As you might have heard, the latest Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (CSGVP) was released last week. Based on data collected in 2007, the survey - the fourth in a series of surveys that began in 1997 with...
It's an exhilarating experience to start a volunteer program from scratch. From big ideas and goodwill comes human power channeled to bring results. Some volunteer programs start from a group of people getting together to solve a problem. Others start...
On May 1st, a book was launched by Volunteer Vancouver entitled, A People Lens: 101 Ways to Move Your Organization Forward! Filled with stories about today's "new volunteer" and providing tips on how to effectively engage them, the book is...
Over the past few years, the need for a more structured volunteer environment appears evident. Charitable organizations are taking a much more business-like approach toward their volunteers in order to employ their skills as effectively as possible. Therefore, many organizations...
When cash resources are tight, the value of volunteer resources assumes additional importance to nonprofits and governmental organizations. Every volunteer hour is value added to the organization. In Minnesota, the value of the volunteer time is an estimated economic contribution...
The charity volunteering I do involves a lot of driving. The organization can afford to pay for gas, but the volunteer coordinator refuses to accept claims. Should they reimburse us? Or should we have a stipend from which to pay...
An anemic economy closed out 2008, and if pundits and experts across the globe are correct, the condition may well worsen in 2009. Though stories of economic hardship are, unfortunately, hardly rare for the charitable sector, the end of the...
A US study conducted by The Independent Sector, a US-based not-for-profit organization, confirms that when people are worried about their personal economic situation, overall giving and volunteering drops. Their facts suggest that giving drops by more than 50% and volunteering...
Canadians have seen tremendous change these last two months. Whether it was the stock market collapse, the renewed Conservative government (slightly larger version), or the resounding election of President-elect Barack Obama in the US last week, our world is being...
Volunteers are one of the most important assets of nonprofit and charitable organizations in Canada. They bring time, enthusiasm, and skills to the organization or to a program. They can also make the delivery of programs far more cost-effective. Many...

