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AFP eWire July 31, 2006 |
Online Volunteering: Factors for Success A new study examines the potential benefits of cultivating online volunteers and the necessary infrastructure and capacity organizations need to effectively employ these volunteers. |
Energize August 2011 Susan J. Ellis |
I'll Never Understand Why Executives Still Don't Understand Here is the most succinct set of arguments for not ignoring volunteer involvement. |
Energize June 2013 Susan J. Ellis |
Stop Volunteers from Being Their Own Worst Enemies Maybe we need to educate volunteers about who they are and how they fit into our organizations. If we wrongly assume that volunteers "get it," we open ourselves to potential problems of various sorts. |
Energize Susan J. Ellis |
Volunteering and Employability: Cause or Effect? Most of us in volunteer management support the observation that volunteering builds resumes, provides career exploration, and demonstrates each volunteer's abilities, but can we make the case that volunteering directly affects employability? And is that the point? |
Energize January 2006 Susan J. Ellis |
The Implications of History Volunteering lessons gleaned from the newest edition of By the People: A History of Americans as Volunteers. |
Energize November 2010 Susan J. Ellis |
When Volunteers Resist Change Always remember that volunteers bring their own perspectives and stereotypes about volunteerism to their service. Here are some ways of thinking that reflect a lack of training or understanding. |
Energize November 2011 Susan J. Ellis |
Part-time Volunteer Management Means Equally Limited Volunteer Involvement, It is hardly news that the majority of people who lead volunteer involvement are expected to do so part-time. |
Energize December 2012 Susan J. Ellis |
End-of-Year Reports Can Illuminate Volunteer Achievements The invisibility of volunteers in many agency reports is matched only by the presentation of generally useless information about volunteers in other reports. |
Energize October 2011 Susan J. Ellis |
What Leaders of Volunteers Can Do To Gain Executive Attention This month, I am turning the spotlight 180 degrees to examine how leaders of volunteers contribute to the problem of not getting enough attention from higher-ups. |
Energize July 2013 Susan J. Ellis |
Breaking through the Glass Ceiling for Volunteers Fully capable people may already be serving in your existing volunteer corps and ready to be promoted to a higher level of volunteering for the organization (only if they want to). |
Energize February 2014 Susan J. Ellis |
It's Time to Discuss the Complex Relationship of Volunteering and Money We constantly fight the attitude that "volunteers are free," but money is connected to volunteering in complex ways. |
Energize February 2006 Susan J. Ellis |
The Fair Labor Standards Act and Other Obstacles to Progress As advocates for volunteer engagement, we need to approach specialized counselors as equal team members, remembering that we, too, have expertise to offer. |
Energize January 2010 Susan J. Ellis |
Differentiating Volunteering and Working for Pay The distinctions between the two groups are vital because we need both for different reasons. |
Energize Susan J. Ellis |
Should We Cap the Number of Hours a Volunteer May Serve Each Week? New volunteers may start off gung-ho and promise many hours before they know what they will experience. So I like the practice of setting an initial limit of maximum time until the situation evolves and looks to be successful. |
Energize Susan J. Ellis |
Volunteers and the Quest for Innovation Are we inventing bigger and better Band-Aids for the symptoms rather than eliminating the root causes of seemingly intractable problems? |
Energize December 2014 Susan J. Ellis |
What Did You and Volunteers Do Well this Year? 2014 is rapidly coming to an end. Before you consider making any resolutions for the new year, use December as an opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months. |
Energize October 2007 Susan J. Ellis |
The Moral Obligation of Volunteer Recruitment Promises Recruiting volunteers to contribute their time and effort to your organization puts you in the middle of an implied promise. |
Energize February 2012 Susan J. Ellis |
Volunteering is Inherently Political What would happen if we intentionally appealed to the political motivations of prospective volunteers? Instead of recruiting mainly by expressing the needs of our organizations and clients, we might put our work into a broader community perspective. |
Energize July 2009 Susan J. Ellis |
The Drive towards "Highly-skilled" and "Pro Bono" Volunteering Skilled or skills-based volunteering is the practice of using work-related knowledge and expertise in a volunteer opportunity |
Energize June 2012 Susan J. Ellis |
Why Do We Love Volunteer Satisfaction Surveys? How did we arrive at this particular method of assessing success with volunteers? Do such surveys reveal anything meaningful about the value of volunteer contributions? |
Energize September 2009 Susan J. Ellis |
Making Ongoing Volunteering Valued and Visible During the amazing and celebratory opening session of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service held this June in San Francisco, First Lady Michelle Obama and at least four of the other famous speakers proposed a future scenario for volunteering. |
Energize February 2013 Susan J. Ellis |
The Treasure Trove of Knowledge Philanthropists This month our colleagues at Vantage Point in Vancouver, BC, Canada are releasing a new book, The Abundant Not-for-Profit by Colleen Kelly and Lynda Gerty. Inspirational and practical, the book argues for a transformation in thinking about volunteers. |
Energize July 2010 Susan J. Ellis |
The Correlation between Time Donors and Money Donors All research shows that people who volunteer tend to give more money to charity than people who do not. This often-quoted finding only tells part of the philanthropy story. |
Energize June 2006 Susan J. Ellis |
Wouldn't It Be Nice to Really Know.... Trends in volunteering are reported largely based on observation and anecdotes rather than on hard data. |
AFP eWire January 25, 2011 Brydon M. DeWitt |
The Power of the Volunteer Working with volunteers is not easy. With the right support, however, volunteers can do more than any number of staff can do -- it's just a matter of harnessing their potential. |
