Volunteer Asset In The Uncertain Economy

& ASSOCIATES © 2009

Denver DOVIA – Advanced

Practitioners Symposium

May 27, 2009

The Volunteer Asset in an

Uncertain Economy

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: Hopkinsii

Challenging

Times


The Economy

Impact on Nonprofits

Trends

and

Issues


Trends

and

Issues

The Ugly

The Bad

The Good


Headlines Tell the Story

Bay Area Nonprofits Brace for 2010 Armageddon

Minnesota Nonprofits Slash Staff and Budgets

Charities Scramble as Donations Fall

New Poor Overwhelm Nonprofits


The Bad – But Not Worse – News

Foundation Giving

Corporate Philanthropy

Individual Gifts

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flicker: RR and Camera

There is Good News

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: Strevo

Giving

Back

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: eren erdo gan

Retirement Postponed


Disconnect

in the

Staff-Driven

Model

Flickr: bondidwhat

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flicker: jurvetson

The

Obama

Factor

& ASSOCIATES © 2009M. T. Harmon Office of Public Affairs

Serve America Act

The Serve America

Act is about

“connecting deeds

to needs.”

President Barack Obama


Expand Corporation for National and Community Service

Engage Retiring Americans in Service on a Large Scale

Expand the Peace Corps

Expand Service Learning in High Schools and Colleges

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: aussiegal

―A social revolution –

possibly as important

as the one led by

Boomers in the 1960s –

will occur if nonprofits

strategically engage

Boomers in high-

impact collaborations

that build a nonprofit’s

capacity to fulfill its

vision and mission…

Boomers will lead the

way to a new era.‖

— Page 18 Chapter 1 Understanding the World

of Boomers


Trends

and

Issues

Time Collaboration Technology

Generational Shift

ResultsFocused

Culture Shift

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: Theorris

Everyone

is bowling

alone


Boomers

and the

generations

that followSource: Business’s Social Contract: Capturing the Corporate

Philanthropy Opportunity, Committee Encouraging Corporate

Philanthropy, based on research by McKinsey & Company

Flickr: scooterroo2002

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: sean dreilinger

―It takes more than a few

new strategies and

examples to engage

Boomers as volunteers. It

takes reimagining the role

of volunteers in an

organization and the

possible results of involving

volunteers in every aspect

of operations.‖

— Page 22 Chapter 1 Understanding the World of

Boomers


Imagine a world in which your

nonprofit organization has all the

resources it needs to:

Serve more clients

Deliver more

programs

Strengthen its staff

Spread your message

more widely

Increase financial stability

— Page 9 Chapter 1 Understanding the World of Boomers

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: pshutterbug

Capacity building

Strategic and critical

Collaborative

Skills based and impactful

Community building and abundance

Foundation


Boomer Savvy

Organizations

Mandate from the top;

cultivate from within

Authentic volunteer leadership

Career paths for volunteer talent

Culture of innovation and flexibility

Embrace collaboration as a way of

doing business

Flickr: lindsey_lissau


Don’t do it.

Get it done.


Changing the

Volunteer

Management

Paradigm

Volunteer

Management

Volunteer

Engagement

Flickr: lumaxart

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: lumaxart

A New Pardigm

Recruitment Cultivation and Networking

Placement Negotiation and Agreement

Supervision Support

Management Engagement

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: lumaxart

A New Pardigm

Review Measurement

Recognition Acknowledgment

Retention Sustainability

Management Engagement

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, by William Bridges

Transitions

• Recognize, honor, and be done with the past

• Sadness, grieving, feeling overwhelmed, and fearLetting Go

• Experiment and innovate

• Chaotic, exciting, uncomfortable, nerve-wrackingNeutral

• Group recognizes what worked and what didn’t

• Group commits to implementation plansAssessment

• Change happens!Change


The Tipping Point

Flickr: your mistakes are your style

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Mavens Connectors Salespeople

Stickiness Factor

Context Matters


21st Century

Strategies

Flicker: voj

Capacity BuildingCommunity

Building

Asset-based Community

Development (ABCD)

Social Entrepreneurship


Leadership

•Motivating teams

•Executing the right things

•Focusing on organizational vision


Entrepreneurship

•Envisioning possibilities

•Founding initiatives

•Changing norms

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: petersetevens

Capacity Builders

Mission Programs Management

GovernanceFinancial

ResourcesAdministrative

Resources

Volunteers

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: petersetevens

Hallmarks of Performance

Organizational Effectiveness

Financial Stability

Program Quality and

Growth


Steps to Volunteer

Engagement

Flickr: Chewy Chua

Capacity Building

• Understanding Boomers

• Assessment

• Building the case

Using Critical Intervention Points

• Mapping the initiative

• Creating opportunities


Steps to Volunteer

Engagement

Flickr: Chewy Chua

Designing Powerful

Engagement

• Cultivation and networking

• Interviewing and vetting

Agreement and Support

• Creating the collaboration

• Nurturing the relationship


Flickr: thinkpanama

New Staff Roles


Flickr: thinkpanama

Communication

•Articulate engagement

•Facilitate agreements

•Negotiate outcomes


Flickr: thinkpanama

Actions

• Create inviting work environments

• Prioritize volunteer efforts

• Vet for skills and interests

• Convene and launch teams

• Collaborate for results


Flickr: thinkpanama

Results

•Cultivate volunteer leaders

•Build individual capacity

• Increase human and financial resources

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr:matt mcgee

Community of Action

Definition: A collaborative group whose members

align around a shared purpose, and who take action

toward specific goals through broad participation

and mutual accountability.

The opportunity in a Community of Action is

to enlist volunteers and stakeholders

as co-producers and co-creators. Adapted from Terms of Engagement by Richard Axelrod

A Community of Action is a vehicle to help volunteers move

toward achieving strategic goals.

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: llawliet

Self Directed Teams

Identify scope

Develop and lead the team

Generate solutions

Build capacity

Evaluate results


Characteristics of Self-Directed Teams

Shared Workload

Collaborative Governance

Community Identity

Alignment Evaluation

Flickr: BAIA


Sustaining Self-Directed Teams

Communication Training Resources

EvaluationQuality

Improvement

Flickr: BAIA

& ASSOCIATES © 2009Flickr: gigi62

The future is not some place we are going to, but

one we are creating. The paths are not to be

found, but made, and the activity of making them

changes both the maker and the destination. John Schaar


Thank You!

Volunteerism is the voice of the people

put into action. These actions shape and

mold the present into a future of which we

can all be proud. --Helen Dyer

Volunteer Asset In The Uncertain Economy

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Transcript of Volunteer Asset In The Uncertain Economy