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Guest Post by Michael Wilson

There’s a movement for civic engagement in higher education. University presidents, deans, and professors are committing to more responsive relationships between their campuses and surrounding communities. These leaders aim to mobilize their colleges and universities to serve outside of their walls and, in serving, to deepen and ground the learning of their students and the quality of their scholarship. Given this climate, you’re likely to find a warm response to interest in partnership. And it’s worth it. Let me tell you briefly what your organization stands to gain from partnering with higher education, and how you might get started if you’re interested. Note—to learn more about the movement for civic engagement in higher education, see Campus Compact or the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.

When you partner with higher education you gain disproportionately good access to twenty-somethings. Those of you working with youth know that teens look up to folks in their twenties naturally, because of the proximity between their respective energies, interests, and experience. Twenty-somethings are powerful voices, then, in youths’ direction in life, including their college aspirations. However, these folks are famously hard to access. As you may know, 17.7 percent of people in their early twenties volunteer, in contrast to the 30.3 percent who volunteer among 35 to 54 year olds (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Volunteering in the United States, 2007, United States Department of Labor, January 23, 2008). If Maine reflects national statistics, then chances are you’re hard pressed to recruit people my age as volunteers in any places other than college campuses, which are actively creating structures for mobilizing their students to engage meaningfully with the towns and cities around them.

College students will often come to you associated with a course that can offer something unique to your organization, as well. For example, Ed Laine of Bowdoin College led his Geology 267 students in original research on behalf of the Friends of Casco Bay. The students analyzed a 12-year data set using a technical graphing program; their work served as a pilot project for new research by the FOCB. Here at USM, English Professor Lorraine Carrol teaches literacy theory by placing her students as language tutors with organizations around Greater Portland. The students learn theory; the first- and second- generation refugees or immigrants they tutor learn the language from people with fresh insight on how to teach it. This pedagogy, called service-learning, is a cornerstone the movement for civic engagement in higher education.

Additional doors open when your organization collaborates with a college or university’s students and faculty. Faculty members sometimes locate their scholarship in community. David Scobey, an American Historian and professor at Bates College, writes on the social history of Lewiston’s mills—how did cabaret singer Maurice Chevalier come to croon for a city’s mill worker’s, after all? His research doesn’t hover lonely in the ivory tower, but contributes to the exhibits at the local community history museum, Museum L-A, instead. Grants are also available from select institutions in the state. Official affiliation is always an option, too, with the potential to lend credibility to your work.

To initiate partnership with higher education, your first step is to find a college or university you might like to work with. For a complete list of institutions in Maine (and their websites), click here, and for a map, click here. Narrow down the list geographically, first, and then by relevance: tease out an institution’s scope according to its mission statement and list of programs offered (available online).

Next, imagine where collaboration might take you. Consider your organization’s mission and how it resonates with each institution you have in mind. Identify concrete ways in which your organization might benefit from partnership, from student volunteers to research assistance, as above. Take the institution’s perspective, too: consider how students might learn and grow serving at your organization, whether affiliated with a course or not. Also consider what it might mean for the institution to be affiliated with your organization. And also, get specific. Consider what level of commitment you need from students and what support you expect them to receive from their college or university; and consider what support you will offer students in turn. Our office uses a worksheet to tease out these questions, attached. Finally, before you call, be sure to ask around at your organization for old relationships with the college or university. It’s useful to know about previous contacts and potential political pitfalls.

Unless you have a very good previous contact, I recommend you begin your inquiry with the campus’s hub for civic engagement. Doing so, you shouldn’t have to worry about political pitfalls: such hubs are typically responsible for matching campus programs with community partners, so that you don’t have to learn the whole institution. For a directory of civic engagement contacts, call Maine Campus Compact at (207) 786-8217. Note that the scope of these hubs varies widely between institutions. Some administrations dedicate comprehensive centers to civic engagement; others staff an office; and others assign the responsibility to an interested faculty or staff member.

Michael Wilson is an AmeriCorps VISTA member at the University of Southern Maine’s Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement.

Guest Post by Ann Swain

I think if those of us who manage volunteers were asked to describe our view of the perfect volunteer, most of us would have a pretty definite idea what that volunteer would look like and how they would present themselves. I was always told that first impressions are often the only impression we get a chance to make. When I was quite young, I remember my dad would say “you don’t always get a chance to explain yourself. Make sure that what people see is the message you want people to receive from you.” Not everyone, however, had someone like my dad to coach and guide them throughout life’s journey. Sometimes, that first encounter we have of a prospective volunteer might be the very moment in someone’s life that changes them in a way we or they could never imagine. First impressions are not always accurate.

