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volunteer Tag

Customer Success Manager at Blackbaud Canada

death starVolunteer task forces are a great way to change your organization’s “Death Star” practices. Grab a group of your volunteers and “task” them with addressing ONE area of the organization that is not working. Who should you invite on your task force journey? Keep the group small to make sure everyone is able to participate - somewhere between 4 and 6 people. Include at least one staff member who can give context to your discussions. With the right mandate, task forces can be empowered to really clean things up. Task forces are attractive to new volunteers because they are:

Finite – They involve a specific number of meetings, and a short-term commitment;

Specific – Volunteers have the opportunity to “get closer” to the organization without having to sit on a board.

Outcome-driven – There is nothing like that feeling of getting something done to charge up a volunteer.

toddler wavingDo you wave and say thank you to other drivers when you are in your car? Do you communicate  and say thank you when they let you into a crowded lane, or when they urge you forward at a shared stop sign? I do. It was my 8 year old that noticed it. “Mommy, why are you waving at that guy you don’t know in the other car?” she would say. “Oh, he just let me into his lane, and I wanted to say thanks, honey.”  She is a very observant 8 year old. “But you don’t know him, mommy.” I paused to think about her question, and said “I know, but if it were me letting me in, I would want someone to say thank you.”

Belonging. It’s a three syllable word that, in the wilderness, is the difference between life and death. Here in civilization, belonging may be slightly less dire, but it still packs a pretty big wallop.  In other words, you may not live and die by your association with a local non-profit, but the sense of connection that comes with “belonging” to such a group may significantly contribute to the sense of “wholeheartedness” in your life. Let me back up a bit and introduce you to Brené Brown. She is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work who has spent the past ten years studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame. I was introduced to Brené Brown though a creativity workshop. Since then, I have shared this TEDtalks video of Brené countless times. Please watch it. Really. I mean it. Twenty minutes to a more authentic life is what I am asking you for. http://youtu.be/X4Qm9cGRub0

Project Volunteer Engagement PART 1 - Please vote I am on the board of a local not-for-profit that has been suffering from some volunteer challenges – all of our community events are volunteer-driven, and lately we have not been able to find enough warm bodies to pull off the community events side of our mandate. So here’s my idea: I am going to use my organization’s situation as a source of inspiration for the blog. I am going to propose 7 options, and then, I would like you to vote on which ones you think will work best. I am also going to open the survey up for comments too.