Profession/Field of Volunteer Administration

How many of you have actually taken the time to create a strategy for your own professional development? Have you considered what you would like to achieve professionally over the next year or the next five? So many of us discuss the need to professionalize volunteer management so that our organizations will value volunteers and the work we do, leading to greater investment in volunteerism and viewing us as internal experts. But for that to occur it must start with each of us. 

According to Sheri Wilensky Burke and Gerald (Jerry) Pannozzo, it's important for each individual to invest in professional development. There are many strategies out there to accomplish this: subscriptions to publications such as this one; memberships in professional associations, attending conferences and workshops; mentoring; and the strategy Burke and Pannozzo describe as peer career coaching. In this feature article, read how these long-time colleagues used peer career coaching to collaborate on a mutual support plan to increase their professional skills and opportunities. After reading, perhaps you can, too. 

In his final Along the Web, internationally-recognized author Steve McCurley presents a reference to himself: a guide to “where to find Steve McCurley’s stuff on the Web,” neatly divided into Books, Articles and the ever-popular “Other” category. This is one of those articles to bookmark, print and keep, scan and store. The writings of Steve McCurley, and his impact on the volunteerism profession, are definitely worth keeping. 

In 2010, United Way of King County, in partnership with 501 Commons, launched the Volunteer Impact Program (VIP) in Seattle, WA.  Now moving into its third year of operation, this free program provides volunteer management training, assessment and consulting services to local nonprofits to strengthen their ability to deliver services through the effective involvement of volunteers. In a 2011 article called “The Volunteer Impact Program (VIP): An Innovative Approach to Strengthen Volunteer Engagement Capacity,” e-Volunteerism introduced the VIP model, shared some preliminary results for participants and discussed lessons learned in delivering this intensive program to local nonprofits. In this new feature, authors Nikki Russell and Liahann R. Bannerman revisit VIP and report on some exciting long-term positive results and the challenges of delivering VIP to nonprofit organizations.

When Sarah Jane Rehnborg, Ph.D., wrote her doctoral dissertation at the University of Pittsburgh, she not only fulfilled an academic requirement but also helped document the basis of the new “Certified in Volunteer Administration” (CVA) competency-based credential for the Association of Volunteer Administration. In this issue of e-Volunteerism, we present an updated chapter from Rehnborg’s previously unpublished dissertation, “Field Test and Assessment of a Certification Program for Administrators of Volunteers.”

In this important work, Rehnborg takes readers behind the scenes of the credentialing process. She defines the key terms and extensive vocabulary used when discussing credentialing – terms like professional credentialing, licensure, certification, accreditation and diplomas. She also provides a history and rationale for certification in occupations and professions, as well as a brief overview of the ongoing objections to this practice.  Rehnborg’s work, which has been reviewed and updated for current applicability in several countries, provides important documentation of a sometimes complicated and misunderstood topic. 

What does the field think about credentialing? In this Keyboard Roundtable, volunteer management colleagues from the UK, USA, New Zealand and Australia provide their personal and widely different perspectives on the value of a professional credential. One expert thinks credentialing can be a good thing, while another believes it is a waste of time. Yet another expert debates whether credentialing is the right thing for volunteer managers as a whole, while another questions if the field could be better at credentialing and what that means.

This special Keyboard Roundtable clearly presents some very personal opinions from people who must weigh the credentialing dilemma in their own career paths. We hope these perspectives challenge e-Volunteerism readers to share their own views and opinions, too. 

Join e-Volunteerism for a unique around-the-world tour of what’s going on today in credentialing of volunteer management practitioners. In this article, knowledgeable colleagues from Australia, Canada, England, Germany, New Zealand, North America, Scotland and the United States describe how certification has evolved in their respective countries. They also discuss what is happening today, who is involved as the credentialing body, and other important features of their approach. In a special feature, readers can compare the existing credentials side-by-side and consider the similarities and differences. This is the first time this international information has been compiled in one place, and e-Volunteerism encourages readers from other countries to post responses and expand our world-wide comparison of credentialing.

In keeping with the theme of this issue, author Steve McCurley presents an Along the Web about accreditation and credentialing of volunteer program managers. McCurley provides a diverse range of resources – including articles by individuals with personal perspectives on the subject; web sites of professional associations and volunteer peak bodies that offer credentialing; and certification programs offered by educational institutions.

Legal tender, cash, currency, change, capital, funds, riches, dough, bread, moolah, scratch, greenbacks, dinero, bank. . . According to fun-with-words.com, there are more terms for money than almost any other word in the English language! Even if there weren’t so many terms for the green stuff, it’s evident that money is an important part of our lives, for good and bad. After all, while many claim that money makes the world go ‘round, others claim that it is the root of all evil.

Certainly money and compensation is the root of a great debate among those who supervise a volunteer workforce. When it comes to the volunteer manager position, there is a disconnect between the demands of the position and the pay level attached to it. In this e-Volunteerism feature story, writer Paula Gangel analyzes a range of comparative salary levels to try and understand why there is such a discrepancy between work demands and compensation for the Director of Volunteer Services position. And Gangel presents options to help volunteer managers earn the proper amount in every paycheck.