Volunteer Matters
Volunteering and its impact on mental health
In our world, mental health is gaining recognition as a significant global concern. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) way back in 2017 stated...
Maximize your impact in volunteer programs
Most leaders of volunteers have a great deal to do with very little time. The key to making this work is to maximize your impact with the actions you take. A...
Tips for successful 'onboarding' of new volunteers
Perhaps no step in the process of the volunteer lifecycle is as undervalued as “onboarding” new volunteers. We often put a great deal of time and...
Picking the best way to use volunteers
One of my previous careers was as a benchwork joiner. That means I have been trained to build custom furniture. During my training, an instructor gave us a...
Signs of, and solutions for, ineffective volunteer training
Having ineffective volunteer training can decrease your retention rates and increase errors. Good training is a crucial aspect of ensuring the success of...
One-on-time time with volunteers can help the volunteer and organization
How much time do you spend with volunteers “unplugged”? One of the most common questions in the various online groups and forums I belong to is,...
10 inexpensive ways of celebrating volunteer birthdays
Leaders of volunteers often struggle to find ways of inexpensively celebrating volunteer birthdays or anniversaries. Here are 10 of my favourite ideas. As a...
Flip the narrative around volunteerism
I stumbled upon an insightful blog post recently that delved into the concept of "missing words."...
Find a community of volunteer professionals
One of the hardest things about being a leader of volunteers is you are often the only one in an organization. It can feel very isolating and you may start...
Adaptability of water is a good example for leaders
We are leaders of volunteers. But what does that really mean? I’ve been doing a lot of research into leadership lately. One thing I’ve discovered is...
Recruiting volunteers with open houses
I’ve been asked by clients, “Should I attend a community-wide volunteer fair or host our own open house recruiting drive?” The answer, of...
Fighting polarization with volunteerism
Our world is becoming more polarized every year—one political ideology against another, one race or culture against another, one socio-economic status...
It's time recognize the value of volunteers in a tangible way
Warning: This article is a pure and utter rant. Normally I try to provide at least a little bit of advice or help to leaders of volunteers, but today I just...
How to keep event-based volunteers coming back
There are many organizations that hold annual or semi-annual events requiring a lot of volunteers, but who don’t need them the rest of the year. Often,...
Even when things are working, fix them anyway
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a terrible piece of advice. It’s advice I have tried to eradicate for years. Progress and...
Columnist finds inspiration in TED Talks on volunteering
On social media on Fridays, I share TED and TEDx talks I’ve found that relate to volunteering and the social impact sector. Not all of them are...
Successfully engaging corporate volunteers
Corporate volunteers can be a powerful addition to your organization. The trouble is, few leaders of volunteers know how to approach companies effectively. Here...
Finding volunteers in rural communities
Rural volunteer programs have very specific and unique challenges. While a certain way of recruiting, for example, will work well in most urban centres from...
Volunteering trends coming in 2024
Last year, around this time, I wrote about volunteering trends to watch for in 2023. It was quite popular, so I decided to take a second look into my very...
The trouble with high expectations of new volunteers
What are your expectations of new volunteers? Over the past month, I’ve had two separate clients express frustration with how hard it is to find...