Volunteers in Member-based organisations:

Roles and Contributions

Today’s Main Issue

? Do memberbased organisations really need volunteers?

! Yes!

Three Perspectives

1. A System in Crisis

2. Two Approaches to Volunteers in Memberbased Organisations

3. Professionals, Volunteers and

Members/Users: Who Does What?

1. A System in Crisis

a. A Crisis of Legitimacy

b. A crisis of Function c. A crisis of Resources

2. Two Approaches to Volunteers

Functional- Professional skills, e.g. IT-skills,

fundraising etc. - Helping out in general (within well-

defined areas)

Existential - Person to person- Life experience

The relationship to the member

Volunteers Professionals

Status - One fellow human being to another- Closeness

- Helper / a guide - Closeness and knowledge

The perspective Now Future

The control of the relationsship

The user’s terms User define subject- professionals takes charge.

Target for relationsship

No planned goal Employee works towards a predefined goal

3. The Relationsship between Employees, Volunteers and Members

Main Point Today…

Volunteer helps the member define his or her

own solutions = the feeling that the member by

his or her own will and influence is capable of

making changes!

To Consider…

“If you had money to pay professionals to

do the volunteer’s job - would I do it?. And

could you do it”