I’ll never forget the day John walked into our office. Actually, he shuffled, head held down looking at his tattered boots with somewhat of a coat draped over loose fitting overalls. The knitted cap on his head had holes and was badly in need of a good washing, as was the rest of his clothing. You might imagine John had not been near a bath or shower for some time as the room filled with the smell of oil from a motor that didn’t work; dirt from the garden long ago forgotten, but mostly from neglect.

John’s wife of 52 years had died several months earlier. She always took care of their needs like grocery shopping, paying the bills and even bringing in the money to pay for it all. Now that she was gone, no one knew how John was getting on. He had worked in his younger days fixing old motors of various types and other odd jobs. Since his wife died, no one had seen him in the grocery store or even at the post office to collect his monthly social security check. John never spoke to anyone except for a grunt or grumble. But there he was, standing in our volunteer program office wanting to talk to someone about becoming a volunteer. It was actually a volunteer from another program who told John about our volunteer program, which was designed for one-to-one friendly visits and assistance. The other program volunteer had seen John visiting his wife in the hospital and was concerned about what might happen to him when his wife was gone.

John had been told that our program helped people stay in their own homes by helping them with errands, getting them to doctor appointments and enjoying friendly visits. The Program Manager told John he had to be 60 years old to apply to the program and must attend monthly trainings with other volunteers. After talking a bit, it was clear John fit the criteria. However, the Program Manager wasn’t sure how John would work out. He needed to clean up and stay that way; he needed to be able to talk to people and function on his own. The Program Manager talked to John about these concerns and he said he would like to try. They set a time for John to return to the Program office and they would plan a visit to see his first client.

John returned to the office at the appointed date and time, cleaned up with freshly washed clothes and a little bit of a grin on his face. The Program Manager had found some folks for John to visit several times a week within his own community. It wasn’t long before John could be seen smiling his way through the grocery store doing his own shopping, chatting with people he’d known for years but never really talked to. The homebound folks he visited enjoyed John and all the stories they shared. The community enjoyed watching John change from a man who wanted to hide in the shadows to someone who enjoyed the company of others, self assured and independent. Not only was John helping others maintain their independence, John himself had acquired an independence he had never known. If it hadn’t been for another volunteer and the Program Manager seeing through that first impression, John may never have known about the volunteering and may never have known the independence he was able to enjoy.

The day John walked into the office in his disheveled state, it would have been easy for the Program Manager to chat for a minute and turn him away. It would have been easy to decide this man was not nor could be a person suited for volunteering. But the Program Manager took the time not only to talk to John and look past his appearance, but also to give him direction for participation as a volunteer with very specific guidance on what he needed to do in order to become a volunteer with the program.

Managers of volunteer programs don’t always get to know the whole story when a potential volunteer walks through the door. It cannot truly be predetermined what a volunteer experience will do for someone. No doubt John’s experience changed his life, even for a brief time. John was able to volunteer for 13 months before he died. No one in his community knew he had been battling cancer. But everyone knew that the last 13 months of his life, he experienced a fulfillment he had never known. Thankfully, first impressions don’t always count

Ann Swain is the Director of the Senior Companion Program at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

by Penny Kern

Jodi’s post on THE WORST PATIENT really highlighted what some of us have been saying for awhile. The world of VOLUNTEERING and recruiting of volunteers has changed. Not totally because of the baby boomers but changed nevertheless.

In her article, she used herself as an example of a manager of volunteer’s worst nightmare. And, she very well may be but it’s my opinion that she is just a typical potential volunteer of today. We’ve blamed it on the attitudes of the baby boomers and gen Xer’s but truly, age has nothing to do with it, I think.

Today’s volunteers have more on their plates than they can deal with. Pressure is on to excel at the job or lose your job. Be the most perfect parent that ever walked the Earth or be punished forever for turning out a “bad” kid. Then, on top of all that, your house has to be perfect, your marriage or relationships have to be perfect, and you have to be the star of the community through community service. That’s a LOT. More than anyone in all the last generations put together, I think. Brain overload!!!!

