As a kid in a rural community, two things made summer days absolutely amazing: trips to the pool and unending supplies of library books. My family lived three miles outside of the nearest small town, no small bike ride. That didn't stop my siblings and I from pedaling our hearts out through the country roads to the local library! The library was tiny, but there was an ample selection of every kid's favorite read... Choose Your Own Adventure books.
I wasn't known as a rebel, but even I can admit to "cheating" by peeking at the different ending options in each book. Didn't want the story to end poorly? Call a mulligan and pick a new ending. It was that simple. Every book gave me the satisfaction of knowing that my hard work of biking six miles roundtrip was well worth the effort because I got the exact ending to my book that I wanted.
Effective volunteer engagement isn't much different from a Choose Your Own Adventure book. With the help of an amazing volunteer engagement professional, a prospective volunteer really can get a sneak peek at how the story might end before he even starts sharing his time and talent. A good volunteer manager knows how to read people during the interview and screening process, pulling out the very things that brought a prospective volunteer to your organization. Matching that motivation with the right position will almost always lead to a great ending, one a volunteer manager should easily be able to predict!
A top volunteer complaint I've heard over the years from both episodic and on-going volunteers is that nobody explained just how (insert mundane activity we did while volunteering) really made a difference. Inviting someone to join your cause is useless without spelling out the tangible impact that your volunteer will have on the population being served. Nonprofit professionals often assume that everyone knows what we do: our work leads to really big changes. The trouble is they don't know unless we tell them!
How do you drive home the impact your organization has on your community?
I wasn't known as a rebel, but even I can admit to "cheating" by peeking at the different ending options in each book. Didn't want the story to end poorly? Call a mulligan and pick a new ending. It was that simple. Every book gave me the satisfaction of knowing that my hard work of biking six miles roundtrip was well worth the effort because I got the exact ending to my book that I wanted.
Effective volunteer engagement isn't much different from a Choose Your Own Adventure book. With the help of an amazing volunteer engagement professional, a prospective volunteer really can get a sneak peek at how the story might end before he even starts sharing his time and talent. A good volunteer manager knows how to read people during the interview and screening process, pulling out the very things that brought a prospective volunteer to your organization. Matching that motivation with the right position will almost always lead to a great ending, one a volunteer manager should easily be able to predict!
A top volunteer complaint I've heard over the years from both episodic and on-going volunteers is that nobody explained just how (insert mundane activity we did while volunteering) really made a difference. Inviting someone to join your cause is useless without spelling out the tangible impact that your volunteer will have on the population being served. Nonprofit professionals often assume that everyone knows what we do: our work leads to really big changes. The trouble is they don't know unless we tell them!
How do you drive home the impact your organization has on your community?