Working with baby boomers

Until recently, managers of volunteers have continued to plan volunteer programs based on the current profile of volunteers who were most engaged - those called the "veteran volunteer." These were the committed and dedicated volunteers who gave freely of their...

Working with youth

I am going to focus this article on high school age youth since I seem to get the most questions about how to successfully engage and keep this group of volunteers. It has been twelve years since the Ministry of...

Getting the most out of employer-supported volunteerism

Volunteering typically begins for a person when they find a nonprofit with a cause that has a direct relation to their lives. This is an individual choice made to enrich one’s own life and the lives of others. A more...

Working with staff and volunteers

Most organizations are not at the stage of seeing paid and unpaid staff as a "team" to accomplish the mission/goals of the organization. If they did, many of the challenges that are centered on volunteer-staff relations might not exist. Here...

Understanding volunteer retention

Finding volunteers is hard enough for most organizations these days, and keeping them is equally challenging. Most organizations do not track volunteer retention rates. They seem to know, however, that volunteers appear to be staying for shorter periods of time....

Facing today’s volunteer recruitment challenges

One of the biggest challenges facing nonprofits that I hear about is "recruitment" of volunteers. We all know that the competition for volunteers has increased, as has demand since there are more organizations needing help. We also know that about...

Volunteer background checks: New options and programs

In April, the province of Alberta, along with Volunteer Alberta, announced a new initiative: a three-year pilot program to cover the costs of police information checks (PICs) for eligible volunteers in nonprofit and voluntary sector organizations. The subject of volunteer...

The road to volunteer burnout: How to avoid it and how to manage it

As the saying goes, "if you want something done, ask a busy person." This holds very true for volunteers and the dedicated work that they do. People are busier now then they have ever been and balancing your life has...

Governance Q&A: Volunteering ethically

I have skills and expertise that I think nonprofits could use, and would like to help my community. However, I have many family and business commitments to juggle. What's the ethical approach for someone like me? So many of us...

Corporate partnerships: How we need to tap into this rich resource

Managing volunteer programs requires a unique set of skills to balance and organize many different groups of volunteer and their variety of motivations. Over the years I have found a trend is emerging that I believe has a long-term effect...