Are We Overlooking What May Be Our Biggest Challenge Yet?
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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.
February 11th, 2008 at 9:26 am
We’ve been reading so much about the impact of Boomers on the economy and the volunteer sector, but this slice of information really blurs the line between work and volunteering. People may be staying longer in the workforce than they originally intended, for all the reasons Margaret suggested. Those who need some financial support will try to supplement their income some how, and Margaret’s right about how this will affect volunteer recruiters. Maybe it’s time to explore ways to support a person as a volunteer like reimbursements for mileage. Maybe some of those traditional volunteer jobs will have to become part time paid jobs. It is going to require some re-thinking on everyone’s part, but surely the workforce and the volunteer world will have to adopt flexibility as one key ingredient.
February 11th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Margaret, this is a very insightful post on a challenge I hadn’t considered until you brought it up.
I agree with Anne’s point about boomers as well. One of the things we know about boomers as a group is that they haven’t saved a great deal of money for retirement. That issue, coupled with an economic downturn, may force many workers to remain in the workforce much longer than they intended.
February 12th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
How about finding more ways that people can volunteer from home? Perhaps managers and staff should look at the things that can be done off site that do not need to be directly supervised by staff. Especially if it is a long time volunteer with a good track record. the person could still be involved with the organization but not during office hours. They can report hours and tasks through VolunteerMaine.org.
In addition, an offer of a recommendation for the person who now has to re-enter the job market can go a long way towards improving the person’s morale.