Writing (General)

One of the ways that I have begun promoting this blog is through online blog directories. While technorati is a search engine that finds blogs with specific material, directories typically categorize blogs according to topics (entertainment, arts, business, etc.).

While I have listed this blog in several sites, my current favorite is the Globe of Blogs. It allows a long list of category options, making their listings very accurate and easy to search. It only takes a minute to register your blog, why not try it?

technorati tags: directory, globe of blogs

Vermont is the kind of state that experiences a sudden influx of senior citizens in the warm, summer months, and then quickly clears out after the leaves hit the ground. Every non-profit organization in the Green Mountain state would do well to keep this trend in mind. The winter volunteer base of every organizaiton will be cut in half at least due to the migration of many to the south. In addition, ice and snow will keep another part of your volunteer force off the roads.

This will lead to an unpredictable schedule for your volunteers and your expectations must bend according to their availability. If you have a mailing to go out, have it ready at least a week before it must go out. Allow some flexibility for the volunteers. If one can come in during a Tuesday morning, but another can come in on Thursday afternoon, let them come in as they will instead of losing them for the sake of concentrating them into one time slot. The winter is not the time to be picky about when you can and cannot have help.

technorati tags: volunteers, winter

Blue, yellow, and white: these colors signify a foreign presence, an invasion, a threat. They are the badges of the disdainful and intolerable force who threaten peace, life, and order. Pollution streams in their wake, and all close to them are in danger. They travel at unsafe speeds, take unnessary risks, and spread discontent in their path. It’s ski season in Vermont.

Continue reading Passive Road Rage

Change is perhaps one of the thorniest issues to navigate with volunteers. Since they are not employees, they typically do not have a say or an inside look at what’s happening in the organization. But since they do “work” for you, they are not as removed as the general public or those who receive your services. And so volunteers exist in a type of limbo between the public and your employees.

Obviously some changes will not worry your volunteers as much as others. It’s typically a change in policy or program that touches directly ontheir spheres of influence. It is important to evaluate the impact of change within your organization on your volunteer core. It is crucial to make sure that your volunteers are on board as you move forward into new times. Continue reading Volunteers and Change

 60 mph wind gusts brought down a host of trees yesterday in Southern Vermont. Route 7A was closed down at several locations from downed power lines. My car only puttered into our driveway after weaving through a maze of fire trucks. I knew that something was wrong when the garage door disobeyed my finger that pushed in the button. The power was out.
Continue reading Electricity: Things Have Not Always Been So

Some very interestings thoughts from Marnie at ext337:

“Bascially, Google’s search has replaced any store front loyalty. Their only brand loyalty seemed to be to the things that they carried on their person—phones, cameras for example. They would by that at the cheapest place possible and use search to find that place. What does this mean to nonprofits who are trying to get people to donate to them? Will contributors use a search mechanism rather than brand loyalty to decide where to give? I think so. I think it means the organization that provides the greatest access to information, organized in way that allows it to be displayed and used in ways that are meaningful to the individual user, will be able to get the greatest amount of attention.”

Via: Sonny

It is a very good sign when a volunteer uses the word “we.” It denotes ownership and identification. The volunteer is no longer slaving for some impersonal organization. It’s a personal matter, and he/she feels involved in the organization.

How to move from “you” to “we” can be a difficult transition. If volunteers do not feel like they are a part of things, you have a crucial uphill climb to make.

One area that you can focus on today is the staff. Encourage staff to stop and talk with the volunteers. Pending on the size of your organization, make sure that at least key members introduce themselves to the volunteers and make them feel welcome. Ask the staff to drop off coffee or tea.

You can also make volunteers feel included by asking for their input and then act on it. If you expect them to invest in the organization, you cannot limit it just to performing a certain task. Many of them have opinions and ideas that need to be heard. You obviously cannot act on all of them, but at least they will know that you are listening. They should know why you are or are not following through on their ideas. Many “us vs. them” problems can be subverted if you give volunteers an open channel for their ideas. Few will want to say too much, but when you listen, it will really make a volunteer’s day.

Another path to “we” is empowering volunteers to ownership. Whether it’s a mailing, event, or any other volunteer activity, give volunteers a chance to customize and modify the event to their style. A volunteer at a reception desk may not want to follow your carefully crafted script, which is fine. Let them ad lib if that makes them more effective in greeting guests. If volunteers want to modify the order of inserts in a mailing, let them go for it.

This doesn’t mean you become a push over. It simply means that we allow room for freedom and creativity. Conformity has a price sometimes. It is simply a matter of knowing when to give some room and when to follow your plans precisely.

While every good manager in a company should know a little about delegation, it is a crucial skill when working with volunteers. It is not common that volunteers are the ones driving a project. They typically are performing tasks that are part of the whole, but they are not the ones pushing the big picture forward.

Having said that, I think it is important to evaluate a few things:

1. Who you are and what your role is.
2. Who your volunteers are and how they operate.

Unless you understand your role and how it relates to the kind of people volunteering for your organization, you will really be in trouble.

If you know what needs to happen and what your role is, then you need to ask some questions about the volunteers:

Is this volunteer a self-starter?

Does the volunteer want lots of responsibility, or just a supporting role?

Does the volunteer prefer a social job that involves meeting lots of people, or is he/she content with simply staying behind the scenes and doing administrative/office work?

Does the volunteer need lots of supervision?

Does the volunteer need to communicate with you often?

When will you know when the project is done? Will this be clear to the volunteer?

Do you have dealines set and plan to make sure they are met?

There are plenty of other factors to consider, but such questions will set you on the right course when working with volunteers.

Tech Soup is a non-profit techonology service. From their about page:

“Powered by CompuMentor, one of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit technology assistance agencies, TechSoup.org offers nonprofits a one-stop resource for technology needs by providing free information, resources, and support. In addition to online information and resources, we offer a product philanthropy service called TechSoup Stock. Here, nonprofits can access donated and discounted technology products, generously provided by corporate and nonprofit technology partners.

We believe that technology can enhance nonprofit work, making us more efficient and better able to serve our communities. We never lose sight of that goal.”

A friend just e-mailed me the following deal from tech soup:

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Nonprofits! This February 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. only, GrantStation and TechSoup Stock are sharing the love — by offering eligible nonprofits specially discounted GrantStation PRO memberships for only $90. Each GrantStation PRO membership includes instant access to a searchable database of thousands of pre-screened foundation and corporate grantmakers that are actively accepting proposals from nonprofits. “

Link to the tech soup home page.

In light of the recent controversy started by a few Christians regarding the portrayal of missionaries Steve and Nate Saint by gay actor Chad Allen, I wrote up a little satire. The piece itself has absolutely no truth to it. It’s just a different look at a controversy that is divisive in the church and stains the name Christian.Link