Fluent Essays

PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT A BID IF YOU DO NOT HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH GRADUATE-LEVEL WRITING. MUST FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS MUST BE FOLLOWED, AND NO PLAGIARISM. USE THE SOURCES INCLUDED. AND ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS TO DISCUSSION OR ASSIGNMENTWEBC03 04/18/2015 2:27:30 Page 32 Chapter 3 Debunking the Myths of Volunteer Engagement Sarah Jane Rehnborg CVA, PhD We’ve all heard it: Volunteers are as revered as “motherhood and apple pie,” regarded (incorrectly, I might add) as distinctly “American,” and celebrated each April during National Volunteer Week. Yet, when it comes to organizational decision-making, managerial hierarchies, and funding priorities, volunteer pro- grams and community engagement are rarely seen as “top-shelf” issues. Staff tell us that they . . . • Would consider engaging volunteers, but can’t trust them to keep information confidential. • Want it done right, so they have to do it themselves. 32 Rosenthal, R. J. (Ed.). (2015). Volunteer engagement 2. 0 : Ideas and insights changing the world. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-04-14 10:23:33. C o p yr ig h t © 2 0 1 5 . Jo h n W ile y & S o n s, I n co rp o ra te d . A ll ri g h ts r e se rv e d . WEBC03 04/18/2015 2:27:30 Page 33 • Are tired of do-gooders that don’t do much good. • Can’t trust volunteers to be there when needed. The list goes on. Meanwhile executive leadership and boards wonder . . . • How to fund a leadership position for volunteers. After all, volunteers are free, and funders can’t be expected to underwrite this position. • If volunteer contributions are really worth the liability risk. • If they let volunteers into the organization, will they ever be able to get them out if they don’t perform to expectations? • If days of service are worth the time and effort, especially now that these short-term episodic events have gained so much popularity. All of which leaves volunteer leaders/managers asking: • How will I ever get the support I need from this organization to effectively engage the community? • Is there a career path for me within this organization? • How can I make the case for community engagement and staff support when no one understands what I do? • How do I develop a range of volunteer opportunities aligned with the needs of a changing society? • How can I do my job when the structure of our organization seems to be stagnant? • How do I intervene in a world saturated with newly minted professionals and needs-based thinking? These aren’t idle questions. Rather, they have vexed the field for as long as those who manage volunteers have reflected together on more effective strategies for engagement. These are also the questions that this chapter proposes to ultimately address by looking closely at the most pernicious assumptions in the field that keep organizations from greater achievement while clouding the role of volunteers and those who are responsible for volunteer engagement. DEBUNKING THE MYTHS OF VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT 33 Rosenthal, R. J. (Ed.). (2015). Volunteer engagement 2. 0 : Ideas and insights changing the world. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-04-14 10:23:33.CHAPTER 1 Volunteer Models and Management R. Dale Safrit, EdD North Carolina State University Ryan Schmiesing, PhD Ohio Community Service Council This chapter introduces and defines the concept of volunteer management. His-torical models of volunteer management are described, culminating in an in- depth description of the only model of contemporary volunteer management based on empirical data collected from actual volunteer managers, the PEP Model of Volun- teer Administration: (Personal) Preparation, (Volunteer) Engagement, and (Program) Perpetuation. Volunteers and Their Essential Management The social phenomenon of volunteerism has had enormous positive effects on indi- viduals, their families and communities, and entire cultures for well over two centu- ries in the United States and for at least half a century in western Europe and other areas around the globe (Ellis & Noyes, 1990; Govaart, van Daal, M€unz, & Keesom, 2001; Jedlicka, 1990). Even in times of national economic slowdowns, individuals continue to readily give their time, energies, and talents to other individuals and groups (other than family members) with no expectation for financial remuneration (Gose, 2009). And while informal volunteerism continues to thrive at the individual and grassroots organizational levels, steady numbers of individuals also continue to volunteer within formal programs and organizations. The United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008) concluded that during the 12 months This chapter is based on an article coauthored by the chapter’s authors with Joseph A. Gliem and Rosemary R. Gliem of The Ohio State University, published in 2005 in Journal of Volunteer Administration 23(3). Portions of the original article have been duplicated verbatim with writ- ten permission of the editor of the International Journal of Volunteer Administration. 3 Connors, T. D. (Ed.). (2011). The volunteer management handbook : Leadership strategies for success. