Preserving native languages
Residents face triple rent
Theme park plans for mall
$35M lotto winner in BC
415 fires across the country
Revenge on Bernardo?
Smoke clogs US cities
Pope to undergo surgery
Mom charged after shooting
Tims to launch credit card
BC firm in US legal trouble
Updated deal for union
PGA to merge with LIV
Free Falcons game tonight
Knights crush Panthers 7-2
'Law & Order' Toronto 
Sam's vocal cords on mend
Elton naked without specs
Volunteer Matters
A thorough check-up of your volunteer program is vital
The word “audit” is a dirty word for a lot of people, but really, it just means “to review methodically and in detail”. It’s...
Volunteer shortages are squeezing not-for-profits
I saw a very discouraging post on Facebook today. It was written by a leader of volunteers in an organization dealing with staff shortages. He was writing about...
Lists can help you organize your day and get things done
As professionals in the not-for-profit sector, we are often overloaded with work. And yet we often look back at the end of the day and ask ourselves what we...
Supercharge your volunteer training
I hear a lot of grumbling about volunteer training, both from leaders of volunteers and from volunteers themselves. Leaders are concerned volunteers won’t...
Volunteers aren’t free
We fund what we value. Your organization says it values its volunteers. But does it? Think carefully. Volunteers are not simply free labour. In fact, volunteers...
Favourite volunteer quotes
I came across a volunteer quote today that I hadn’t heard before: “Without volunteers, we’d be a nation without a soul.” Rosalyn Carter....
We need boundaries in the workplace and volunteer space
We need to start enforcing boundaries. I hear about it again and again. A volunteer assumes because you’re working from home, it’s OK to phone you...
Dealing with technology in the volunteer sector
There is a growing trend toward increased automation and technology in the workforce, and the social impact sector is no exception. A year or so ago, I was...
Volunteering without ‘saviourism’
I’m a lucky person. Actually, let’s use the real word. I’m privileged. I’m white, cisgendered, well-off financially and fully...
Finding and using corporate volunteers
Are corporate volunteers part of your program’s strategy? You might want them to be. Good journalism starts with answering the five Ws – who, what,...
Dealing with unappreciative clients
It happened near the end of a long, stressful shift. A client came up to the registration desk, and blasted the volunteer for the length of time it took to get...
'AIDA' is a good process to follow when recruiting volunteers
There is a simple acronym that marketing people use—AIDA—that can help you recruit volunteers. AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire and...
Ways to help volunteers become more resilient
If you google “resilient volunteers”, you will get thousands of articles, blogs, videos, etc on how volunteering can help build resilience in...
Enhance your influence as a leader of volunteers
The position of volunteer engagement specialist, or whatever your particular title is, is often seen as a lower-level position, without a lot of influence. ...
Language used when talking about volunteers is important
How aware are you of issues around the language of volunteering? I had some interesting questions posed to me this week: “How does language act as a...
Sometimes it's necessary to 'fire' volunteers
Is "firing" a volunteer OK? The short answer is, absolutely. Not only can you fire a volunteer, in many cases you must. I know, lots of people say you...
Ways to deal with problematic volunteers
Ann really wanted the position. She did whatever it took to get it, but once she had it, things started to fall apart. Other things took priority for her. She...
Five tips to attract young volunteers
Are you frustrated in your attempts to attract young volunteers? A common concern among not-for-profits is the “aging out” of their volunteer...
Creating strong volunteer programs
Castanet presents our newest regular columnist, Karen Knight, who will focus on volunteer issues. Volunteering is a huge part of Canadian culture. According to...
