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Guest Post by Carla Ganiel

Over at Problogger, Suzanne Falter-Barns asks “Have Blogs Killed Conventional Websites?”

Meanwhile, Jason Preston of Blog Business Summit explains why every business should have a blog. Jason says, “If you wrote a blog about the ins and outs of trucking, and people who were interested in trucks (or being a truck driver) could find the answers to their questions and get a sense of your (undoubtedly good) personality, what company do you think they’ll look to first when they need to get hired?”

What about nonprofit organizations? What about volunteer programs?

If you wrote a really interesting blog about the issues your organization or program seeks to address, would it help you attract more volunteers?

Does every volunteer program need a blog?

Carla Ganiel is a nonprofit management consultant from Tremont, Maine.

by Larry Ullian

“To put CVA after my name ensures to all that I will bring legitimacy, integrity and a high standard of performance to the area of volunteer management.”–Nancy Scott, CVA – Jewish Family Service, Calgary, AB, Canada, Retrieved from: the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (CVAA).

Why bother getting a Certificate of Volunteer Administration (CVA)? The bigger question is what’s the purpose of credentialing? Why does it matter?

Just to be clear, credentialing is an umbrella term that includes accreditation, licensure, registration, and professional certification. The CVA is a professional certification and is a voluntary process where a non-governmental agency (in this case, the CVAA) grants time-limited recognition and the use of a credential to an individual after verifying that he or she has met predetermined and standardized criteria. This is the way a profession or occupation differentiates among its members and creates and uses standards. So why is it so important to have this credential? What’s the advantage?

In “Profession”: A Working Definition for Medical Educators, authors Cruess, Johnston and Cruess offer the following definition:

A Profession is an occupation whose core element is work based on the mastery of a complex body of knowledge and skills. It is a vocation in which knowledge of some department of science or learning or the practice of an art founded upon it is used in the service of others. Its members are governed by codes of ethics and profess a commitment to competence, integrity, and morality, altruism, and the promotion of the public good within their domain. These commitments form the basis of a social contract between a profession and society, which in return, grants the profession a monopoly over the use of its knowledge base, the right to considerable autonomy in practice, and the privilege of self-regulation. Professions and their members are accountable to those served and to society.

You can see by this definition that the volunteer management profession ought to include some essential elements: a complex body of skills, used in the service of others, governed by ethical codes, and committed to competence, integrity, and the public good. In return for these professional “privileges” the profession gets exclusive use of its knowledge, lots of autonomy, and self-regulation. All this privilege means a lot of accountability to the many publics out there.

A credential like the CVA after your name shows the publics you serve (volunteers, citizens, children-to-adults, employers, employees, policy makers, and assorted other stakeholders) that you have at least, a minimum level of competency in your field because you have command over a specific body of knowledge and competencies that constitute the practice of volunteer management.

The CVA means that the rights and privileges you get are not inherent but granted by a society who trusts that you are guided in your work by explicit ethical standards and the personal characteristics of integrity and morality.

Certification as a volunteer administrator also means that you have voluntarily agreed to certain limits on your professional behavior. The implicit message of certification is a promise to the public or to society that you will not violate their trust and hence agree to operating within the guidelines of professional behavior as defined by professional standards of practice.

So what’s the advantage of getting a CVA?

You’re seen as an expert and a resource for aspiring or novice volunteer managers and others seeking volunteer management assistance (Rizzardi 2005.

The CVA facilitates opportunities for you to collaborate or network with peers and members of other disciplines on community issues, program and service development, and program coordination.

The CVA provides a certain cache and hence a sense of pride and professional accomplishment for having met its standards for admission to the field.

It enables you to advance the profession by modeling the practice of high-quality volunteer management, mentoring others, continuing your own professional development, and meeting society’s needs in a way that preserves the dignity of those with whom you work and serve.

There is some confusion in the literature about definitions of professionalism, ethical standards, professional behaviors, and professional standards. What are the implications of all this confusion to the practice of volunteer management? That’s a topic for a future blog.

