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
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
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
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
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
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"?
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
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!
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?
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?
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
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
An Invitation to Our Readers to Help Us Design, Create and Staff a Feature that Will Integrate All-Volunteer Organization Views Read more