I have been a volunteer at an agency for four years. In that time it has grown and I feel like a part of that and have particular insight where my volunteer function is concerned. Yet the organization does not draw upon this knowledge. Why?

It is always strange when organizations that say they respect people forget the people under their noses. Some organizations overlook skills and development of their staff as well as their volunteers.

Good organizations offer opportunities to volunteers who are ready and able to take on additional responsibilities. Some even offer, or require, specialized training for the advanced roles, and people then see those roles as valued and worthwhile. I have seen organizations where there is a waiting list of volunteers looking to give more time to stressful tasks! The organization cannot accommodate them all at once.

Your organization does not seek you out or provide a “career path” for its volunteers. Do they seem to respect clients and staff but not volunteers? Then perhaps the volunteer coordinator or manager is not herself or himself a respected part of the management team, with a voice at the table on behalf of volunteers like you. Or perhaps the volunteer coordinator is not living up to organizational values.

Alternatively, they may just think you are a busy person and not interested in more responsibilities. They are not posting opportunities for their volunteers, via newsletters or whatever. And they may not have developed the good habit of thinking of volunteers as stakeholders who should be consulted about plans and planned change.

So your first way of taking on more responsibility is to find or make the opportunities. Think about how your skills and interests could best serve the organization, and what kind of volunteering that might mean. Could you run orientations for new volunteers who join to do the work you have been doing? Set up and run a buddy or mentoring system? Design and tabulate a survey? Organize the volunteer schedule for the organization’s booth at an upcoming public event? Write articles for the newsletter? Join the volunteer committee, if there is one? Offer to help start one to support the volunteer coordinator? Join the board?

You can then approach the volunteer coordinator with some ideas and a clear understanding of what skills and knowledge you bring to the table. If you are thinking about board work, contact the board development, governance or nominating committee, or the chair. If the organization has published its values, perhaps in its strategic plan, you might make reference to them when outlining your proposal for increased involvement.

Be prepared that the organization may not see you as a fit for the type of volunteer work that interests you. I have seen people who have handled monies for an all-volunteer organization so they think they can help a larger charity in the same way. But the larger charity may use particular accounting software with access restrictions and financial controls that are just not set up for volunteer assistance. Be flexible.

Organizations usually value long-time volunteers, although perhaps not enough. The recognition events normally include five- and ten-year, maybe even 25-year, pins and plaques. I hope you can give this one the push it seems to need.

If not, talk to your local volunteer centre about which organizations would make better use of your skills and knowledge.

Since 1992, Jane Garthson has dedicated her consulting and training business to creating better futures for our communities and organizations through values-based leadership. She is a respected international voice on governance, strategic thinking and ethics. Jane can be reached at jane@garthsonleadership.ca.

To submit a dilemma for a future column, or to comment on a previous one, please contact editor@charityvillage.com. For paid professional advice about an urgent or complex situation, contact Jane directly.