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-04-12 22:58:09. C o p yr ig h t © 2 0 1 1 . Jo h n W ile y & S o n s, I n co rp o ra te d . A ll ri g h ts r e se rv e d . between September of 2007 and 2008, almost 62 million people volunteered for formal organizations in the United States; this roughly corresponds to almost 27\% of the population aged 16 and over. Most volunteers were involved with either one or two organizations—68.9\% and 19.8\%, respectively. In today’s complex society and era of rapid social and technological change, it is essential that formal programs and organizations engaging volunteers do so within a logical, holistic, systematic process that maximizes a volunteer’s impacts on the program’s/organization’s clientele being served while minimizing inconveniences and demands on the volunteer as an individual. While it is important to consider and respect each volunteer as a unique individual, large numbers of volunteers focusiCHAPTER 5 Maximizing Volunteer Engagement Sarah Jane Rehnborg, CAVS, PhD Meg Moore, MBA University of Texas at Austin One of the most distinctive features of the nonprofit sector is its voluntary nature.Nonprofits do not coerce people to work within the sector nor do they possess the right to mandate the use of their services (Frumkin, 2002). For nonprofit organiza- tions, “free choice is the coin of the realm. Donors give because they choose to do so. Volunteers work of their own volition” (p. 3). As an unpaid workforce available to further the goals and to help meet an array of needs in resource-constrained organizations, volunteers represent one of the criti- cal competitive advantages of the nonprofit sector. And while public-sector (and, to a much lesser degree, even private-sector) organizations also utilize volunteers, un- paid workers proliferate in the nonprofit sector, where an estimated 80\% of organiza- tions report the use of volunteers in service capacities (Hager, 2004). Despite the idiosyncrasies of volunteer involvement, remarkably few organiza- tions possess the knowledge to maximize this advantage. Equally few nonprofit de- cision makers understand the basic constructs of volunteer engagement. Likewise, many in top leadership positions do not know what they might expect from an engaged volunteer workforce, nor are they aware of the critical importance of an infrastructure designed to facilitate and support community engagement. With intentional planning and vision setting, effective volunteer management can maximize volunteer participation; manage diverse volunteer interests and resources; facilitate productive relations among staff, volunteers, and clients; protect organiza- tions against volunteer-related liabilities; and ensure voluntary labor connects with organizations’ strategic goals. To reach this goal, organizations must begin by ac- knowledging the diversity of roles and motivations in their volunteer workforce. Today’s volunteers offer nearly unlimited potential to the agency that is willing to move beyond traditional conceptions of volunteer roles. Several efforts have been made to segment the volunteer population. One is the distinction between policy and service volunteers discussed by Jeffrey Brudney in Chapter 3. In this context, policy volunteers serve as strategic advisors to a nonprofit, while service volunteers are 103 Connors, T. D. (Ed.). (2011). The volunteer management handbook : Leadership strategies for success. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-04-12 22:59:50. C o p yr ig h t © 2 0 1 1 . Jo h n W ile y & S o n s, I n co rp o ra te d . A ll ri g h ts r e se rv e d . engaged in the tactical work of the organization. Such segmentation provides a helpful start in refining a definition of volunteers as a group, but still lacks sufficient granularity. In Chapter 11, Nancy Macduff discusses “episodic” volunteers in contrast to con- tinuousWeek 1 - Discussion What Motivates Volunteers? The key to successfully recruiting and retaining volunteers lies in an understanding of what motivates people to commit their personal resources, emotional energy, and time to volunteering. Select one of the models of volunteer management described in Chapter 1 of the Connors (2012) textbook. · Using this model, compare and contrast the reasons why people volunteer. · Describe how you would incorporate these motivators to recruit volunteers. · Discuss techniques that you would use and why you believe they would be successful. Resources Required References Connors, T. D. (2011).  Wiley nonprofit law, finance and management series: volunteer management handbook: leadership strategies for success (Links to an external site.)  (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN-13: 9780470604533.  Chapter 1: Volunteer Models and Management Chapter 5: Maximizing Volunteer Engagement Rosenthal, R. J., & Baldwin, G. (2015).  Volunteer engagement 2.0: Ideas and insights changing the world (Links to an external site.) . Somerset, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN-13: 9781118931882. Found in the University of the University of Arizona Global Campus ebrary. Chapter 3: Debunking the Myths of Volunteer Engagement  Recommended References Elias, J. K., Paulomi, S., and Seema, M. (2016). Long-term engagement in formal volunteering and well-being: An exploratory Indian study. Behavioral Sciences 6(4), 20. doi:10.3390/bs6040020 Riddle, R. (2016, November 14). 5 deadly sins of recruiting volunteers [Blog post]. Retrieved from  http://blogs.volunteermatch.org/engagingvolunteers/2016/11/14/5-deadly-sins-of-recruiting-volunteers/ (Links to an external site.) Studer, S. (2016). Volunteer management: Responding to the uniqueness of volunteers. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 45(4), 688-714. doi:10.1177/0899764015597786 Stukas, A. A., Snyder, M., & Clary, E. G. (2016). Understanding and encouraging volunteerism and community involvement. The Journal of Social Psychology, 156(3), 243-255. doi:10.1080/00224545.2016.1153328