Further Reading

From Cruess SR, Johnston, S, & Cruess, RL 2003 (in Teaching and Learning in Medicine, (2004) 16 (1) 74-76

Rizzardi, KW (2005) Defining Professionalism: I know it when I see it. The Florida Bar Journal, July/August, 38-43

Schultz, D. (2004), Professional Ethics in a Postmodern Society. Public Integrity, 6 (4), 279-297

Larry Ullian is Director of Program Development at USM’s Muskie School of Public Service.

by Anne Schink

In a recent conversation with Katy Campbell who directs the CVA credentialing process, she explained that she was encouraging people to refer to the profession as ‘Manager of Volunteers’ rather than ‘Volunteer Managers’. The change signifies an important shift in the view of the field. She suggests that we put the emphasis on ‘Manager’ first to demonstrate the importance of the professional level we expect from such a person, whether paid or unpaid.

In a season when the entire field of volunteer management is becoming increasingly professionalized, this distinction represents an important shift among thought leaders in the field, as well as a new awareness among practitioners themselves.

We know that not all Managers of Volunteers are paid. Many times we believe that organizations undervalue them for this very reason. As a culture we tend to assign value to things that have a financial number attached. Today, more Managers of Volunteers receive a salary and are considered more valuable in their own organizations.

When we consider what it means to be ‘professional’, we often describe a ‘professional’ as “a skilled practitioner; an expert.” Or “conforming to the standards of a profession: professional behavior”. Or “having or showing great skill; expert: a professional repair job”.

As I think back on it, I am amused to remember the first year I completed our Income Tax Return form with the word “Volunteer” on the line marked Profession of Spouse. In a few short years I was signing them as “Professional Volunteer”.

What accounted for the difference in my own thinking? I was still unpaid. I had moved from thinking of myself as a person ‘doing good works’ to a person who devoted a significant part of my life to work I considered important. I had acquired specific content knowledge, directed a range of activities, advocated in the public on issues of importance to both me and the community, and became a leader in my organization.

Remember this as you think about ways your own organization uses volunteers. How broadly across your organization do you provide opportunities for individuals to volunteer? How narrowly do you channel them into a few categories of your agency’s work? Do you provide opportunities for individual advancement within your organization? You may want to re-think your invitation for volunteers to include more professional opportunities at all levels and in all facets of your work.

We hope that this blog will provide you with opportunities to reflect on your own personal growth. It may even provide you with a path for professional development in Maine where no formal credentialing programs currently exist. Stay tuned for more discussion later about ways to gain the professional credentials you seek. For now, self-directed study is probably the best avenue for acquiring the skills, knowledge, and experience you need to be successful in your career as a manager of volunteers.

Anne Schink is a Program Officer at the Maine Commission for Community Service.

The Maine Commission for Community Service’s Annual Report is now available.

by Chris Wolff

I have been working with AmeriCorps since its inception back in 1994. It has been a rewarding experience, to say the least. I still can’t believe it’s been 14 years. Where does the time go?

As I reflect back on these 14 years, I am in awe of all the people I’ve worked with over the years- so many young, talented, dedicated, enthusiastic, passionate, caring people. Due to the nature of the programming I’ve coordinated or directed, I’ve worked mostly with young adults in their 20’s. Sometimes you hear that this generation doesn’t care, but I can tell you that is definitely not the case. If anything, this generation is equipped with the knowledge, passion, and technology to truly make a positive impact on our lives now and for generations to come.

While I was directing the Student Conservation Association’s New Hampshire Parks AmeriCorps Program, I had the pleasure of helping to form a program from scratch, literally. We recruited 20 AmeriCorps volunteers for a 10-month residential program, with a focus on environmental education and trail maintenance. When I say residential, you may have images of dorm rooms. But, this was definitely not the case. We took over a 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the middle of a 14,000 acre park. The building were not insulated, there wasn’t any kind of central heat or year-round running water. The program started in September, and we had to scramble to insulate, sheetrock, install woodstoves, cut, split and stack 30 cord of wood, and figure out a winter water supply. Everyone had to work together as team to make this work. Everyone was issued a hammer, a staple gun, coveralls for the insulation, tape measures and utility knives (many had never used these tools before). The days were long. But, by the first snowfall, we had a cozy, warm dining hall. By the way, the dining hall also became the “dorm” for all 20 AmeriCorps members, with just tarps separating the “rooms.” Needless to say, it was beyond cozy.

