Post on 23-Feb-2016
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Volunteers: Do We Achieve Success Because or In Spite of Them?
James M. Langley
President, Langley Innovations
Volunteers
The Either/Or of Volunteers Either one of the best ways to magnify the
capability and reach of an institution or The greatest waste of the time and talents of the
professional staff
Either the best source of sustained support (volunteers give 10x more than non-volunteers) or
The greatest drain on the fundraising capability of an organization
Volunteers
What makes the difference between the two? Selecting the right people Creating the right environment Assigning real work Matching talents to tasks Avoiding myths, assumptions, and linear thinking
The Right People
Volunteers
The right people Socially responsible Strong belief systems, values Live by their beliefs Altruistically aspirational Well educated Very busy
These traits tend to lead to financial success but financial success, in and of, itself, is not proof of them
Volunteers
The right people Those of faith, any faith, give significantly more
than those of no faith Those that attend their faith services more
regularly give more “Religious” about something Evidence of social responsibility Rooted in community
Beliefs Behaviors
Philanthropic Propensity+ Aspirational
Volunteers
Identification/Recruitment
The best are the hardest to get, take the most time to court but ultimately make all the difference
Don’t just accommodate those who come to you looking for something to do
Avoid the “heavy hitter” syndrome, look for the mission driven, socially responsible, those who give outside their immediate self-interest
Create a farm system – task at time
Volunteers
Americans are still philanthropic
Believe in giving time and money
If they give time (and 73 percent have, 43 percent in the last year), they give 10 times more
About half are consistent giversAnother 25 percent occasional giversAnother 25 virtual never givers
Volunteers
Believe they should be given nothing in return (84 percent), including recognition
Six in 10 (63%) Americans cite a renewed sense of the value and importance of community service within their network of friends and family
Volunteers
Voluntarism is at the heart of the American experience
Americans give more volunteer time than any other culture
Americans give more of their disposable income than an people in human history
One relates to the other
Time, talent and treasure – a sequential strategy
The Right Environment
Volunteers
Yet, 6 in 10 Americans says charities have become too much of a big business
56% say many charities have “disorganized” management
More than one-third say they want to see immediate results when they volunteer
44% say that if an organization cannot take advantage of their specific skills, they will volunteer elsewhere.
Volunteers
Want to “touch the baby”
Experience is predictive of giving SFO
What happens if experience is a turn off? Bloated and moated Meddlers or insiders? Risk management, legal office, project mistrust or
suspicion Alumni compact example
HIGHER PHILANTHROPIC GROUND “There’s a tremendous opportunity for
nonprofits to build greater awareness and understanding of how they manage their organizations by sharing insights into their funding structure, project management and volunteer coordination practices. Transparency through open and frequent communication with current and prospective donors should always remain a priority.” -Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Volunteer Match
Survey
Real Work
Volunteers
Giving volunteers real work
Definition To perform or offer to perform a service of one's
own free will. To do charitable or helpful work without pay
Volunteers
Real work Not something you spend a lot of time making up
for other people to do Not something that forces you to put aside your
everyday duties and responsibilities to create Not a means to humor people into feeling
important so they give you more money It’s the stuff you do to advance the mission of your
school The more effort relates to mission advancement,
the more satisfied everyone is – staff and volunteer
Human Development Cycle
Engaging with PurposeAAPFreshman Send-offsOff-site introductionsYield events and activitiesFinancial aid education and adviceAffinity group orientationsCampus Tours
Recruitment/Orientation
Financial AidInternshipsSponsor and/or Provide Public
Service InternshipsCareer Opportunity MentoringAssisting the Student Discovery
InitiativeCareer placement assistance
Retention/Preparation/Citizenship/Community
Local orientation and introductionCareer mentoring and networking Mini-alliancesSalon events
Career/Vocation/Service
Salon eventsStrategy sessionsProject leadership Franchising GU causes/valuesMini-affiliations/alliancesHelping hands
Common cause/Relevance/Service
School (State) % of alumni U.S. News rank & categoryPrinceton University (NJ)611, National UniversitiesCarleton College (MN)59.96, National Liberal ArtsAmherst College (MA)58.22, National Liberal Arts Middlebury College (VT)57.25, National Liberal ArtsWilliams College (MA)56.71, National Liberal ArtsJudson College (AL)56.1RNP*, Liberal ArtsCentre College (KY)54.542, National Liberal ArtsDavidson College (NC)53.711, National Liberal ArtsHoly Cross (MA)50.729, National Liberal Arts Thomas Aquinas (CA)50.771, National Liberal Arts
*Connotes ranking in the lowest quartile of that category
High Alumni Participation
