volunteer

When a volunteer behaves badly

I manage volunteers and organize large fundraising events. Recently I had a volunteer, Al, get in to multiple conflicts at a one (very long) day event. The behavior came as a surprise since this particular volunteer was a team leaders and actually help write the policies manual for public events! To make the situation more complex, I did not witness any of the behaviors but received over ten complaints from individuals who either were the target of his ire or witnesses to it. The stories were so similar I believe all of them. The morning began with unprovoked arguments with staff. AL felt things were not as they should have been. Arguments escalated to summing security to enforce rules. All that Al felt was wrong could have been soothed and calmly explained if he had just called me before escalating matters into a confrontation. Al repeated the argumentative behavior until I caught up with him two hours later at a location he was not scheduled to be at.

I am fortunate that my volunteers are so dedicated. They called me an offered to work longer if I would just find a reasons to send Angry Al home, which I did.

Within 48 hours of the event, I called Angry Al to hear his side of the story. Al was not owning up to anything. He acknowledged the conflict but does not see that his behavior did not fix any of the “problems” he identified. He seems oblivious to the fact the other volunteers don’t want him at the next event. For the next month, the volunteers complained to me about Al each time I ran into them.

Al is a critical part of the team but obviously not very good as a front-facing people person. I really need his expertise and there is no one else to fill Al’s role.
My efforts to get Angry Al to own his bad behavior failed but I plan on working on it in small steps. All of these volunteers have to work together again in a few months and this problem needs to be rectified. Al’s behavior needs to change and the other volunteers need to hear that their concerns are followed up on.
What’s a volunteer coordinator to do in this situation?

I hope to give Al a second chance but not in such a high profile, stressful event
Al may be fired if he cannot see the error of his ways
The above does not make Al’s behavior excusable or acceptable
Al may be fired anyhow. I cannot lose the other volunteers because of Al, they matter just as much. This is a team effort and I need my team

I will continue to talk to Al over the next few months to get him to the point where he can see how his behavior hurt our event and the effect it has on the other volunteers. It is a delicate situation.

KindQuilts is Now a 501(c)(3)

by Admin

Last month the good word that a charity I helped found, KindQuilts, received its 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). I, along with the rest of the Board of Directors, have waited patiently and helplessly as we wondered where our paperwork was in IRS land.

KindQuilts is a charity that collects cotton fabric. The material is cut into squares and then assembled into easy-to-make quilt kits. The kits are given to volunteer sewers who assemble the patches of fabric into quilts. After that, the quilts are collected and delivered to hospitals. The staff distributes the quilts to sick or injured children.

KindQuilts embodies anonymous giving. The quilters never meet the fabric donors or the patients. As a member of the board, we get to hand off the quilts to the hospital staff, but we never see the patients. The only connection is if the quilter attaches a label to the quilt, letting the recipient know who made it for them. We rest knowing that a quilt somewhere comforts someone, tonight.

Nonprofit Management: Five Ways to Show Volunteers You Value Them

by Admin

Nonprofit Management: Five Ways to Show Volunteers You Value Them

Expressing gratitude is an important part of your nonprofit’s foundation. Most nonprofits cannot function without the help and hard work of their volunteers. It is important for nonprofit leaders to recognize their contribution.

Expressing gratitude is critical to retaining volunteers. Part of your budget, which includes administrative expenses, should include volunteer appreciation. There are few who will stay with an organization if their efforts go unnoticed or unused. Here are five ways to show your gratitude for your volunteers’ hard work.

Let them eat cake!
A post event or end of the year party is a nice way to recognize volunteers. One caveat, build this party into the budget and avoid asking the volunteers to contribute to it. Volunteers work hard, let them simply show up and enjoy themselves without having to contribute to raffle baskets, admission fees, or organizing duties. Put your frugal leader hat on and plan an event that is free of charge. Many communities rent out their public facilities at a nominal or no cost. If you can afford it, allow volunteers to bring a guest or their families.

Take care of them while they are working
Your volunteers are your workhorses. Some give their time and work every day at desk jobs answering phones or teaching and some volunteer from home.

