – but the rate for driving by volunteers remains at 14 cents, as it has for 10 years. Susan examines this unfair treatment of vol...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Is the Rising Cost of Gas a Crisis or an Opportunity for Volunteering? Updated: 2008-06-01 05:00:00 Description: The cost of gasoline for our cars is rising at a staggering rate. Although there hasn't really been much public discussion yet about the potential of gasoline prices to disrupt critical volunteer services, it's going to surface. In this timely podcas...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD It's Volunteers AND Money Updated: 2008-05-01 05:00:00 Description: In this month's featured podcast: Is your volunteer program appropriately funded? Have you requested something not in your usual budget and been told "we don't have the money"? But that just means no money right now. Every organization, whether nonp...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Volunteering Is Bigger than the Nonprofit Sector Updated: 2008-04-01 05:00:00 Description: Too many politicians, commentators, academics, and the general public are unable to recognize that a giant part of the volunteer world is unpaid service on behalf of government, especially at the state and local level. In this podcast, Susan talks a...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD California Governor "Pumps Up" Volunteering Updated: 2008-03-01 05:00:00 Description: There's some real breaking news this month's podcast. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued an Executive Order creating a new position in his Cabinet: Secretary of Service and Volunteering! What might this mean for California and for t...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Power of Difference Updated: 2008-02-01 05:00:00 Description: What can the television show Numb3rs teach volunteer program managers? That the key to increased impact and less employee/volunteer tension is intentionally recruiting volunteers who are as unlike the paid staff as possible. How have you put unusua...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD So What Do YOU Do? Updated: 2008-01-01 02:00:00 Description: Did anyone at a holiday party last month ask the question, "So, what do YOU do?" How did you answer? When we state our profession of volunteer manageent to strangers, do we expect our identity to be valued or treated as interesting, or do we dread wa...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Helper Triage: Volunteer Management in Emergencies Updated: 2007-12-01 05:00:00 Description: The recent oil spill in San Francisco Bay once again revealed the inexplicable lack of planning for spontaneous volunteers by government authorities. Offers of help from local community citizens were turned away, causing enough anger to warrant medi...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Boards of Directors: Governing at a Distance? Updated: 2007-11-01 05:00:00 Description: By carefully separating the nonprofit board's role in "governance" from the paid staff's role in "management," have we distanced volunteer board members from first-hand understanding of the organizations they lead? It's a mystery how anyone can det...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Moral Obligation of Volunteer Recruitment Promises Updated: 2007-10-01 05:00:00 Description: When new people agree to volunteer, they initially commit because they believe in the sincerity of the invitation and of the recruiter. So when there is a disconnect between the organization's stated desire for volunteers and its basic attitude towa...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Volunteering We See but Don’t Recognize Updated: 2007-08-31 14:00:00 Description: What do foster parents, parade marchers, church choirs and community gardeners have in common? They are all volunteers. But we don't usually apply the word volunteer to these kinds of community activities. Susan talks on this month's podcast ab...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Big Merger: Many Unanswered Questions Updated: 2007-08-07 05:00:00 Description: The merger between the Points of Light Foundation (POLF) and Hands On Network (HON) has been in the works for many months. Susan points out the important perspectives that still need to be reconciled and communicated about the new entity. ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The More We’re Different, the More We’re the Same Updated: 2007-07-01 05:00:00 Description: Susan J. Ellis comments on her observations of global volunteerism. ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Technology Acceleration: Grab Hold and Hang On Updated: 2007-06-01 05:00:00 Description: As Energize launches a podcast version of the monthly Hot Topic, Susan considers the breakneck pace of technological change and how blogging, social networking, and podcasting hold great potential for volunteer programs willing to experiment. ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Make New Friends But Keep the Old... Updated: 2007-05-07 07:22:17 Description: Predominantly-volunteer organizations often focus their energies on recruiting new members. It is equally – if not more – important to find ways to revitalize the involvement of inactive members. ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Exercise Your Volunteering Funny Bone Updated: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Description: Is Mother Nature or the economy getting you down? Could you use a good laugh? We want to find – or create – volunteer-related humor: cartoons, jokes, funny anecdotes, and other things that show the lighter side of working with volunteers. So En...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Real Professions Have Strong Associations Updated: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Description: Around the world, too many professional associations of volunteer resource managers are struggling. The Web offers the only forum in which people committed to advancing the profession can find one another and voice their opinions. Whether we work on ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Word "Volunteer" Can Reveal, Conceal, or Confuse Updated: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Description: The United Nations has declared 2011 as the International Year of Volunteers Plus Ten, or IYV+10, and is preparing a State of the World's Volunteerism Report (SWVR). This has raised the perpetual question of "What exactly is – or is not – volunte...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Correlation between Time Donors and Money Donors Updated: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Description: Organizations need to see that money donors and time donors are closely intertwined - and that people move in and out of both roles over a lifetime. Volunteers are a critical component of an organization's mix of resources, not only in contributing s...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Reimagining Service: Is Corporate HR Management What We See? Updated: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Description: The "Reimagining Service" initiative in the United States is moving forward. While the well-intentioned national figures involved are trying to do something meaningful, it is painfully obvious that none are aware of the profession of volunteer manag...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD "You Get What You Pay For" Updated: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Description: Society holds contradictory attitudes about money that affect volunteering in many ways. Susan explores some of the most common notions, from "if it's worth doing, it's worth paying for it" to "you couldn't pay someone to do this." How can we believe...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD When the Ax Falls: Budget Cutting and Volunteers Updated: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Description: Can an organization turn to volunteers to fill gaps when budgets are cut and employees laid off? This ancient question has resurfaced, for obvious economic reasons. Most volunteer program leaders feel their stomachs tighten when this issue is raised....more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Taking the Client's Perspective in Designing Volunteer Roles Updated: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Description: Susan reflects on her recent healthcare experiences to question whether we are simply missing the boat by not directing volunteers into work that is of greatest value to the users of our services right now. In a changing world, can we afford to igno...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD Making Ongoing Volunteering Valued and Visible Updated: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Description: How can we integrate discussion of everyone's own volunteering into daily life in a natural, even "taken for granted" way? In the face of hoopla about single days of service, how do we shine a light on ongoing service that is already so pervasive, ye...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD The Drive towards "Highly-skilled" and "Pro Bono" Volunteering Updated: 1970-01-01 00:00:00 Description: New initiatives, such as A Billion + Change, are encouraging corporations to send "highly-skilled" and "pro bono" volunteers out to help nonprofits. But the basics must be in place to utilize the offered expertise. Susan identifies six assumptions ...more... LISTEN NOW | VIEW CACHE | DOWNLOAD |
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