Articles by Jill Friedman Fixler
The Volunteer Asset in an Uncertain Economy
Jill Friedman Fixler & Jennifer Rackow
The current economic reality demands more strategic stewardship of volunteer resources. Need for nonprofit services — and for the social and economic impact and safety net they create — is on the rise, even as donations decline. As volunteers and donors are forced to choose where they will spend time and money, nonprofit leaders must inspire ownership and loyalty, and deepen their current relationships. The good news is that volunteer rates continue to increase. With thoughtful investment, nonprofits can use trends identified through research and successful progressive programs to engage volunteers in meeting community needs and to get beyond what staff can do alone. We must examine where nonprofits fit into the economy and apply the most innovative volunteer engagement strategies we have. Volunteers are an untapped and vital resource to cultivate as they can be the resource for sustaining and expanding service delivery. Volunteer programs then become a solid nonprofit investment in this challenging economic climate.
Board & Organizational Assessment:
Identifying Strengths & Challenges
Jill Friedman Fixler and Linda S. Puckett
Assessment is a process for developing indicators, measures, and benchmarks that provide opportunities to identify needed improvements and create plans that increase board and organizational effectiveness.
Board Members Are Volunteers, Too
Jill Friedman Fixler
Charity Channel Nonprofit Board & Governance Review, August 2005
The basic principles of volunteer engagement apply to the board of directors too. Improve board performance through utilizing the core competencies of volunteer engagement.
Building Nonprofit Organizational Capacity
Through Civic Engagement
Jill Friedman Fixler
Charity Channel Volunteer Management Review, March 2007
It is time to reinvent volunteer management by transforming the work that volunteers do into a civic engagement enterprise.
Creating a Culture of Volunteer Engagement
Jill Friedman Fixler and Sandie Eichberg
Synergy, Spring 2007
Volunteer engagement is much more than rounding up warm bodies, coercing reluctant congregants, and waiting for the inevitable burnout.
Creating a Tipping Point for Change
Jill Friedman Fixler
Charity Channel Volunteer Management Review, July 2007
In my travels around the country working with nonprofit organizations to create a culture of volunteer engagement, the most frequently asked question is, “Where do we start?”
Group Interviewing Techniques:
Hitting the Bull's Eye Every Time
Jill Friedman Fixler
E-Volunteerism Journal April 2003
Screening volunteers can be the most overwhelming and the most challenging part of a Volunteer Managers job.
Highly Skilled Volunteers = High Impact Results
Jill Friedman Fixler
E-Volunteerism Journal, April 2004
Building collaborative relationships with highly-skilled volunteers can gain huge dividends for your organization and for the volunteers who participate.
Is it Time to Reengineer Your Volunteer Program?
Jill Friedman Fixler
Charity Channel Volunteer Management Review, March 2004
Learn when it is time to reengineer your volunteer program. Tools and strategies are outlined to accomplish high impact results.
Measuring Volunteer Program Results
Jill Friedman Fixler and Jennifer Rackow
Charity Channel Volunteer Management Review, October 2007
If you share our drive to strengthen non-profit organizations, you probably also share a sense that your organization’s volunteers and staff members are “doing good work”, but how do you know the differences your programs, services, and volunteers make?
Strategies for an Interview Overhaul
Jill Friedman Fixler
Charity Channel Volunteer Management Review, January 2003
The key to a successful volunteer program is in interviewing and placement.
Taking Stock: The Key to Improved Board Performance
Jill Friedman Fixler & Linda S. Puckett
Charity Channel Nonprofit Board & Governance Review,
September 2006
Non-profit boards of directors have many responsibilities and it is easy to become so focused on critical needs and issues that other key elements of board performance receive little, sometimes no, attention.
The Individual Volunteer Plan:
Developing Top Volunteer Talent
Jill Friedman Fixler and Jennifer Rackow
Charity Channel Volunteer Management Review, January 2008
Volunteer recognition and retention are inextricably intertwined if you approach both strategically.
The Results of Volunteer Program Revitalization
Jill Friedman Fixler
Charity Channel Volunteer Management Review, August 2004
After 13 years, the Volunteer Program at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans Louisiana was showing its age. Volunteers were aging in place, with the average age being 60.
Tools and Strategies for Boomer Volunteer Engagement
Jill Friedman Fixler & Jill Canono
As practioners in the field of volunteer engagement, we thought it would be helpful to lend our perspective on tools and strategies for creating a culture of volunteer engagement that is boomer friendly. These tools are designed to take what you already know and adapt it to the needs of the boomer cohort.
Volunteer Valuation, not Evaluation
Jill Friedman Fixler
Charity Channel Volunteer Management Review, March 2003
Forget about the dreaded volunteer evaluation. Here is a new way of looking at valuing volunteers that gets results.
Why Should Boards Care About Volunteer Engagement?
Jill Friedman Fixler
Charity Channel Nonprofit Boards & Governance Review, July 2006
Buy-in from the board of directors is essential in how volunteer programs survive and thrive.