Measuring the Impact of Volunteers: A Balanced and Strategic Approach focuses on the long-accepted principle that simply counting “heads” and hours served does NOT give a full picture of the value of volunteer engagement in an organization. The authors adapt the concepts of the “balanced scorecard” performance measurement tool (developed by Kaplan and Norton in the 1990s) to the needs and challenges of volunteer resources management, creating a unique Volunteer Resources Balanced Scorecard (VRBSc). What results is a method for evaluating and planning a volunteer engagement strategy that aligns with the priorities and goals of the organization and the needs of its clients. As a planning tool, the VRBSc helps leaders of volunteers ensure that volunteer service is in sync with the overall goals of the organization. As an evaluation tool, the VRBSc allows decision makers to take an honest look at all aspects of volunteer involvement, balancing four different perspectives that, together, lead to success. Directors of volunteer resources can assess where volunteers are having the most impact and what they should be doing next. As a reporting tool, the VRBSc shows progress and achievements to stakeholders in concrete ways that are meaningful to them. Using illustrations, worksheets, and a comprehensive appendix including survey tools, this book takes readers step by step through the process of creating and using their own VRBSc. Readers will: • See how traditional measurement tools for volunteer engagement do not effectively demonstrate the value and extent of volunteer service • Follow the evolution of the balanced scorecard concept from businesses, to nonprofits, and now to volunteer resources • Develop their own Volunteer Resources Balanced Scorecard • Write meaningful reports that spark action from organization leaders

What is virtual volunteering? It’s work done by volunteers online, via computers, smartphones or other hand-held devices, and often from afar. More and more organizations around the world are engaging people who want to contribute their skills via the Internet. The service may be done virtually, but the volunteers are real! In The LAST Virtual Volunteering Guidebook, international volunteerism consultants Jayne Cravens and Susan J. Ellis emphasize that online service should be integrated into an organization’s overall strategy for involving volunteers. They maintain that the basic principles of volunteer management should apply equally to volunteers working online or onsite. Whether you’re tech-savvy or still a newbie in cyberspace, this book will show you how to lead online volunteers successfully by: -Overcoming resistance to online volunteer service and the myths surrounding it; -Designing virtual volunteering assignments, from micro-volunteering to long-term projects, from Web research to working directly with clients via the Internet; -Adding a virtual component to any volunteer’s service; -Interviewing and screening online volunteers; -Managing risk and protecting confidentiality in online interactions; -Creating online communities for volunteers; -Offering orientation and training via Internet tools; -Recruiting new volunteers successfully through the Web and social media; and -Assuring accessibility and diversity among online volunteers. Cravens and Ellis fervently believe that future volunteer management practitioners will automatically incorporate online service into community engagement, making this book the last virtual volunteering guidebook that anyone has to write!

Identifying, measuring and improving social impact is a significant challenge for corporate and private foundations, charities, NGOs and corporations. How best to balance possible social and environmental benefits (and costs) against one another? How does one bring clarity to multiple possibilities and opportunities? Based on years of work and new field studies from around the globe, the authors have written a book for managers that is grounded in the best academic and managerial research.It is a practical guide that describes the steps needed for identifying, measuring and improving social impact. This approach is useful in maximizing the impact of different types of investments, including grants and donations, impact investments, and commercial investments.With numerous examples of actual organizational approaches, research into more than fifty organizations, and extensive practical guidance and best practices, Measuring and Improving Social Impacts fills a critical gap.

A manual of the volunteer management process.

Volunteer management is stuck in a decades old paradigm. It doesn't work for today's volunteers. In The Disruptive Volunteer Manager, blogger Meridian Swift lays out 6 steps to modernizing volunteer management. By following the steps, today's volunteer managers will position themselves as leaders of a movement to elevate volunteers and volunteer contributions. Each step equips a volunteer manager with the tools to attract and sustain modern volunteers while increasing respect and demand for volunteer involvement. Just a few of the many questions Swift answers are: How is volunteer synergy formed? Where do balanced volunteer projects fall on the tasks priority list? Are volunteers human capital, assets or a product? Should we worry about a volunteer block chain? How do we stop the volunteer talent churn? What is volunteer role scalability? Disrupting volunteer management means positioning for the future of volunteer engagement and breaking the bonds of an outdated system to become an effective leader. With 6 steps to reframe volunteer management, The Disruptive Volunteer Manager illustrates the path to a better way.

