Smarter Impact Starts Here
Introducing our Book Group Facilitation Guide!
When we first conceived of the book, Transforming Disruption to Impact, our goal was to spark conversation about the innovations and adaptations that have been vital to sustaining the power of volunteers despite the many disruptions we have all experienced in recent...
Rethinking Service Days – Join our Conversation
MLK Jr. Day of Service 2023 is right around the corner, with all its potential and promise. Yet, are you stuck trying to recreate a model of service from 2019 or earlier? If so, I encourage you to rethink and reimagine. In a January, 2021 VQ blog post, I shared shared...
Mattering: The Growing Volunteer Motivator
The sticky note on the side of my desk reads, "Making a difference is a way to know you matter." Uncharacteristically (and regrettably!), I didn’t write down which colleague or friend said that while on a conference call, but I know that, as soon as I heard it, I...
Reduce the Recruitment Challenge: Feedback Key to Gen Z Engagement
As workplaces struggle to hire and retain employees, nonprofits and other mission-driven organizations have parallel concerns regarding recruiting and retaining volunteers. In fact, the term “concerns” doesn’t really cut it. The cries we hear from the field echo more...
4 Reasons to Embrace Gen-Mix Volunteerism
From lockdowns to mask-wearing to vaccination, COVID-19 has been one of the most polarizing issues of our time. Among these stark divisions—arising from perceived vulnerability to the virus, both in health and economic terms—is the one between the generations. This...
New Book Convenes Voices Across Sector
Imagine you had the ability to invite the leading thinkers in volunteer engagement, corporate engagement, philanthropy, nonprofit leadership - along with volunteers, too - to a dinner party to reflect on the challenges of the last few years and share their ideas and...
Strengthening Your “Internal Partner” Muscles
Whether delivering services, providing pro bono support, governing as a board member, or sending advocacy emails, volunteers play vital roles in mission-fulfillment. Regardless of where leaders of volunteers fall on an org chart, their success relies not only on...
Navigating the Conundrum of Auxiliaries
They go by many different names – volunteer councils, auxiliaries, “friends” groups, and more – but regardless of their varied titles, such groups share a great deal. Designed to assist and support an organization (and most commonly hospitals, museums, libraries, and...
Rethinking Recruitment and Retention Goals
For decades, volunteer engagement was summed up in 3 Rs: “Recruitment, Retention, and Recognition.” As the field of volunteer engagement changes and advances, these three practices are evolving and being redefined as well. Recruitment Traditionally, recruitment...
Performance Improvement Plans: When, Why, How
As we were reviewing the agenda for a scheduled coaching call last week, a client shared a recent event in which a volunteer spoke rudely and inappropriately to a client. The volunteer’s behavior was counter to the expectations shared in training, not to mention the...
