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...
Did you know that the word volunteer comes from Latin, and can be translated as "will" (as in doing something out of one’s own free will)? In not-for-profit organizations, volunteer leaders are the proverbial airplane pilots unless, of course, yours...
Recruit, recruit, recruit... Why is everyone so focused on recruitment of volunteers? It seems that every organization I meet these days is focused on recruitment. If only we had more volunteers! If only we had more volunteers...it would solve all...
Build understanding and collaboration: Paid staff are respected and are empowered to fully participate in planning, decision-making and management related to volunteer involvement. There is a conscious, active effort to reduce the boundaries and increase the teamwork between paid and...
What could cars and oil changes possibly have to do with building successful volunteer-staff teams? If you are scratching your head, then read on… The analogy comes from Donna Lockhart, CVRM, of RETHINK GROUP. Her father always told her that...