Managers of volunteers need to start seeing the real picture and change their way of working or there won’t be enough people in the world to fill the positions out there, don’t you think? The key words in my mind are FLEXIBILITY and PLANNING.

 What is the mission of your organization and what jobs need to be done to meet that mission?

 How can you make these jobs flexible enough to meet the needs of the volunteers and still get the mission accomplished? Or can you? Do you need to have two different position descriptions for two different types of volunteers? There are still volunteers out there who like the second and fourth Mondays of every month from 3PM - 5PM.

Also, and this is just my humble opinion, I think position descriptions have to allow for the new volunteers. Volunteers like mentors, counselors, recruiters, Girl Scout leaders, etc., who work with stressful situations, should have start and end dates built into their contract when they are given an orientation. When I recruited Girl Scout leaders, their position description specifically stated it was a one-year appointment renewable by both parties. This gave me an out if things suddenly deteriorated and it gave the person a chance to leave and still save face knowing they did a great job while they were able to contribute.

Are we trying to pound volunteers into shapes that look like the volunteers in our grandparents’ time or are we trying to make volunteer opportunities available to ALL who would like to help make our mission successful?

I found this great quote from Peter Drucker - “Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.”

Are you beating your head against a wall trying to do something that shouldn’t be done?

Penny Kern is a retired volunteer manager from Aroostook County.

by Chris Wolff

Working with many rural communities in Maine, I am always in awe of the level of civic engagement within these communities. Many small towns are governed by volunteers who serve as selectmen and school board members. Some small towns are lucky to have a local library and historical society. If these do exist, they are only open and organized because of volunteers dedicated to having these services available or preserving artifacts for future generations.

Matinicus Island, the Historical Society places all of their artifacts in the home of a local volunteer, since a designated building or room does not exist. If this person was not willing to store these objects, they may become damaged and unavailable for future generations. On Swan’s Island, the Librarian position is a very part-time, paid position. The Library then relies on community volunteers to open the library and provide programming. If a community has a recreation center or after school programming for youth, the success of these programs almost always relies on a volunteer effort.

Many of the volunteers in these small, rural communities don numerous volunteer hats. When your community consists of less than 100 individuals, there is an expectation to participate in the sustainability of the community, whether it’s volunteering with the school, participating in a subcommittee of the town’s comprehensive plan, helping out with the local solid waste efforts, or alternative energy research. Without this volunteer effort, these communities would not function. But, on the flip side of it, these same volunteers experience a high level of burnout. They attend meetings almost every night of the week. They have families and full-time jobs. For some of these volunteers, they have a strong desire to volunteer and help out with community efforts, but may be lacking the necessary skills to further the mission of the organization or planning effort.

For instance, the small Community Center on Long Island has requested an AmeriCorps member to help with sustainability initiatives. They would like to have help with researching grants, and finding support for programming and infrastructure/building rehabilitation. The current staff and volunteers either do not have the time or the skills to move their projects forward. On North Haven, the North Haven Historical Society has recently completed the construction of a new building, with a state-of-the-art climate-controlled archival storage room. The Historical Society is run by community volunteers, and they would like to have an AmeriCorps member help out with digital archiving and creating community programs. The volunteers do not have the technical skills and time to move their mission forward.

Though AmeriCorps members fill a great niche in providing much-needed support for community initiatives on a 1-2 year full-time basis, some communities have specific needs requiring expert skills. The Island Institute is getting more and more requests from older citizens who will be retiring to Maine and who want to volunteer their time with the Island Institute and the communities we serve. These individuals have been CEOs and consultants with corporations. They have been leaders of large non-profits. They’ve been teachers and superintendents. They possess a breadth of experience and expertise and could be a great resource for the small communities that rely on volunteers to get things done. Their volunteer effort could help enliven volunteerism in these small communities.

In a preliminary survey conducted in January, Casco Bay islanders were asked to report on their volunteer needs. Speaking with a number of representatives in the Casco Bay island communities, a number of potential volunteer needs were identified:

• Grant Writing Advice & Support
• Business Plan Development
• Brush Removal & Beach Cleaning-Ups (Arms & Legs)
• Legal advice regarding affordable housing: buy-back options, land leases, land trust models, eligibility language, etc.
• GIS mapping and data management
• Town ordinance language and planning and development
• Small business development- marketing, website development, etc.

