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Last week, millions watched the popular television show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, when the “TV formula” of one lucky family receiving a complete home renovation/reconstruction reached new heights and an entire neighborhood received a facelift. How did they go from reconstructing one house to renovating an entire neighborhood? They did it through the help of an unprecedented number of volunteers.

The stories are devastating; the images heart wrenching; and the future even worse. The earthquake in Haiti has shaken the world and the emotional aftershocks reverberate every time we turn to the news. As individuals, we all want to help – but it’s difficult to find a way to help when we live hundreds or thousands of miles away. As professionals in the nonprofit and service sectors, we are driven to help – even if disaster relief is not part of our organizations’ core mission. But how? Organizations who work as first responders, search and rescue, and direct relief often have built-in infrastructures to respond and support. For the rest of us, though, there are ways to leverage our existing structures and rally our constituents and volunteers to respond. We can make a difference.

With the launch of a new year, it’s hard to ignore the nostalgic reflections on the past year – and we enjoy a healthy review of the year’s successes and challenges as much as anyone. But, now that it’s January and we’re firmly rooted in 2010, we’d like to look ahead. The upcoming JFFixler eQuarterly newsletter will focus on some compelling forecasts by the Chronicle of Philanthropy and others about what nonprofits will face in 2010 and share a few proven strategies to consider in your 2010 organizational plans. In this, our first blog posting of 2010, we’d like to share our own thoughts about what to expect in this new year. The time to shift from reminiscence to informed action is now.

by Jill Friedman Fixler and Beth Steinhorn

It's that time of year, isn't it?  No, not the holiday season! It's time for the year-end solicitation, right? We know that, just like retailers depend on the holiday shopping season to bring them into the black each year, nonprofits have come to rely on the year-end solicitation to adjust the bottom line a bit more favorably.  So, we'd like to share with you the Top Ten reasons to ensure that your year-end solicitation strategy includes an intentional and strategic "ask" directed to your volunteers....

Choosing the right volunteer to lead your important initiative means knowing more than the candidates’ basic skills and experience; choosing the right volunteer leader means learning about the candidates’ adaptability and ways of thinking – and learning those things without adding hours  to the interview and selection process.

In a world in which organizations are increasingly required to be nimble, creative, and entrepreneurial in management and program delivery, we must engage volunteer leaders who bring those traits to our table and who can partner with us in our efforts towards mission fulfillment. To identify which potential volunteers are nimble, creative, and entrepreneurial themselves, we recommend using a more behaviorally-based interviewing style.

The current influx of volunteers is all the talk in our world. We have written about how we believe this is a tremendous opportunity for strategic engagement of skilled volunteers. But, how does an organization move from facing the crowds of volunteers at its proverbial door to actually selecting and placing those candidates who can have greatest impact? The interview is key!

The past year has seen unprecedented attention and support for volunteerism and service (see blog from September 2, 2009) and, next week, there’s something else new: More than 60 TV shows will feature storylines that somehow incorporate volunteerism. According to the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the stories during next week’s shows will spotlight the power and personal benefits of service. This initiative is unprecedented in its scope and scale; never have so many networks and shows joined together to integrate volunteerism into their storylines. If inspired by what they see on their reality shows, sitcoms, hour-long dramas, soap operas, and talk shows, TV watchers can then log onto the EIF’s newly launched website www.iParticipate.org to connect to volunteer opportunities in their own community.

What does this mean for volunteer engagement professionals and the nonprofit community?

We spend a lot of time touting the value of skilled volunteers – advocating the engagement of entrepreneurial volunteers who can take an idea from conception to implementation – and championing the capacity-building potential of high impact volunteer teams. And yet, this week I sat and marveled at a team with whom I’ve been working for the past ten months as we met to discuss how to transition a pilot project into an ongoing program offering at our local volunteer center, Metro Volunteers in Denver, CO.  The best part of the meeting? The point when this productive group was scheduling the next gathering and I was able to say, “Here’s my offer: I won’t come to that meeting.” In other words, congratulations – this program belongs to you and the most helpful thing I can do is get out of the way as you take it and run.

You have heard it (we’re sure of that) and we ourselves have said it (many times) over the past few months: The numbers of skilled individuals seeking meaningful volunteer work has increased dramatically as millions deal with lay-offs or cut-backs and seek new skills to remain competitive in a challenging job market. But, what about those small business owners whose work has slowed down, but not closed down?  They, too, are seeking ways to meaningfully engage with the community, keep their employees busy, and cultivate marketable relationships for the future. 

So, what does this new spin on volunteering mean for your organization? It means that there are others out there seeking to develop relationships and you can take advantage. 

In recent weeks, we have spent a great deal of time sorting through the implications of the Volunteering in America report released by the Corporation for National & Community Service - only to have the newest report America's Civic Health Index: Civic Health in Hard Times released by the National Conference on Citizenship report some seemingly different statistics.... Have things changed this much in the intervening months? Are these reports in conflict? Most important, what does this mean for you and the many others whose organizations rely on volunteers for mission-fulfilling work?