Volume I, Issue 1, October 2000

The Birth of a New Journal

How and Why We Started
Welcome to the first issue of e-Volunteerism! In a rare quiet moment during a training session in England more than two years ago, we started discussing the intriguing idea of collaborating on a new publishing venture. We both wanted to expand the forums available to examine volunteer-related issues, but simply could not imagine ourselves finding the time or money to launch a printed magazine. But now we had the amazing potential of the Internet to consider--and that changed everything... Read more

It's Never Over: Ongoing Screening of Volunteers and Paid Staff

By Linda L. Graff
Volunteering and volunteer work have changed dramatically in the last few years. So too have management practices in the not-for-profit sector as shrinking resources combined with increasing demands for service press administrators to search for new ways of doing business. One of the consequences... Read more   
Ivan's Musings

Finding Our Profession

By Ivan H. Scheier
One of our most significant problems as a profession is that we cannot find each other. It is difficult to speak to or for a constituency we can't always find. We don't always know where to throw our pearls of wisdom and we don't usually have the kind of numbers (of professionals, that is) that... Read more   

Researching Volunteering in England: The Institute for Volunteering Research

By Steven Howlett
Until recently there was no agency within the UK focusing specifically on volunteering research and its connection to policy and practice. Volunteering sometimes appeared on the curricula of the various organisational-focused voluntary sector courses. But it was very much a minority subject and... Read more   

Show Me the Volunteerism (And I'll Show You the Money)

Jane Leighty Justis' Mission to Reveal Volunteerism as a Magnet for Funders and a Key to Organizational Sustainability
As Told to Anna M. Seidman
The people who must raise funds often have little idea about the volunteer management aspect of their own agencies. Development staff and Coordinators of Volunteers frequently know little about the financial assets of volunteers active with the organization and rarely ask these volunteers to make... Read more   

Volunteer Retention and Feelings of Connection

By Rick Lynch
Retaining volunteers is both an indicator of and a key to success in volunteer management. When volunteers keep coming back, it is a sign that the program is being managed in a reasonable way. The return of trained and seasoned volunteers gives the volunteer program manager more time to be creative... Read more   

Should Volunteer Administration Be a "Profession"?

By Susan J. Ellis and Steve McCurley
Points of View
Why did we choose "Should Volunteer Administration Be a 'Profession'?" as our inaugural topic for "Points of View?" Quite simply, it is because the jury is still out on whether or not it is a profession. This is not a debate over the need for professional skills and attitudes. We have written reams... Read more   

Legal Aspects of Volunteering

By Steve McCurley
Along the Web
In this issue of "Along the Web" we focus on liability, risk management and other legal issues pertinent to volunteering. These legal areas tend to be very jurisdiction-specific. We've limited the list here to countries with a common background in the English system, but we've marked each item with... Read more   

Icebreakers: Getting Your Training Off to a Good Start!

By Betty Stallings
Training Designs
Getting your workshop off on the right foot is essential. Like the appetizers to the full meal, icebreakers allow participants to get a taste of what is to follow. As with every other part of effective training successful icebreakers result from proper planning and interactive, experiential... Read more   

Who is Harriet Naylor Anyway?

By Susan J. Ellis
Voices from the Past
Harriet Naylor, always known familiarly as "Hat," was one of the true pioneers in the development of volunteer program management as an acknowledged field in the United States. In her role as national director of the Office of Volunteer Development at what was then the Department of Health,... Read more   
Global Perspectives

How Possible Is International Exchange?

Moderated by Andy Fryar
Keyboard Roundtables
Participants from Australia, Italy, Brazil, Finland, Japan, Lebanon and North America This Keyboard Roundtable included participants from six different countries, representing vastly different volunteerism cultures. The group was asked to respond primarily to the question of "How Possible Is... Read more   
DOVIAs and Professional Networks

Do We Need New Models for DOVIAs?, Part 1

Keyboard Roundtables
Participants: Includes seven participants from six states and one province, collectively representing at least 21 different professional networks/associations for volunteer program managers at the local, state/provincial, national and international levels! Introduction Toward the end of summer,... Read more   

The All-Volunteer Section: Bridging the Divide

By Susan J. Ellis
All-Volunteer Groups
An Invitation to Our Readers to Help Us Design, Create and Staff a Feature that Will Integrate All-Volunteer Organization Views Read more