These volunteer-led organizations need help coordinating activities, furthering their mission, and completing many projects. Volunteers can help catalyze projects and create energy and excitement for the work. By creating public interest around projects, outside volunteers can provide opportunities for further local volunteer participation.

It will take a little work to help train the island volunteers in volunteer management. And, in turn, it will also take some work to bring potential volunteers up to speed on island culture and the projects. But, even if the Island Institute is successful in having 2% of its membership volunteer with our communities, that is an additional 40-50 people who will be able to provide much-needed assistance to a group of dedicated volunteers and hopefully prevent volunteer burnout.

Chris Wolff is Community Development Director at the Island Institute.

by Bessie Wright

Maine is teeming with volunteers and volunteer opportunities. Though I’m no expert, I’m willing to bet that a good proportion of those opportunities are less like the Red Cross and more like the local high school athletic boosters—volunteers who come together, work together and manage each other to meet a desired goal. In addition to athletic or music boosters, some examples might include:

Angling Clubs
Garden Clubs
Road Associations
Lake Associations
Service Fraternities and Sororities
Snowmobile Clubs
Hunting Clubs

Admittedly, many of these groups have membership fees, but they all operate in similar fashions. Most often this means the group relies only on the members to donate their time, energy and resources toward the respective mission. These organizations basically run themselves.

Membership Makes a Big Difference
Understaffing is problematic for all organizations, but for volunteer-based programs it can be a serious detriment. Non-profits suffering from low numbers will start showing considerable wear. For instance some organizational goals might be only partially met while others will be dropped altogether. Existing members will begin feeling the stress of trying to do the work of multiple volunteers. Under this kind of pressure many members burn out and leave the organization – further depleting a crucial resource. Finally, members who do stick it out just don’t have fun anymore; they stay solely out of a dogged sense of duty. A volunteering experience should never be viewed as only a chore.

Sometimes it’s hard for organizations to realize they just don’t have the capacity to do everything they want to do. But realizing there is a membership problem is the first step to revitalizing an organization; the next is making membership top priority. Often this means temporarily setting aside the group’s main purposes, and that can be a tough pill to swallow. But a volunteer-based program without enough volunteers is doomed to struggle.

All that being said, here are a few things worth thinking about when trying to increase membership:
- When recruiting, start by trying for about 10-15% of your target population. Shooting for 100% is setting yourself up for failure.
- Don’t forget your original goals entirely. After all, people will want to join to make a difference. Instead, use your efforts to further recruitment – Advertise your meetings, successes and where you need help via newsletters; press releases; signage; etc.
- Laura Wilson, at UMaine Cooperative Extension, did a survey on email versus paper newsletters. She found that people prefer to have that paper in their hands; emails are much easier to ignore and you run the risk of missing potential members because you don’t have their email addresses.
- Have Fun! Serious projects are always more successful when those working on them are enjoying each other’s company. Think about having an event specifically not related to work.

Readers, what other suggestions or considerations can you offer for increasing membership?

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

by Christy Monroe

I’m going to go out on a limb here in assuming that you are reading this blog because you’re a manager of volunteers or you’re interested in the management of volunteers. The question is- have you have utilized Volunteer Maine as Maine’s FREE online resource for volunteer recruitment and management? Are your agency’s volunteer opportunities listed?

Three reasons why you should consider (or re-consider) registering your agency and volunteer opportunities:
• Each month over 11,000 unique visitors check out the site and volunteer listings
• You can post one-time and ongoing volunteer opportunities, as well as recruit board and committee members and request in-kind donations
• Your volunteers can track their hours on the site

Maybe you’ve tried to register in the past, but you felt overwhelmed or unprepared. You’ll find resources like the Agency Registration Worksheet and the Volunteer Opportunity Worksheet to help you prepare before starting the registration process, along with instructions and helpful tips.

Perhaps your agency listing is outdated or you’ve lost your password-no worries. Personalized problem solving, trouble shooting, and technical assistance is enthusiastically offered by our Volunteer Maine AmeriCorps VISTA members and by Aroostook County RSVP! Give them a ring or send a quick email, and they’ll be happy to help.

We’d love to hear from some of the 600+ agencies statewide who are actively using Volunteer Maine or from volunteers who are familiar with this site. How have you found this resource to be most helpful? What tips do you have for other would-be users?

