FACE

Volunteerism: the essential link

Volunteers are the personal link between campus and community; they offer talents, loyalty, and effort that staff alone simply can't provide. Volunteers benefit both the institution and the volunteer. As people become more involved with an organization, they often make larger and more frequent gifts and show greater willingness to ask others to do the same. Likewise, when volunteers loose interest so do their friends and neighbors. Volunteerism is essentially contagious. Asking someone for a commitment to volunteer makes them feel needed.

Volunteers have influence, can open doors that few academically minded professionals cannot unlock. They move in circles beyond the institution and understand power struggles and political situations in communities and corporations that a staff member never could. They make friends and move prospective volunteers. They add enthusiasm and are more apt to remain enthusiastic because they have specific, focused tasks or assignments. Volunteers complete the team and form the link between the prospect and the campus, and their unique perspective helps them relate to both. Volunteers build for the future, are free and priceless. Recognizing them makes good sense, good dollars and sense.

For us, the academically minded professionals who must have volunteers for program survival, growth and retention, the following tips may help get things done:

1) Study members and determine what each finds important and motivating.

2) Be a good listener and follow their recommendations.

3) Criticize in private.

4) Praise in public.

5) Be considerate.

6) Give credit where it is due.

7) Show interest in and appreciation of the other person.

8) When you make a request or suggestion, be sure to tell the reasons for it.

9) Be consistent

10) Show members that you have confidence in them.

11) When you are wrong or make a mistake, admit it and apologize.

12)Remember that people carry out best their own ideas; people support what they help create.

13) Be careful what you say and how you say it.

Lessons Learned

Critical to the success of the community based intervention is the on-going involvement of the community volunteers and the need for core staff to recognize and respond to the need for recognition. One CPHF volunteer who was heavily involved in the project in years one and two reduced her involvement in year three. She serves on an advisory board at an agri-business and has been largely responsible for retention of members of a farm safety coalition that existed prior to the inception of the CPHF Project. In discussion with this volunteer we found that two incidents occurred that precipitated a change in her attitude and involvement. The first was the change in paid consultant status. (X $ were allocated to support her efforts) In year one the person was paid to attend meetings where her input was vital in making the interventions

realistic. She became involved with the understanding it was three year intervention effort. Because of budgetary constraints this compensation was not awarded in year two of the project. The second was when materials were sent to her but she was not invited to attend an upcoming ROPS planning meeting with other project staff. At that point she stopped feeling needed.

The CPHF staff had purchased recognition plaques to be given to the volunteer in year two, but delays in their distribution may have further added to the decline in involvement. Had the awards been given earlier when the community based CPHF staff recognized the need, this may have been prevented.

Attitudes, enthusiasm and involvement of community volunteers needs continual monitoring to avoid over-working volunteers, under recognizing and addressing changes rapidly to maintain volunteer commitment. Secondly, compensating key volunteers from unstable money sources may lead to difficulties when the compensation is stopped. It is advised that it be announced at initial planning meetings with volunteers that there will not be any money given as compensation for volunteer work. If travel is involved reimbursement could be announced and the person compensated. Even though no promises are made that the compensation will continue, the thought that the project will go three years and the expectation that money will continue can still create issues when the money stops. Key volunteers should be recognized at every opportunity and preferably in public. As well, correspondence to the volunteers should be evaluated prior to sending out for its possible effect on volunteers.

Adapted from: Von Schlegell, A.J. (1992). Who should ask for the gift? Volunteers. CaseCurrents, 18(1), 20-23.