Why do I talk about this experience, you may ask? Well, this past summer, this particular cohort of AmeriCorps volunteers decided to pull together a reunion at Bear Brook State Park- our old home. This group has kept in touch with each other all these years, through marriages and children, and really wanted to see each other again in their old home and share stories. I had not seen these members for over 10 years. I was moved by how their year at Bear Brook had shaped their lives and how the experience “stuck” with them after all these years. They appreciated the experience, which challenged them in ways they had not expected, and left them with a sense of pride and accomplishment. They have amazing careers, working as forest rangers, doctors, marine scientists, psychologists, writers, artists, etc. They commented on how the professional development training they received really helped them. One woman went on to pursue her medical degree as a result of the Wilderness First Responder training she received while a volunteer. Several other volunteers pursued graduate degrees in marine sciences and geology as a result of the environmental education and science training they received as volunteers.

It’s important for managers to provide professional development opportunities for their volunteers, whether it’s directly related to their work or not. I encourage host sites to provide time for members to pursue professional development. Many young people are still deciding what to do with their lives or what they’d like to study in graduate school. By providing diverse training opportunities, we are creating a rich experience for the volunteers, which can contribute to higher retention and a life-long learning ethic.

There are many ways to provide professional development opportunities. Many of the adult education programs provide affordable access to technical skill development. Volunteers have participated in numerous conferences and workshops, and can usually apply for scholarships. Program managers can collaborate with other managers to coordinate specific training opportunities by sharing the costs of presenters.

Investing in professional development and allowing volunteers to enhance their skills will bring great payback. Volunteers will feel valued, they will be able to enhance their resumes, be exposed to a new career or education path, and best serve their communities by learning and imparting their new skills for the sustainability of their projects. You never know how this training will help shape the lives of our volunteers and the impact they will have in their communities for years to come.

Chris Wolff is Community Development Director at the Island Institute.

by Bessie Wright

As a “Millennial,” you might think that I’m experienced and well prepared for blogging. On the contrary, this is a first for me—one of many in this past year. Since beginning my career with AmeriCorps I’ve designed landscapes for the first time, advised property owners for the first time, conducted watershed surveys for the first time, and, of course, managed volunteers for the first time. Perhaps that’s why I was asked to be a blogger for this site.

And as a beginner, do you know what I’ve learned about volunteer management?

Recruitment is tough.

Maybe you’re having trouble targeting those Boomers, Gen-Xers or Millennials we’ve all been discussing. Maybe you only need volunteer assistance sporadically, or the projects needing volunteers are too far apart. Maybe your organization is slightly more specific than striving for world peace. Whatever the reason, sometimes all those volunteers that Maine boasts never seem to knock on your door.

Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District (my host site) is plagued with these sorts of hurdles. Here are some of the issues we’ve had to consider in order to adapt our recruitment style to accommodate said restrictions:

Who is most affected by the problem you’re trying to address?
Instead of targeting a particular generation or gender, recruit those who stand to gain the most benefit from your organization’s efforts. Many, many volunteers are altruistic but few can deny that a sense of perceived personal benefit will enhance interest in an organization’s work. Indeed, by targeting correctly you can convince individuals already active in volunteer work that volunteering with your group is worthwhile or convince a new volunteer of the importance of your group’s work beyond their own benefit. The Community Toolbox has a chapter called “Encouraging Involvement in Community Work” in which the last section is devoted to just this concept.

Non-Profits Unite!
Specificity is very common among smaller non-profit organizations, though not necessarily for the same reasons. For example, Penobscot County SWCD is interested in improving Pushaw Lake’s water quality and so is the Greater Pushaw Lake Association (GPLA). Both organizations have the same goal but different resources and by working together they can have greater success. By partnering with local, like-minded associations you increase your “on-demand” volunteer base. This is particularly useful for organizations that do not require constant volunteer assistance; instead of starting over with every project the organization will only need a phone call.

Volunteerism in Education
Margaret Puckett briefly mentioned community service requirements for graduating students; this is a valuable resource for all non-profit organizations. Some Maine schools are requiring up to 40 hours of community service for a student to graduate and have fairs and lists that help students find options. Find out which schools in your area have these going on and sign up! Another way might be to partner with extra-curricular clubs or with teachers covering relevant subjects for short term projects. Ideally and in reality you can mix community service and education so that students gain social and academic fulfillment from the experience.

My point is this: I’m a beginner; I haven’t been on the management end of things for a year. However, even as a novice I’ve been introduced to numerous ways to target and recruit volunteers. I’m sure many of you can increase my list significantly and I hope you do (I’m always trying to find new ways).

Is recruitment tough? Yes, but not nearly impossible.

