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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. |
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 December 2009 Susan J. Ellis |
When the Ax Falls: Budget Cutting and Volunteers Can an organization turn to volunteers to fill gaps when budgets are cut and employees laid off? |
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 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. |
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 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 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 March 2009 Susan J. Ellis |
The Difference between Needing and Wanting Volunteers A few measures of true willingness to find the full range of resources to help meet your organization's mission and serve the most people in the best ways. |
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? |
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 April 2012 Susan J. Ellis |
Common Sense and Volunteer Involvement I am very interested in what you have to share as your examples of lack of common sense when it comes to decisions affecting volunteers. |
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 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 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 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 March 2010 Susan J. Ellis |
AmeriCorps and Senior Corps Targeting Volunteer Management The most popular capacity building option among both charities and congregations with social service outreach activities is the addition of a one-year, full-time volunteer with a living stipend (like an AmeriCorps member), with responsibility for volunteer recruitment and management. |
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 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 2006 Susan J. Ellis |
The Middle Management Barrier Middle managers are vital to how effective the organization's volunteer engagement will be. |
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 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 April 2009 Susan J. Ellis |
Confidentiality and Other Objections to Volunteers It's easy for staff in our organizations to stop any creative idea involving volunteers from going forward. They just have to raise one of the following objections: |
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 3, 2011 |
What Leaders of Volunteers Can DO to Gain Executive Attention- Responses A reader from Gainesville, Florida shares his insights about leading by example. |
Energize January 2012 Susan J. Ellis |
What Would the Perfect Volunteer Involving Organization Look Like? Here is what I think an organization would look like if it practiced everything we preach about creative, welcoming, and effective volunteer management, led by a skilled director of volunteer involvement. |
Energize September 2012 Susan J. Ellis |
"Why?" Is More Powerful than #@#%! Throughout my years in working with clients and audiences, I have found that asking someone to explain the reason for a particular statement, action, or decision almost always puts things into context and enables forward progress. So it's surprising that we do not ask "why?" more often. |
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 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. |
AFP eWire May 1, 2012 |
Creating Volunteer Opportunities -- The New Role of Fundraisers Think your organization's volunteers and its development office are two separate worlds? Think again, says Emily Davis, author of Fundraising and the Next Generation, new from the AFP Fund Development Series. |
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 May 2012 |
Three Things Volunteer Managers Can Learn from the Social Media Revolution Quick Tip: Recruit what Susan Ellis calls `cyber deputies.' These are volunteers who perhaps have more knowledge or comfort with social media than you. |
Energize November 2005 Susan J. Ellis |
Strength in Numbers: Engaging Volunteers as Partners in Program Development There is a specific form of volunteer involvement that has great potential as a tool for internal advocacy: activating a visible team of volunteer representatives. |
Energize October 2014 Susan J. Ellis |
Whom Don't We Ask to Volunteer? Consider where you recruit and what your expectations are of what applicants will look like. Don't limit your outreach and you'll be rewarded. |
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 March 2005 Susan J. Ellis |
Recruitment Maxims Volunteer recruitment does not mean wheedling, arm twisting, or asking for a favor. The best approach is that you are sharing an opportunity with prospective volunteers that you don't want them to miss! |
Energize February 2010 Susan J. Ellis |
Both Receiving and Giving Conspicuous by their absence, particularly in human service agencies, are volunteers with a direct, personal connection to the work of the organization |
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? |
AFP eWire August 16, 2011 |
Orienting and Training Volunteers for Success All volunteers should go through orientation to the organization and at least some training for their roles as volunteers. |
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. |
AFP eWire May 30, 2006 |
New Website Registers Volunteers for Future Disasters The Points of Light Foundation and Volunteer Center National Network have created a new website to help prepare for future disasters by linking charities with volunteers. |
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 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 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 |
Prospective Volunteers Are Closer than You Think Ask yourself what you have done in the last year to make sure that you are really issuing an invitation to become a volunteer to the people in greatest proximity to you. |
Energize August 2014 Susan J. Ellis |
Identifying Who Is and Is Not a "Volunteer" Here are ten time-tested volunteer recruitment tips that still work. |
Energize April 2011 Susan J. Ellis |
Celebrate Collective Accomplishments, Not Volunteered Time Volunteer recognition is a powerful tool for leaders of volunteers that remains largely underutilized. |
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 July 2006 Susan J. Ellis |
"I Don't Have Time" It's still possible to engage people in more intensive volunteer service, if we pay attention to their needs. |