 Brian's Bookshelf 
The 21st Century Volunteer, nfpSynergyElisha Evans and Joe Saxton, The 21st Century Volunteer: A Report on the Changing Face of Volunteering in the 21st Century. London: nfpSynergy, 2005. These 53 pages are an essential read for anyone responsible in any way for the recruitment and retention of volunteers. The report is available for free online at www.nfpsynergy.net/freereports. Originally commissioned by the Scout Association in Great Britain, the report describes the new realities faced by those seeking to attract volunteers, provides profiles of who is volunteering and why, and outlines key social and economic trends that will affect volunteering in the future. It brings together a rich mix of statistical studies, research in the field, and interviews with volunteers and professionals. The report begins with a review of statistical studies for Great Britain. They show that volunteering is declining slightly, though the report wonders whether the questions being asked give us a true picture of the diverse ways people volunteer. More women than men volunteer, as do more middle class than working class people. Both the young and the old volunteer but there is a drop in those aged 55 to 64. One of the key messages of this report is that organizations seeking volunteers have to take the time to understand the potential volunteer’s expectations and motivations. The best way, indeed the only way, is to ask- from the time the volunteer joins the organization until the time they leave. It’s an ongoing process of building a relationship in which the volunteer’s passions and views are sought and respected. Volunteer expectations are changing and generalizations don’t capture the nuances and depths. Personal conversations over the entire volunteer life-cycle do. Having said that, the three motivations for volunteering cited most in the interviews undertaken for this report are:
Of equal importance is the fact that 47% of volunteers began because someone asked them to. In the same vein, 37% of non-volunteers indicated they would volunteer if asked. So again, personal conversations are crucial to recruitment. They are also crucial to retention. Volunteers stop because of:
All three of these factors involve personal conversations that explore and express the value of a volunteer experience that meets the aspirations of both the volunteer and the organization. The most provocative section of the report deals with how organizations can flourish in volunteer recruitment and retention. There is a lot of marketing and branding language in this section that might offend those with traditional views on volunteering, but I liked the edge and challenge of inviting us to think this way. The words that were found to appeal most to potential volunteers are:
The shift, in brief, is from pleading with volunteers to help to offering volunteers opportunities to serve with their skills and grow in their capacity. Colleen Kelly, Executive Director at Volunteer Vancouver, is quoted on the need to match volunteer skills with specific organizational challenges to create a more positive image for volunteerism. Targeting specific tasks for specific volunteers clearly linked to the organization’s vision and mission is a necessity in the 21st century. In another section of the report, the authors urge organizations to become more flexible and imaginative in the way they design volunteer roles to accommodate the aspirations and busy lives of potential volunteers. Volunteers need, and are coming to expect, professional management and support from the organizations with which they work. The task of the professional is to provide a clear framework of purpose and expectations within which volunteers can exercise greater flexibility, creativity, and autonomy. The authors conclude the report with a synthesis of nine key trends they have discovered in their interviews and research. Here is a brief summary to lure you into reading the full report:
Here are the final words of the report. They contain a provocative challenge to those anxious and concerned about the future of volunteerism: “To help people be altruistic, we need to help them be selfish. Volunteering can help volunteers overcome loneliness, meet friends, gain skills, get jobs, or just feel good about themselves. The selfish volunteer is not a bad person, or part of an unwelcome trend – it is at the heart of the future of volunteerism.” If your work on recruiting and retaining volunteers is enriched a careful digestion of the wisdom in this report, you will render your organization and its cause a great service. About Brian Fraser
About Volunteer VancouverThe mission of Volunteer Vancouver is to inspire
& build leadership in the voluntary sector. This publication is intended to be a medium of communication and information for the many organizations active in the volunteer and not-for-profit sector. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect official policy of the Board of Directors of Volunteer Vancouver. Volunteer Vancouver |