Bessie Wright is an AmeriCorps member serving with the Maine Conservation Corps.

by Christy Monroe

In the three weeks since this blog has launched we’ve seen a diverse snapshot of topics from across the field of volunteer management in Maine. Hot topics, burning issues, scorching successes…we’ve learned from them all.

Blogging is not only an enjoyable conversation among peers, but also an excellent tool for sharing knowledge and adding value to each other’s work. Professional development built around a community of practice gives us the opportunity to advance further than any one person could go by themselves.

Whether reading this blog, commenting, or submitting a guest post you’re in the process of exchanging knowledge for the greater good of our volunteer management community.

Check out this blog post from Michele Martin on blogging for learning. She discusses key points like focusing on the process, adding value, and forming a learning community. She encourages people to share mistakes as well as successes for an optimum learning experience.

And remember that anyone is welcome to share their story or opinion on a volunteer management topic by submitting a guest post to this blog.

Christy Monroe is an AmeriCorps VISTA member at the Maine Commission for Community Service.

by Jodi Freedman

Many times, I have had the conversation with staff and with fellow board members about whether or not a volunteer can be fired. I find it frustrating how many people believe the answer is no. I often hear people talk about the philosophical dilemma “They are giving of their time, who are we to say that it is no longer acceptable or necessary?” I believe that if volunteers aren’t treated equally to employees, and seen as your non-paid work force with similar guidelines, then you have put no value on your volunteers. Steve McCuley states “By denying that there is a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ way to do a volunteer job, one conveys the impression that the volunteer work done is irrelevant and insignificant. An agency which does not care enough about the work done by volunteers to enforce quality communicates to other volunteers that the agency believes their own work to be meaningless.” For more of Steve’s input on the subject, see his article “How to Fire a Volunteer and live to Tell About It.”

It is not a fun task, by any means, but letting volunteers go due to poor performance, poor attendance or a change in the organization’s needs lets everyone know how important the volunteers are. Of course, to do this, volunteer managers must have proper guidelines in place. It really always goes back to proper documentation. A new volunteer should be orientated, given a position description and a handbook, and properly supervised. All of this should be documented so that all involved knows it was completed. If you have laid out the rules ahead of time, then termination shouldn’t come as a surprise. I have often found that when I do let a volunteer go, that volunteer is as relieved as I am. Perhaps a person agreed to volunteer and then discovered that it wasn’t what he expected or that she wasn’t comfortable after all. Having an honest and open conversation often allows that volunteer to “save face” and leave on good terms with the organization.

Letting a volunteer go also signals to staff that volunteers are held to strict guidelines and are expected to make staff’s lives easier, not more difficult!

I am not saying that a volunteer should be let go without some effort to make the situation work. Steps may include relocating to a new department, getting a new task to do, coaching, or a new supervisor. So, what do you all think? Is it ok to fire a volunteer? And if yes, how many times should the volunteer manager try to make it work?

Jodi Freedman is a Major Gifts Specialist at the Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

by Margaret Puckett

I am an optimist. You know, one of those “cup is half-full” type of people. I tend to see every “challenge” that rears its ugly head as just another opportunity to succeed. As volunteer program managers we face lots of challenges every day, including the ones generated by the currently shifting composition of our volunteer workforce. The dwindling number of Depression and World War II era volunteers; the increasing number of students now facing mandatory community service requirements to graduate; and of course the steady increase in the number of retiring “baby boomers”; all with vastly different expectations. We are forward thinking; working feverishly on adjusting our programs and ways of operation, and some of us optimists may be thinking we are holding our own pretty well. Well, all of us — including the die-hard optimists — may just be on the verge of a startling reality check.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my volunteers greeted me rather sheepishly saying “Margaret, I have something to tell you and I’m afraid you’re not going to like it.” Ok… Well that type of lead-in will stop any self-respecting volunteer manager dead in his or her tracks. I tried to lighten up the mood. “Oh, come on”, I joked. “It sounds like you think I’m some kind of ogre.” The volunteer laughed, but I could see that whatever was on this volunteer’s mind was affecting her deeply. She continued “My husband and I have been having an increasingly hard time making ends meet. I love volunteering here, but I don’t have a choice anymore, I have to get a job. I went for an interview this week and I’m not sure how much longer I will be able to continue volunteering.”

All of a sudden it hit me. I had been seeing the signs for quite a while now. Volunteers expressing concern that the increasing cost of gas would force them to reduce or even eliminate their volunteering. And other individuals who had recently left volunteering to rejoin the work force. It is quite likely they too were responding to economic need.

