Just a quick pointer, in case you haven’t seen it yet, to Deirdre Reid’s post the New Volunteer Manifesto. It’s a Cluetrain-inspired call to action for associations, to define and develop the 21st century volunteer. Read it, comment, share it!
Some of my favorite points (my bold):
- Members are strategic assets whose talents can be shared with the association. Invest in the infrastructure necessary to effectively recruit, develop, place, recognize and retain volunteer talent.
- Beware the leadership bubble. Leadership can often develop an insular perspective and won’t always see what members really need and value. Cultivate multiple perspectives in your leadership.
- Appoint a community officer, perhaps your incoming president, as part of your leadership team whose main responsibility is to develop and retain a huge corps of volunteers.
- Demonstrate the value of volunteering. Answer the question, “what’s in it for me?â€
- Regularly make an obvious connection between what volunteers do and the success of the association’s mission.
- Volunteering is a benefit of membership. Make it easy for your members to find ways to get involved. Eliminate perceived barriers. Open up your committee meetings.
- Create a culture of learning, not only through your educational programs, but also within your leadership and your committees.
- Give members the encouragement and tools to self-organize informal member meet-ups.
- Give younger members the means to contribute their talents and their voice.
- Keep a spirit of entrepreneurial innovation alive in your leadership.
This is only a small sampling of many great points. Some are common sense, others are “easier said than done”, but as a whole this manifesto can help associations pave the way. Truly awesome.
- Bit.ly URL for this post:
- http://bit.ly/ar7Eoj
15 responses to "The New Volunteer Manifesto "
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Socialfishing:: The New Volunteer Manifesto http://bit.ly/9zJpsr
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RT @maddiegrant: Socialfishing:: The New Volunteer Manifesto http://bit.ly/9zJpsr
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Wow, thanks for this post! Gush. RT @maddiegrant: Socialfishing:: The New Volunteer Manifesto http://bit.ly/9zJpsr
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RT @maddiegrant: Socialfishing:: The New Volunteer Manifesto http://bit.ly/9zJpsr <plan on sharing with my volunteer leaders>
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Thanks so much Maddie for sharing my post. I’ll be digging deeper into my manifesto in a series of posts on SmartBlog Insights. We have so much untapped talent sitting on the sidelines of our associations — it’s time to shake things up and make some changes!
The New Volunteer Manifesto http://bit.ly/a70SPQ
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RT @maddiegrant: The New Volunteer Manifesto http://j.mp/9zJpsr –>yup, she’s talking about my manifesto, yay!
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The New Volunteer Manifesto http://bit.ly/dniFcS #socialfish
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SocialFishing: The New Volunteer Manifesto http://bit.ly/a70SPQ
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RT @maddiegrant SocialFishing: The New Volunteer Manifesto http://bit.ly/a70SPQ Oh wow…I have plans for this!
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RT @SocialFishFood The New Volunteer Manifesto http://bit.ly/aQ3LQe
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This is good: The New Volunteer Manifesto – http://bit.ly/9vsptd
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