Aroostook County RSVP, Contact Kevin Giles and Carl Olsen 207-764-6184

Volunteer Maine VISTAs:

Joel Biron, 207-795-4010
Seniors Plus of Lewiston
jbiron@seniorsplus.org

Wendy Cattell, 207-985-3359
United Way of York County
wcattell@buildcommunity.org

Meredith Eaton, 207-941-2800
United Way of Eastern Maine
meredithe@unitedwayem.org

Jeremy Hammond, 207-782-3554
Good Shepherd Food Bank
jhammond@gsfb.org

Sarah McLuer, 207-443-9752
United Way of MidCoast Maine
VISTA@uwmcm.org

Kala Stenehjem, 207-874-1000×312
United Way of Greater Portland
kstenehjem@unitedwaygp.org

Christy Monroe is the Training VISTA at the Maine Commission for Community Service.

by Bob Moore

Most of you reading this are already in the volunteer field - either giving to an organization as a volunteer yourself or in the “business” of trying to recruit and retain volunteers. I don’t think I’m going to tell you anything enlightening that you don’t already know - if you’re going to be successful in attracting volunteers, you need to understand what makes people volunteer in the first place.

People volunteer for many reasons, sometimes altruism, sometimes personal, but always for a purpose. For many it’s a way of giving back. Have you ever heard someone say, “My mother received excellent care in this hospital and I want to repay some of that kindness”? Or “When I was growing up, I had a coach who made a difference in my life and I want to have the same influence on a young boy or girl”?

In the “old days”, volunteers were often people who had lots of time to spare and were looking for something to do. Although this may have been the case decades ago when many women hadn’t yet entered the workplace, this stereotype no longer fits. Women still volunteer more than men, and people between the ages of 35 and 44 are the likeliest to volunteer. Time is a precious commodity among all of us - and those members of the “likeliest group” to volunteer have little to spare - often trying to balance careers with raising families, taking care of aging parents, going to the gym, and keeping up with e-mail!

So given all of this, why do people volunteer?

Many volunteers are looking to meet people - plain and simple. They might have just moved to an area or become “empty-nesters”. They want to meet people who they can share time enjoying the same kinds of interests with. Some people find these relationships in the gym; some find them in the workplace; many also find them in the volunteer setting.

Other people are looking to learn new skills that they can use in the workplace or to enhance their job possibilities. Many others look to volunteering as a way to explore a career change in fields like medicine, technology or education. Some would-be volunteers are just curious: a parent might want to see what really goes on inside their child’s school, while a citizen might wonder how city hall really functions. While some people volunteer to gain workplace experience, others volunteer to assess the environment and see if it fits them. Some volunteers even get jobs out of their experience - how many of you volunteer coordinators began as volunteers in a place similar to where you are now part of the paid staff?

Some folks are just looking to have some fun.

I believe that volunteering is a two-way street; that is it shouldn’t only be the organization that benefits from a volunteer - the volunteer should benefit as well. Though the best volunteers usually have the desire to serve others, it does not exclude other motivations as well. Instead of considering volunteering as something one does only for people who are not as fortunate, one needs to think of it more as an “exchange.”

You need to ask the volunteer why he/she is volunteering… and listen! Understanding why people volunteer makes it easier to find volunteers, organize their work, and recognize their contributions. Not everyone is motivated by the same factors.

For those who like lists, following is one that I culled from a variety of sources as to why people volunteer. Apologies for any redundancies.

• Achievement
• Recognition and feedback
• Personal growth
• Giving something back
• Bringing about social change
• Family ties
• Friendship & support
• Feeling of belonging
• Help others
• Make a difference
• Find purpose
• Enjoy a meaningful conversation
• Connect with your community
• Feel involved
• Contribute to a cause you care about
• Use your skills in a productive way
• Develop new skills
• Meet new people
• Explore new areas of interest
• Impress your mom (my personal favorite!)
• Expand your horizons
• Get out of the house
• Make new friends
• Strengthen your resume
• Feel better about yourself
• Feel needed
• Share a skill
• Get to know a community
• Demonstrate commitment to a cause/belief
• Gain leadership skills
• Act out a fantasy
• Do your civic duty
• Pressure from a friend or relative
• Satisfaction from accomplishment
• Keep busy
• Repay a debt
• Donate your professional skills
• Because there is no one else to do it
• To have an impact
• Learn something new
• Freedom of schedule
• Help a friend or relative
• For escape
• To become an “insider”
• Guilt
• Be challenged
• Be a watchdog
• Feel proud
• Make new friends
• Explore a career
• Help someone
• Therapy
• Do something different from your job
• For fun!
• For religious reasons
• Earn academic credit
• Keep skills alive
• Because an agency is geographically close
• An excuse to do what you love
• Be able to criticize
• Assure Progress
• Feel good
• Be part of a team
• Gain status
• Test yourself
• Build your resume
• To be an agent of change
• Personal experience with problem, illness, or cause
• To stand up and be counted
• Because you were asked!

