On May 1st, a book was launched by Volunteer Vancouver entitled, A People Lens: 101 Ways to Move Your Organization Forward! Filled with stories about today’s “new volunteer” and providing tips on how to effectively engage them, the book is a significant sign of the times, begging the questions: as the sector evolves, how are organizations faring in their approach to volunteers? Are they on the same page?

The new volunteer

“For years volunteerism has been about people’s heart and hands, but we’re talking about people’s heads,” says executive director Colleen Kelly in defining the “new volunteer,” also called knowledge philanthropists. The idea of creating volunteering opportunities for people with specific skill sets, engaging them for what they know, is new to many. “People in the community really want to be engaged in this way but organizations are not often set up to accommodate that kind of volunteer.”

Kelly attributes the disconnect to the professionalization of the sector, whereby people with skills are moved into paid staff positions and volunteers are relegated to repetitive tasks, “things that need heart, not knowledge.” Of course, the irony is organizations could be saving themselves lots of money were they to engage these skilled volunteers in the ways they want to be involved, says Kelly. What’s more, with the imminent rise in retiring boomers, these new volunteers – and the disconnect – will only rise. “Because it’s the baby boomers that are retiring who are not like the generation before who go to an organization to do anything to help out,” she offers. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of traditional volunteers still around, looking for the anything-goes experience. They are simply in lesser supply today, says Kelly.

Engagement 101

So how do nonprofits make the most of volunteers knocking on their door? According to Ken Wyman, coordinator of the postgraduate fundraising and volunteer management program at Humber College, there are some tried and true methods that organizations must heed. Providing detailed volunteer job descriptions is one. Too often, organizations rely on vague language, causing prospective volunteers to run and hide. Providing short-term bite-sized jobs with specific achievable goals and timelines are important too. And asking volunteers what they’re good at, what skills they want to develop, and what they don’t want to be doing can sometimes make or break an opportunity. Keep in mind, explains Wyman, just because someone is good at something, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t rather be doing something else. “We have far too many round pegs in square holes and triangles who really want to be stars,” he explains.

Volunteer Vancouver, meanwhile, has developed workshops and other initiatives to help organizations engage new volunteers effectively. The process isn’t easy, though. “It’s not a simple add-on; it’s almost complete systemic change within the organization,” explains Kelly. “Most organizations are not up for that. They don’t want to completely change how they do things in order to engage that group of volunteers.” There is hope, but Kelly cautions that change needs to start at the leadership level first for it to be sustainable.

Attracting youth

What about young people? How will they react to traditional-minded organizations shaping their voluntary experience? Kelly predicts they’ll start their own organizations. “There are a few examples where they are getting frustrated with traditional organizations that are not interested in their input,” she explains. “They just say, ‘too bad, we’ll start something ourselves.'”

Ilona Dougherty may know something about that. Co-founder and executive director of Apathy is Boring, which uses art and technology to educate young people about democracy, she says the nonprofit was started because “we felt the other groups out there weren’t really reaching out to youth and we wanted to find creative ways to do that.” Young people, she adds, are generally disconnected from traditional institutions and traditional ways of doing things. Not surprisingly, many see volunteering as a bad word, denoting something boring, involving a lot of envelope stuffing.

To counter those perceptions and traditional approaches, Apathy is Boring is creating meaningful opportunities that allow young people to build skills and take on leadership roles. They’ve created a website, youthfriendly.com, educating nonprofits on how to make intergenerational partnerships work and their organizations youth-friendly. They also run workshops across the country about youth engagement and involving youth in decision-making. Nonprofits need to understand that it’s “useless to have young people in organizations if you don’t allow them to be in positions of decision-making,” she says. The best volunteer experiences for youth, adds Dougherty, contain three elements: a sense of community, a sense of meaning, and a sense of control.

But some organizations won’t even take a chance on young volunteers, feeling they’re more trouble than they’re worth. “I think that’s a stereotype we need to fight,” says Dougherty, explaining, “Yes, it absolutely requires work to have young volunteers in the organization, but I also think it’s worth the effort and our volunteer program clearly shows that to be true.” A program with 250 volunteers across the country and ever-growing, Apathy is Boring seems to be doing something right. Just ask 22-year-old Curtis Smith. A student of political science, Smith drops by the Montreal office one morning a week. “The fact that they’re involved with something that personally interested me was a major point, stimulating my interest in volunteering here,” he says.

A volunteer for a variety of organizations over the years, deeming it personally fulfilling, Smith chooses organizations that provide value. As for specific tasks, “it’s not necessarily a question of responsibility but of doing things that interest me; certain tasks I get more mental exercise out of,” he explains. Sometimes, though, career is top of mind. “I tutor because I wanted to dabble in teaching, to see if I liked that experience,” Smith explains.

Likewise, Dougherty encourages youth to volunteer by demonstrating the connection between volunteerism and securing a job. After all, volunteering helps hone skills, gain experience, and make connections. Sarah Mayfield, a volunteer at Centennial Infant and Child Centre (CICC) in Toronto would probably agree. A recent graduate of Ryerson’s Early Childhood Education program, she completed an internship at CICC and decided to stay on as a volunteer. “It gives me more experience in the field because there’s such a wide range of needs here,” she says. Career goals aside, she chose CICC because of the atmosphere. “Everyone works well together, they’re so welcoming and you feel you’re doing something important, something good.”

Economic impact

As manager of CICC’s operations, Kim Clarke hears that a lot. Of the 24 volunteers at the centre, a few have been former interns, having grown attached to helping young children with developmental challenges. “Volunteers realize how valuable they are,” she says. Clarke is also witnessing a new trend impacting volunteerism. While finding volunteers has been somewhat challenging in the past, since the recession they’re seeing an influx of applicants. “It’s the first time in years that we don’t need to advertise for volunteers,” says Clarke, explaining why a promotional sandwich board outside their door has been temporarily laid to rest.

The group of new volunteers are diverse in age, experience and motivation, but all have found themselves involuntarily unemployed. Some are looking to hone skills, others are biding their time, while still others are getting their feet wet in contemplation of new career paths. “The role of volunteering as a career builder is more important than ever,” agrees Wyman. Organizations can attract prospective volunteers by reminding those recently laid off that volunteering can help pad their resume.

New trends

Another way to attract volunteers is by adopting some new trends. Virtual volunteering, for one, acknowledges that volunteers don’t need to be on organizational premises to help. For example, a volunteer can log onto an online chat room of a teen crisis counselling centre and provide free advice. Another novel application from England is micro-volunteering. Realizing that smart phones enable people to do things anytime and from anywhere, volunteers can complete small tasks that take ten or twenty minutes. Someone on a bus, for instance, can proofread a document or write a short blurb, completing their good deed by the time they disembark. Technology is allowing us to transcend boundaries of location, distance, physical ability and time, says Wyman. Though geared at the younger generation, anyone with a Blackberry or computer can take advantage of these new trends too.

Whether adopting old or new initiatives, when implemented effectively, volunteer engagement can be a powerful force in the sustainability of an organization and the sector. “I really believe that there is huge opportunity to engage a whole lot of people in community that we don’t have to pay money for,” says Kelly. “The potential is incredible, it will just take us a while to get there.”

Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance journalist, producer and communications consultant living in Toronto. She is also president of Elle Communications and can be reached at: info@ellecommunications.ca.

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