The only book that addresses the senior decision-maker's role in developing a strategy and resources for high-quality volunteer engagement. It explains fundamental subjects that must be considered at the top executive level, including developing a vision for volunteer involvement, creating policies and setting expectations, budgeting and finding funds to support volunteers, hiring the best staff leader, assessing the impact of volunteer contributions, and dealing with legal, risk management, and insurance issues. The new 2010 edition includes information on managing volunteer involvement during an economic downturn, dealing with resistance by middle managers, the evolving vocabulary of volunteerism, new types of volunteering such as online service and voluntourism, the difference between a wage equivalency calculation and the true value of volunteers to an organization, and much more.

Who tends to volunteer and why? What causes attract certain types of volunteers? What motivates people to volunteer? How can volunteers be persuaded to continue their service? Making use of a broad range of survey information to offer a detailed portrait of the volunteer in America, Volunteers provides an important resource for everyone who works with volunteers or is interested in their role in contemporary society. Mark A. Musick and John Wilson address issues of volunteer motivation by focusing on individuals' subjective states, their available resources, and the influence of gender and race. In a section on social context, they reveal how volunteer work is influenced by family relationships and obligations through the impact of schools, churches, and communities. They consider cross-national differences in volunteering and historical trends, and close with consideration of the research on the organization of volunteer work and the consequences of volunteering for the volunteer.

VolunteerMatch taps expert knowledge from today's volunteerism professionals to help nonprofits take a more inventive approach to volunteer engagement Volunteer Engagement 2.0: Ideas and Insights Changing the World shows you many of the innovative approaches to engaging volunteers that are reshaping nonprofits, volunteer programs, and communities around the world — and how you can bring these changes to your own organization. Curated and edited by VolunteerMatch, the Web's most popular volunteer engagement network, these transformative strategies and practices are already being used by innovative nonprofit, government, and business sector leaders in volunteering — and they represent many of the future trends in volunteerism. This insightful collection contains actionable advice on strengthening volunteering at your organization as well as broader explorations on the nature of opening organizations to volunteers to show you how to create a new volunteerism model that supports your organization's mission and programs. Among other things, you'll learn how to attract millennials and baby boomers to your cause, the best ways to partner with corporate and pro bono volunteer programs, why micro volunteering may be the future of online giving, what's new in national service, why your supporters are a largely untapped goldmine of fundraising success, and what trends will drive volunteering in the future. For more than 15 years VolunteerMatch has had unprecedented access to leading innovators in the nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors. In this book, you'll share that access as you explore the ideas, strategies, and insights that will boost volunteer engagement today and in the future. Learn what trends and ideas are reshaping volunteer engagement today Reconsider your volunteer model to reflect your organization's mission Find out what the leading thinkers predict will drive volunteering in the future Optimize volunteer recruitment, screening, orientation, and training Understand and cater to the motivations of your volunteers The world of volunteering is changing and there has never been a better moment to engage the time and talent of those who support your cause. How will your nonprofit grow and thrive with the help of volunteers? Volunteer Engagement 2.0: Ideas and Insights Changing the World provides the innovation and inspiration, you just need to supply the action.

Developed by the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, the Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice outline 33 principles of sound practice related to legal compliance and public disclosure, effective governance, financial oversight, and responsible fundraising. These principles, especially in conjunction with the Principles Workbook, help organizations assess and improve their operations. Organizations that have applied the Principles report increased capacity to achieve their missions, including improved governance, stronger organizational cultures and practices, and increased credibility with funders, individual donors and community partners.