Trends and Issues

Why did the Volunteer Manager and Marketer walk into a bar together? To discuss Seth Godin's blogs of course! 

In this Points of View, Rob Jackson and Erin R. Spink consider the “wisdom of Seth” – namely, Seth Godin, a Hall of Fame marketer, author of several best-selling books, and a hugely popular daily blog writer about marketing who also happens to be one of Jackson’s and Spink’s favourite thinkers and sources of inspiration. As they dissect a few of this internationally famous marketing blog posts, Jackson and Spink identify different perspectives, thoughts,  and ideas that Volunteer Engagement professionals should consider, and explore those unexpected  pearls of wisdom gained by reading the work of thought leaders from totally different fields. Granted, not all of Godin’s blog posts can be applied to Volunteer Engagement work, but many of them highlight core truths that speak broadly to working with people, understanding them and their motivations, and striving towards simple and effective ways of working. And as Jackson and Spink remind us, these are things that all professionals can aspire to and be inspired by. 

In this Points of View, Erin R. Spink and Rob Jackson share their thoughts on the words and phrases that no longer serve the volunteer engagement profession – and, they argue, could actually hurt us. They also present and review new ways to communicate about the volunteer management field. Beyond the simplistic and basic, they argue that a committed and consistent change in the language used by leaders of volunteers could be transformative for us all.

Volunteer resource managers leave their jobs at a rate of almost double that of the nonprofit sector in general (Ertas, 2018). Turnover of volunteer resource managers is a significant issue due to the wide-reaching direct and indirect economic and social consequences for nonprofit organizations and for the profession. 

In this issue’s Research to Practice, Laurie Mook reviews a study that explores the turnover intentions of 465 volunteer resource managers in service organizations across the U.S. Over a third were considering leaving their organization within the next year, and a good percentage were planning on leaving the volunteer resource management career altogether. The study considers workplace factors and personal characteristics, and provides insight into the primary reasons for turnover as well factors that deter turnover. Implications for organizations and the profession are also covered.

The last few years have been challenging for non-profits. Fundraising and safeguarding scandals, accusations of excessive executive pay, concerns over political bias – the list of controversies has grown, negatively impacting the public’s trust and confidence in good causes. Solutions and responses have been proposed, most geared at educating the public and media about the modern realities of running nonprofits. But almost none of these responses and solutions have involved volunteers. Why is that? Are we failing to make the most of what should be some of our most passionate advocates?

In this Points of View, Rob Jackson and Erin R. Spink debate this issue and review how this untapped power of volunteers as advocates can be realized. It’s not rocket science, they conclude, and the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks. 

Points of View authors Rob Jackson and Erin R. Spink were recently inspired by a Canadian article that highlighted the coming funding shortfalls due to an escalating reliance on the services non-profits offer. In this Points of View, they take a page from this article to discuss the equally concerning risk of volunteerism shortfalls. They debate the reasons behind these shortfalls while reviewing some steps we can all take to prepare for such a change.