As this list illustrates, you don’t have to focus your recruitment efforts exclusively on retired people or others who have a lot of leisure time. If you can provide an environment in which volunteers can be with friends, meet others who share their interests, and learn new skills, you can lure even the busiest people into helping. Remember, you don’t have to be apologetic about asking for help - volunteering also benefits those people who step forward to assist you.

There’s even a book titled “Non-Profit Kit for Dummies” with a chapter on “Considering Why People Volunteer”.

Bob Moore is Executive Director of the Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed in Augusta, Maine.

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.

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.

by Penny Kern

My life has changed over the last few months so I was very glad when I was asked to be a blogger. I worked for 17 years as a volunteer and program manager for the Girl Scouts and I retired Oct. 1, 2007. I went from being very involved in every community in Aroostook County and many across the state to having to check my calendar to remember what day it was. It is so different on this side of things - trying to be a volunteer and not having much success at it. I thought it might be helpful to you if I shared some of my trials and tribulations.

First, there is a plan for life after 60+. Drifting through the rest of life without any direction or goal just isn’t me. Because of that, the organization and the positions I’d be interested in have to match my plan. To recruit me, a volunteer coordinator would need to know the mission and vision of their organization, why the position I’m asking for is important to that mission and how, using my skills and experience, I can make a difference.

Oh, I just found the best publication. It’s called, “Recasting Retirement. New perspectives on Aging and Civic Engagement.” It highlights the findings from research co-sponsored by Civic Ventures and Temple University Center for Intergenerational Learning with funding provided through a generous grant from the Helen Andrus Benedict Foundations. It has validated all my thoughts on retiring and trying to become involved in the community as a volunteer.

“I love the time I have to myself, but I still have lots of ideas and there’s no one to tell.”

Volunteers want to be part of the “bigger picture”, especially retired mature adults who are used to being included in the decision making process. We want to be part of the “team.” A quote from the report suggests this - “I’d like to apply the skills and knowledge I’ve acquired over a lifetime and use them to help someone.”

Second, as you can probably tell from the information above, I do not want to answer phones, open mail and take on the tasks staff people think are important but not important enough to hire someone or to include in someone’s job description. I don’t want to take a paying position away from someone who needs work - I want something for ME that will help the community, meet a need, and make me feel like my time and efforts are worth it.

I have a couple more ideas for recruiting someone like me:

I’m on a fixed income so driving to meetings, training and other opportunities is difficult. Computer and conference calls work best. Also, the reason I retired was to spend more time with my growing grandchildren so I don’t want to waste time driving too far away from home.

I like organizing and establishing programs, systems, and opportunities for others. I’m terrible at maintaining these things but I love being part of the “beginning.” Oh, yes, and I do not like being told what to do so I’m a much better team player who’s in on the ground floor. That’s an important trait to find out about people of any age. There are those of us who like to build and those who like to make sure it stays built. If you know which volunteers do the best job at just that one aspect of volunteering for your organization - you have a huge advantage.

And, I’ll repeat again - the mission. I want to work to accomplish (or help accomplish) the mission of the organization. I don’t want public recognition (although, for some that’s important) but I want to feel that what I do helps meet the need of the community that the mission was written to do. For instance, I have been a Red Cross volunteer since 1976. I have taught First Aid and CPR - that has been my one and only responsibility and have loved it - still do. One of my goals for my next life is to help my community become better prepared for disasters so I recently joined the Red Cross disaster team. I have no desire to be a disaster volunteer - my plan is pulling me in the direction of providing training to those who want to become disaster volunteers. My satisfaction for doing this - when there is a disaster, I know that my efforts helped those disaster volunteers be the best that they could be for those in need.

I’d be interested in your thoughts on how to recruit and retain people over 60. We are a growing population and we are different, how can you get us involved in your organization?

Penny Kern is a recently retired volunteer manager from Aroostook County.