Volunteer Matters
There is no single strategy to volunteer success
Have you ever wished you could find that one single strategy to help you with some aspect of your volunteer program? A “silver bullet”? In October,...
Preparing for the unexpected in your volunteer program
When you run a volunteer program, you will encounter unforeseen challenges. Preparing for the unexpected before it happens is the key to sustainability. I was...
Sticky issues of reimbursing, paying and charging volunteers to volunteer
There are a lot of issues, legal, ethical and logistical, that come up when volunteers and money collide. It’s inevitable. Most people have baggage around...
Best practices in volunteering may not be the best after all
I have a problem with the term “best practices.” Too often, what we call best practices for volunteerism, aren’t really the best. They are...
Using the Ladder of Inference in volunteer engagement
You’ve been there. In volunteer engagement, we are often faced with making quick decisions in complex situations. Whether it’s assessing a...
Don't talk volunteers out of leaving, encourage them to come back
Boomerang volunteers are a group that often gets forgotten when we do recruitment drives but they can be the best volunteers in your program. You’ve...
Ways to get casual volunteers interested in long-term volunteering
Organizations that put on events, either as their main function or to support their cause, have a fantastic opportunity. Episodic volunteering continues to grow...
Brief strategic plans help you meet goals
I’ve spent the last few weeks working on my strategic business plan for 2025. I have a tool I use, a one-page strategic plan, that I’ve modified...
Volunteers becoming a force to be reckoned with
Today (Dec. 5) is International Volunteer Day. The U.N. estimates the world-wide number of volunteers at more than 862 million per month. That’s at least...
The keys to a successful volunteer information session
One of the key steps in recruiting volunteers is to hold an information session. It gives you the chance to showcase your program in front of people who are...
Volunteers and the U.N.'s sustainable development goals
The past two years, I’ve written columns about upcoming trends in volunteering. When I reviewed the one from last year, I realized most of the trends I...
When leaders volunteer it helps them be better leaders
I was on a call yesterday with members of the Volunteer Manager Professionals of Canada. Something that one of the participants said got me thinking. Her...
Documentation is key when terminating volunteers
In the National Post on Oct. 3, there was an article about Scouts Canada not renewing a long-term volunteer’s annual application. The plaintive, Wayne...
Marking International Volunteer Managers Day
International Volunteer Managers Day gives everyone in the sector an opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate leaders of volunteers, who spend their lives...
Planning for accessible volunteer training
A little-discussed area of volunteer training is accessibility. The ability to fully access training is of vital importance, especially when that training is...
The difference between values and ethics in the volunteer world
In the social impact sector, we often talk about values and ethics. While it can be hard to distinguish between the two, they are really distinct concepts. They...
What to do when staff volunteer and are then terminated?
This situation appeared on the Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada forum. A member asked what should be done regarding an employee who was just...
Welcoming neuro-diverse volunteers benefits your organization
Diversity should be more than a buzzword, it should be a lived reality. Diversity is more than including people of different ethnicities or gender...
Creating a volunteer advisory committee
A volunteer advisory committee or council can be an exceptional way of gaining input and suggestions for improving an organization’s volunteer program...
Ten tips for getting a volunteer survey completed
Having good data about what volunteers in your organization are thinking, feeling and looking for is crucial for a successful volunteer program, and for...