Energize May 2011 Susan J. Ellis |
Short Attention Spans versus Long-term Causes How can we reconcile the long-term demands of most causes with the "what's-new-today?" push of media attention? How do we continue to recruit the volunteers we need for the long haul? |
Energize May 2013 Susan J. Ellis |
Strategic Volunteer Management: Expanding Your Organization's Brain The problem in volunteer management is not that our organizations are without strategies of various sorts; it's that volunteers are not naturally integrated into those strategies even as an operational tactic. |
Energize December 2006 Susan J. Ellis |
Together We Stand: Volunteers and Volunteer Resource Managers Connected Frontline volunteers and boardroom volunteers are more alike than different, and the principles of effective volunteer administration apply to each group. |
Energize October 2012 Susan J. Ellis |
Practicing What We Preach: Volunteers Helping Us, Too One of the enduring mysteries of the volunteer management field is how often those who lead volunteer efforts do not build a team of volunteers to help them in their important work. |
AFP eWire October 29, 2007 |
Older Volunteers Now Looking for Payments Retirees and older volunteers are now looking to be paid, even just a small sum, for their charitable work. |
Energize July 2005 Susan J. Ellis |
Save a Life, Win a Car! When Do Incentives to Volunteer Cross the Line? Perhaps the diehard volunteers who want to give back to someone that has helped them will continue without perks, but the casual or more transitory volunteer will be siphoned off. |
AFP eWire December 12, 2005 |
Tapping Into Baby Boomer Volunteerism A new report provides fresh research about the aging of the American labor force and suggests ways that both for-profits and nonprofits can tap into the talent and energy of the baby boomer generation for their volunteer programs. |
Energize November 2012 Susan J. Ellis |
The Perfect Volunteer Storm What can we observe in all of this outpouring of time and effort for the presidential election and for Hurricane Sandy and what implications can we see for calmer times? Let's do some analysis from our volunteer leadership perspective. |
Energize May 2010 Susan J. Ellis |
The Self-Directed Volunteer The author discusses what is meant by the "self-directed" volunteer and what this means for philanthropic organizations. |
AFP eWire January 22, 2007 |
Survey Examines Corporate Support of Employee Volunteers in Canada Most corporations and businesses in Canada encourage or accommodate their employee volunteer activities during work hours, although the manner and extent of the support varies widely, according to a new survey. |
Energize April 2013 Susan J. Ellis |
Revisiting the Seven Deadly Sins of Directing Volunteers In the early 1980s, Energize produced a mini-poster with the dramatic title of "The Seven Deadly Sins of Directing Volunteers," which proved extremely popular. We are reappraising them for 2013. |
Energize April 2008 Susan Ellis |
Volunteering is Bigger than the Nonprofit Sector The practice of volunteering for government agencies is contrasted with non-profit volunteering programs and a case is made for volunteers in government. |
Energize February 2008 Susan J. Ellis |
The Power of Difference For best success, look for volunteers that offer a different skill set than the paid staff. |
Energize October 2006 Susan J. Ellis |
The Middle Management Barrier Middle managers are vital to how effective the organization's volunteer engagement will be. |
Energize May 2008 Susan J. Ellis |
It's Volunteers and Money We need to see the issue of resource allocation for volunteers as integral to our work and develop the skills to "make the case" for spending money on volunteers. |
Energize November 2013 Susan J. Ellis |
Education through Celebration on International Volunteer Managers Day It is important to let professional volunteer managers know that the spirit of volunteerism is enhanced and enabled by them -- and it is important to thank them. |
Energize August 2014 Susan J. Ellis |
Identifying Who Is and Is Not a "Volunteer" I suspect that every reader has engaged in this sort of discussion/debate/argument more than once. |
Energize September 2006 Susan J. Ellis |
What’s in a Name…or a Title? What's the best title for the person who is designated as the leader of volunteers? |
Energize January 2014 Susan J. Ellis |
Virtual Volunteering Revisited Some people will volunteer solely online, others will combine a virtual component with an onsite placement, and others may do their service totally hands on. |
AFP eWire March 1, 2004 |
Many Nonprofits Using Volunteers Ineffectively A joint study by the UPS Foundation, the Corporation for National and Community Service and the USA Freedom Corps has revealed that 80 percent of nonprofits rely on volunteers for critical activities, but admit they do not have the resources or knowledge to manage them as they might like. |
Energize September 2008 Susan J. Ellis |
Replacing Volunteers with Paid Staff When and how is it legitimate to place employees into roles traditionally held by volunteers? This is an emerging trend that deserves attention. |
Job Journal November 6, 2005 Susan J. Ellis |
Volunteer Work Can Give Your Job Search a Boost Whether you're looking into a first career or interested in switching professions, volunteering can be a marvelous way to explore your options. |
Energize November 2014 Susan J. Ellis |
Pulling the Rug Out from Under Volunteer Involvement: Sudden Staff Changes How are major changes communicated to volunteers in your organization? Is there a plan in place for continuity should you leave your job, whether by choice or not? |
Energize June 2005 Susan J. Ellis |
Mobile Volunteers - `Tis the Season In the past, one simply wished vacationing volunteers a good time and hoped they'd return in a few months. But if the person is going to have access to a computer and the Internet while away, consider a virtual assignment. |
Energize September 2013 Susan J. Ellis |
What Volunteer Resources Managers Can Teach Human Resources Managers Volunteer resources managers are constantly being told what we can learn from professionals in personnel or human resources. Maybe it's time we tell HR what they can learn from us. |