Smarter Impact Starts Here
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...
New eToolkit: Engaging Virtual Volunteers
Volunteers have served virtually for decades, but now, the need for engaging volunteers to serve remotely is greater than ever, and the technology to support such engagement is more accessible and accepted than ever. Regulations and concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic...
When is the 3 o’clock Parade?
With the 2022 Points of Light Conference on Volunteering and Service confirmed as a hybrid event -- with the onsite location confirmed at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort -- I can't help but think of this blog we shared back in 2016. Enjoy this encore publication of...
Building on Skills-Based Success
Like many nonprofit supporting organizations, the NH Center for Nonprofits organizes the state’s nonprofit “Gives” day, helping to raise and distribute funds to support New Hampshire’s nonprofits. Deborah Clark, who manages the NH Gives Day, received a call in spring...
Open vs. Welcoming Volunteer Engagement
Nice leaders water down direct and constructive feedback wanting to be nice and to be liked…. Kind leaders deliver difficult information in a kind way. They treat others as they would want to be treated: fair, balanced, emotionally aware, but they also don’t let staff...
Loss and Grief in Volunteer Engagement
In the last two weeks alone, six different people said to me, “I am still grieving,” “I am mourning,” or “I am still dealing with feelings of loss.” Nearly all these comments were made in different conversations. It was notable after the second occurrence, but by the sixth, it was un-ignorable.
