Engage Library
In this issue,Voices revisits two favorite Volunteer Engagement “voices” to debate a topic that could not be more timely today: Are we using the wrong model for volunteer work? In this repost of an April 2003 column by the late Susan J. Ellis and Steve McCurley, these two co-…
April 2024
In this issue, Voices revisits two favorite Volunteering Engagement “voices” with arepost of a thought-provoking January 2017 column by the late Susan J. Ellis and RobJackson. In this previously published column, Ellis (the Founder and former Editor ofthis online journal) and…
January 2024
In this recorded interview and open conversation, Ethics features three Leaders of Volunteers who share their journey to find their ethical voices. Emphasizing the importance of on-the-job learning, mentorship and having a trusted circle of peers, these stories from Theresa…
January 2024
Those who doubt the value volunteers provide are the Yin to the Yang we share in our dedication to the practice of Volunteer Management. They say, “How do you support the idea that community service has an economic value? Your evidence is fluff!” We say, “Human capital is a…
January 2024
Part Three of a Four-Part SeriesIn Part Three of the Engage series on "Digital Care Circles," authors Dana Litwin, CVA, and Todd McMullin re-introduce some definitions, examples and constructs for Digital Care Circles and provide more how-to’s for getting them operational in…
January 2024
While volunteers play a critical role in many organizations, it can be difficult to integrate them seamlessly into day-to-day operations. One particular challenge involves a lack of clarity about the role of volunteers relative to the work of paid staff, which can lead to…
January 2024
Volunteering occurs in a wide range of settings. And the ways that Volunteer Engagement professionals lead and support volunteers in these different arenas often require adopting some unique practices to attract volunteers and keep people engaged.In this roundtable feature, …
January 2024
What does the volunteering movement want from politicians in an election year? What efforts should Volunteer Leaders make to try and influence political outcomes and government? What important issues should the sector rally around and why is advocacy in the political arena so…
January 2024
The Australian volunteering landscape has experienced a fundamental shift. The declining rate of formal volunteering, COVID-19 pandemic and soaring cost of living have created a perfect storm. People are less available and less able to volunteer, despite an exponential increase…
October 2023
Tim Suda is an experienced Volunteer Engagement professional, and has worked in emergency response Volunteer Leadership with the American Red Cross. However, on January 12, 2023, his life turned upside down when he was caught up in a tornado and became a recipient of the kind of…
October 2023
"We do it because we are supposed to.""We get the most volunteers this day, but they never come back.""I get anxious about navigating this day." "It's clear the legacy doesn't matter anymore." These are real sentiments about MLK Day of Service and the feelings provoked by…
October 2023
As organizations strive to meet funder guidelines, legal compliance and internal requirements, the notion of “risk” can become a growing spectre. This leads to rampant over-screening of volunteers that creates barriers for candidates and slows down processes in the name of ‘…
October 2023
In the summer of 2023, Arizona State University and the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration hosted more than 100 volunteer administrators in 21 virtual focus groups. The topic was attitudes and experience in making organizations more inviting to a greater…
October 2023
Few topics have been surrounded in contemporary tech lore as much as “The Blockchain.” At the same time, it’s something of a sleeper phenomenon. An author by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published a paper in 2008 that many cite as the blueprint for blockchain technology and…
October 2023
The title of this article suggests that there are two types of people or even jobs – generalists and specialists. In looking at most professions, we see a mix of the two. Yet when we look at Volunteer Engagement, we would argue that we only see generalists. While there may be…
October 2023
Have you ever considered the ethical implications of storytelling? Leaders of Volunteers regularly use this critical skill in our daily work in efforts to engage emotion and bring a human side to our data. Storytelling convinces people to care, to support, to volunteer and to…
July 2023
LGBTIQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans/transgender, intersex and queer) people can face significant day-to-day barriers in bringing their whole selves to a workplace, whether as a volunteer or paid worker. Yet very few studies have focused on the experience of LGBTIQ+ volunteers…
July 2023
The research reviewed by Laurie Mook in this issue of Research to Practice explores factors that support the engageability of volunteers. As distinct from satisfaction, volunteer engageability is the ability of an organization to provide conditions that maximize the involvement…
July 2023
“Who explores, implements, accesses, maintains and improves technology in our organization, and under what circumstances?” If you haven’t already asked this question, it's time to do so. Maybe you have an Information Technology (IT) practice, or maybe no one’s job description…
July 2023
Part Two of a Four-Part SeriesIn the first installment of this series, Engage introduced concepts surrounding Care Circles and how they are formed and managed. A Care Circle is an informally-created, often-spontaneous group of people who come together in support of a person,…
July 2023