Volume V, Issue 2, January 2005
What Data Sets Can Tell Us about Volunteering
With the advent of more and larger data sets, research on volunteering is transitioning from pontificating to proving hypothesis about volunteering characteristics. The RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the University of Texas publishes the Investigator, a series of information... Read more
Sabotage! The Five Lethal Factors Volunteer Managers Employ to Harm Their Programs
Sabotage!
The very word conjures up images of old war movies – silhouetted black and white figures blowing up railway lines in the midst of the night to prevent enemy advance. Indeed, sabotage is in fact a very real tool of war. Sadly it has also been a tool of some corporations who have used the... Read more
Succession Planning
Succession planning seems to be another of the ‘buzz words’ of late. I believe it is a relatively new concept to the voluntary sector, with many of us struggling to get our heads around exactly what it is. In my journey to discover what succession planning was, I found an answer that was much more... Read more
What Volunteers Do to Each Other Is Not Always Pretty
As we’ve often noted, the most frequently-requested topic for a workshop that any volunteer management trainer receives has always been, and continues to be, employee/volunteer relationships. The tension between paid and unpaid staff surfaces in all types of organizations and settings, and program... Read more
Rural Volunteering
This issue of Along the Web looks at one of the most difficult areas of volunteering – operating a program in a rural community. Volunteer involvement is much more difficult when you are in a community where the population is sparse and widely distributed, and where many of the factors which... Read more
ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE... and You're the Star
You don’t need to be a drama queen (or king), or the star of your 1971 high school production of Bye Bye Birdie, or even a Shakespearian scholar to tap into the rich tool kit of theatre techniques available to any trainer.
While a few very successful trainers go out of their way to avoid exercises... Read more
Helping Volunteers through Stressful Situations
One area of volunteer program management that rarely receives attention is how to effectively support volunteers through difficult times. Clearly some volunteers, such as those working in a hospice, already have training to deal with the inevitable consequences of losing a client. This Keyboard... Read more
Attracting Volunteers from the Private Sector
This edition of Research-to-Practice looks at three reports that examine corporate employee volunteering. Employee volunteering is an area of considerable growth and of great interest, but how can volunteer-involving organisations and volunteers managers make the most of relations with business?... Read more