Common Denominators Rich teaching traditions, accessible faculty Palpable, pre-existing sense of community,
belonging, mattering, shared purposes, rituals Continuity of purpose, leadership Absence of divisive crisis, lingering controversy Sustaining the compact for alumni Advancement as culture carriers Value exceeded cost
Volunteers
Real Work Beyond boards, please (especially fundraising
boards) Task forces Blue ribbon panels Commissions
Immerse in mission, delivery systems Touch the baby, render real service Trust
Volunteers
Real Issues Emotional health Family health/dynamics The creation of community
Students as stakeholders, responsible The anatomy of bullying, alienation Commitment to a common cause The celebration of values
Athletics vs. academics
Volunteers
Create work modules Look at political campaigns Define important work that can be done in one
hour, try out volunteer, increase increments according to interest, capability and performance (Student Discovery example) Tours Interviews/Polling/Market Research
Peer to peer Parent to parent
Volunteers
Create work modules The running of every organization requires the
assessment of what people are capable of doing and finding the appropriate level of work
People with sophisticated skills do not want to be assigned administrative tasks
If administrative tasks need be completed, find volunteers capable of and content with doing them Phone answering, stuffing envelopes, staffing
events
Volunteers
Boards Should be a huge source of talent
Strategically assembled to create a skill set Assemble the skills, and the character-set, and
the money will follow But, if you over-emphasize money, your create
fractious boards and sub-optimize your philanthropic potential
Volunteers
Board Duties/Obligations Representational, advocacy Stewardship
Review Relationship management Pare back standing committees, replace with
occasional task forces Add other volunteers to task forces, standing
committees
Volunteers
Boards Don’t let them get cocooned, sweep in and out of a
board room Move them around Invite testimony, don’t shy from controversy, tough
issues Confide Create inner circle
First to know, good and bad
Volunteers
Boards What do they do between meetings? Need to maintain “top of mind” status Board meetings should be about reports of what
has been accomplished in the intervening period Danger in a board becoming purely supervisory Need a critical mass
Example, altruism, civic engagement Giving of time, keeping of commitments Giving
Matching Talents to Tasks
Volunteers
Reached a point where the greater logic says that volunteers need to be a permanent and critical extension of the professional organization How we began How we got so much done Institutions over-professionalized, stilted volunteer
spirit Cannot continue to increase costs Need more financial support
Volunteers
Need to think about building a professional organization and think about volunteers as non-paid, part-time professionals Job definition Recruitment/application Goals, objectives, metrics Performance reviews
Volunteers
Volunteer Skills High end abilities that we couldn’t otherwise afford
(voluntarism tied to years of formal education) Investing Law Strategy Marketing Computer science Health
Volunteers
Think of professional staff as functional core
Volunteers as selective, strategic augmentation
Advertise, interview for specific skills
Create a certain amount of redundancy
Stop thinking of them as prospects Humoring, ingratiating Tiptoeing around
Volunteers
Every time someone says, “I need more staff to ….”
Ask ourselves if that need represents an opportunity for volunteer contribution
Peter Drucker – A knowledge worker needs to be treated like a volunteer
Need to explore the relationship of control to productivity
Avoiding Myths, Assumptions, Linear Thinking
Volunteers
Volunteers are unmanageable, undependable How much time did you spend seeking out
specialized talent vs. accommodating those that showed up?
When you don’t train and trust, how do you expect people to feel valued and essential to the enterprise?
When someone is given inconsequential work, how do you expect them to stay motivated?
If volunteers are highly successful in their professions, how could they not offer valuable service?
Volunteers
In too many cases, volunteer sub-optimization is attributable to one primary cause – urgent, unimaginative fundraising
“Volunteers” were/are really prospects; we sought to engage them to advance the fundraising process
Since they were more prospect than volunteer, we put them on boards and put on shows for them
Volunteers
We need to get real Real skill Real work Real contributions Real assessments Real decisions Real results
Volunteers
The building of communities, or communities of support is non-linear
Not every institutional action triggers and opposite and equal philanthropic reaction
The maintaining of high purpose and making a difference will always attract interest and support
Time, talent and treasure – a sequential strategy
Volunteers
Create a culture of constructive volunteerism Higher Purposes Common good Everyone has an essential role, if not fulfilled, the
whole is affected Effort relates to outcome Shared success
Volunteers
Epochal New World Mayflower Compact 1620
“ …combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation …; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony.”
Preamble to the Constitution, 1787 “We the people ….”
Volunteers
Questions?