skilled volunteers

With so much attention over the past few years focused on Baby Boomer volunteers, it would be easy to overlook another tremendously abundant resource of volunteers: The Millennial generation. The Millennial generation is comprised of those born in the late 1970s through the mid-1990s and is characterized as the generation that has come into adulthood with the turning of the new millennium. Millennials are currently in their teens and twenties – and are just as socially conscious – and just as numerous as their parents’ iconic generation, the Baby Boomers.

“Ownership” and “doing things the way we’ve always done them” were two of the few items listed when asked, “What might staff have to let go of in order to embrace a more fully collaborative culture of volunteer engagement?” What’s to gain by embracing such a model of volunteer engagement? The list was much, much longer. It was part of an honest, lively conversation between about 65 staff and volunteers at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) this week.

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.