We all know that Maine has an exceptionally high number of non-profit organizations when compared with national statistics and other states. Ask anyone involved with fundraising just how tough it is to compete with so many other agencies for tight monetary resources. As volunteer program managers we are also competing for limited resources – human resources – our volunteers. When money gets tight, we’re used to trying to helping to shore up our organization’s capabilities with increased volunteer involvement. But what happens when a steadily weakening economy begins to eat away at our available volunteer resources? Just how much of an impact are we talking about?

If you take a moment to think about just how diverse the services provided by volunteers in all those non-profit groups are you’ll begin to get the picture. The number of volunteers incurring out of pocket expenses by providing services requiring transportation, coupled with those needing to drive long distances to get to their volunteering sites is staggering. The problem is even more exasperated in rural areas of the state.

All of us have seen how often our volunteers spend their own money to buy supplies or equipment because they know it will enhance the service they provide and they also know the organization cannot afford to supply it. What happens when money gets so tight that a volunteer can no longer afford to reach into his or her own pockets. Look at the impact that will have not only on the services we provide, but on the frustration level of our volunteers who want to help, but can no longer afford to do so.

Even those of us involved in programs that don’t deal as often with these types of challenges, must face the reality that as our volunteers begin to feel increasing financial pressure, they too may no longer have the choice to continue volunteering. Just this one issue alone has a potentially far-reaching impact on us all. One thing for sure is that the weakening economy is one issue that will impact us all – and it’s one that we need to take very seriously.

Heads up guys … This could be our biggest challenge yet!

Margaret Puckett is Volunteer Services Coordinator at Saint Joseph Hospital in Bangor, Maine.

Guest Post by Carla Ganiel

The baby boomer demographic is the hot topic in volunteer management these days, but we are missing an opportunity of equal proportions if we fail to consider the impact of millennials, those young adults born after 1980, in the volunteer sector.

The business magazine Fast Company offers an image that puts multi-generational demographics into perspective: picture an hourglass. The boomers are at the top, and the millennials are at the bottom. The skinny middle? That’s Generation X, my often overlooked generation, which has much in common with the millennials but has lacked the demographic clout of our younger counterparts.

Millennials may be the most civically engaged generation to come along since World War II, according to Ryan Healy whose Employee Evolution blog focuses on millennials in the workplace. Says Ryan, “Millennials are next in line to follow in the footsteps of the GI or ‘The Greatest’ generation, and become the next great civic-minded group that will quietly demand and create change for the better.” This is a group that has much to contribute to our community-based organizations.

According to career blogger Penelope Trunk, Fortune 500 companies and consulting firms like Deloitte have been researching millennials in order to figure out how to integrate them into the workplace, but volunteer managers can learn from this research as well. In fact, Deloitte’s recommendations for managing millennials are strikingly similar to Penny Kern’s advice on managing retired volunteers. For example, Deloitte suggests that managers “provide a rationale for the work you’ve asked [millennial employees] to do and the value it adds.”

Deloitte offers retention advice as well: “Provide engaging experiences that develop transferable skills. By making [millennial employees] employable, we actually increase the odds that they will stay.” Sound familiar?

It turns out that millennials want the same things boomer retirees want: personal growth, work-life balance, and the chance to make a difference. In the workplace, millennials differ from their boomer predecessors in that they prefer to avoid “paying their dues” at entry level. Instead, they seek responsibility, access to top management, and regular feedback on performance. If their job doesn’t provide these things, they will probably quit; the average length of time a millennial stays in one position is 18 months. However, millennials are also an entrepreneurial bunch, just as likely to start their own businesses on the side, or to seek out volunteer positions that allow them to develop skills that they can transfer back to the workplace in order to advance more quickly through the ranks.

In addition to their energy, civic-mindedness, and eagerness to contribute, millennials offer organizations a wealth of knowledge and experience relative to technology. Millennials are also the quintessential team players—they have been working in teams since elementary school—and they are learning how to be effective community organizers through online social media. An added bonus, the flexible schedules that millennials demand in order to maintain work-life balance ensure that they have enough free time to volunteer.

Yes, the boomers are coming, but so are the millennials. In our haste to recruit the recently retired, let’s not forget the importance of attracting the recently employed to our volunteer ranks.

Carla Ganiel is a nonprofit management consultant from Tremont, Maine.