I work with nonprofits at the founder level, getting them through their incorporation and 501(c)(3) filings. In addition, I like to run festivals, galas and other large-scale fundraising events. As a coordinator, I manage people, sponsors, and facilities and sales to make sure the event runs smoothly. These single or multi-day or weekend events can be exhausting. I make the best effort I can to make sure my volunteers are working on something they enjoy. Volunteers are supplied with snacks or meals whether the event covers that expense or not. If not, I pay for it or seek additional donations to defray the cost.

Ensuring volunteers feel cared for and respected for their time and talent is the most important part of managing.

SWAG!
My kids volunteer at many events with me. They have done everything from being t-shirt salespeople, to short-order cooks to door greeters. I asked my son, “What’s the best thing that makes you feel appreciated?” He said, “I like to get SWAG.” That is SWAG (Stuff We All Get). He likes getting stuff from sponsors. Half of this is that he likes to get gifts. The other part is he is proud to donate his time!

Ask sponsors ahead of time if they want extra shirts, water bottles and other leftover swag returned. Most do not mind if you hand out their branded items. The best part is the gift of SWAG won’t cost you a penny!

Compliment Liberally
These are easy and free! Be sure they are genuine. There is a lot of writing and opinion about delivering “strategic compliments.” I prefer compliments that are natural, genuine, spontaneous, and not planned. When checking up on your volunteers, pick out something they have done well and let them know how helpful it was. If you are coordinating an event, make the effort to visit the various sites or areas where pick out something that is right and tell them about it.

Wrap-Up Dinners
The goal of a wrap-up dinner is gather feedback about an event. For 13 years, I worked as a coordinator at a large four-day annual fundraiser with a nonprofit sports organization in central New Jersey. Within a month of the fundraiser, we would have a dinner at a local restaurant for the volunteer event staff. This gave everyone a chance to review the event with everyone taking a turn at what went well, not so well and in general a chance to share and laugh at the sheer madness at working our tails off! The round-robin format over dinner made us feel appreciated and that our input and opinion mattered. Most importantly, our comments were usually incorporated into next year’s plans.

Thank You Notes
Can’t afford any of the above? A thank you note is an inexpensive way to show you value your volunteers. Handwritten thank you note are better simply because they make it more personal. Be sure to mention the role they filled, why it was important and how it helped the organization. ? Even if a party is within your budget, a thank you note is a nice way to show appreciation.

LinkedIn’s Volunteer Marketplace Connects Talent With Nonprofits

by Admin

On January 15th LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman announced the company’s new Volunteer Marketplace, in a blog post. The goal of the Volunteer Marketplace is to help nonprofits who need talent with professionals who want to lend their expertise. LinkedIn’s Volunteer Marketplace will help nonprofits and professionals find each other.

By providing opportunities for all these different kinds of LinkedIn members, we aim to help the social sector by doing what we do best as a company: connecting talent with opportunity at massive scale.

LinkedIn partnered with business talent matching services such as Catchafire, Taproot Foundation, BoardSource and VolunteerMatch to help users find volunteer and board opportunities.

For the overwhelming 82% of surveyed LinkedIn members that indicated they wanted to volunteer their time and skills, the Volunteer Marketplace will help them enhance their life. Recently I updated my LinkedIn profile by adding the Volunteer and Causes section to it.

Volunteering for you

by Admin

Volunteering can be a one time thing or an ongoing commitment, either way it can be a rewarding experience. Giving the gift of your time to a cause is good for the recipient and it is good for you. Many volunteers gain a sense satisfaction from helping others. There are other reasons to volunteer that are not all about altruism, but still serve a good purpose.

Here are reasons how volunteering can help YOU while you help someone else!

Improve existing or learn new job skills. Volunteering can introduce you to a new role, sector, or industry
Find purpose. Sometimes we lose our way or maybe never had a path of our own choosing. Volunteering for a cause or establishing your own cause is a way to reinvent yourself and give your life direction.
Gain leadership skills. Are you looking to advance your career? Step up and take charge of the jobs nobody wants, sometimes these may be the organizational or coordinator positions. You will learn some leadership skills, to work under pressure and how it feels when you are not so appreciated for lending a hand.
Networking. Meet new business contacts.
Learn. Working with a nonprofit can teach you new skills that you can use in your personal life. e.g. Habitat for Humanity can teach you home repair.
Socialize and meet new people. Volunteering causes you to mingle with new friends who care about the same things you do. Opportunities to cross paths, create, and maintain friendships are everywhere.
Promotes personal growth & self-esteem. Learn to feel good about yourself!