Engage Library

Whatever Happened To . . . is a recurring feature at e-Volunteerism that allows us to revisit past articles to see what has been happening since we first published the stories.  In this issue, we revisit “Perspectives on Membership Development,” a story from 10 years ago about…

This quarter’s Research to Practice reviews an article that presents a way to measure the social returns on investment in volunteer recruiting, training, and management. Called Social Return on Investment, or SROI, it is a type of cost-benefit analysis that compares the present…

There has been considerable development since the April 2004 Along the Web article on “Volunteers in Arts and Culture." In this 2015 issue, Along the Web returns to the topic and explores a range of recently created resources that have been developed either by or on behalf of…

Just think about it: What helps explain why organizations don’t bother giving volunteers proper training or structure? Why do paid staff often act as though volunteers aren’t really human? Why are milk and cookies universally present at volunteer recognition events? In this…

Andrew G. Haldane, Chief Economist, Bank of England, recently stated that “whether seen from an economic or social perspective, volunteering is big business, with annual turnover well into three-figure billions.” And in his recent lecture to the Society of Business Economists…

Adult learners bring a wealth of knowledge to any training session. But more often than not, they still expect the trainer to do most of the teaching. As trainers, we have plenty of information to convey, but we also want learners to interact with each other to reflect on the…

The ability to measure the processes and outcomes of organizational initiatives is vital to understanding whether an organization has achieved its mandate. But determining the best method to measure the impact of volunteers and how to successfully report on those findings are…

It’s understandable that overworked volunteer resources managers look for quick and easy ways to do things. A common approach is to discover what others seem to be doing successfully and then use those practices or templates. But in this Points of View, Susan J. Ellis and Rob…