1. Valuing leaders and managers of volunteers
“Finding Our Voice” - AVM conference
Regus London
23rd October 2013

2. Purpose
• Explore some context for our
role in 2013
• Help us articulate the value and
importance of our role
• Key messages for AVM and
peers

3. Context

4. We are a diverse field
• 15% of VMs are in defined
roles
• 63% are paid, the rest are
volunteers (growing?)
• 6% are full time
• 14% spend three quarters of
their time on the role
• 56% spend less than a quarter
of their time
Management Matters, IVR 2008
Valuing Volunteer Management Skills, IVR 2010

5. Evolution of our role

6. Volunteer manager
Volunteers

7. Volunteer manager
Volunteers
Employees

8. Senior management
Volunteer manager
Volunteers
Employees

9. How can we articulate our value?

10. We have to be proactive!

11. Discussion time

12. • Examples of what you have done to articulate & influence the value of your
role? What happened as a result?
• Ideas for how you might articulate & influence around the value of your role?
What the next action is to make those ideas a reality?
• What has stopped you from articulating and influencing around the value of
your role? What do you need to give yourself permission to do to start?

13. Key facts & figures
• 78% of volunteers said their
satisfaction relied on the role of
the VM
• Increased capacity in volunteer
management led to an
improvement in recruiting and
managing volunteers
“The right stuff: New ways of thinking about
managing volunteers”, Zimmeck 2011
“The impact of public policy on volunteering
in community based organisations”,
Hutchinson and Ockenden 2008

14. Key facts and figures
100
80
60
40
20
0
Applying
With a VM (%)
Selection
Without a VM (%)
Valued
Recommend

15. Key facts and figures
“Evidence was found throughout the survey responses
that cutting staff for volunteer programs resulted in
fewer volunteers and less service. The data showed a
sharp contrast between volunteer programs thriving and
growing in service delivery and programs where
resources were cut and services shrinking. It is clear
that less funding for volunteer programs results in fewer
volunteers, less work for the volunteers to do, lower
quality work due to less training, and other impacts.”
“The Status of Minnesota’s Volunteer Programs In a Shifting Environment”, MAVA 2010

16. Key facts and figures
“There was excitement throughout the responses that
volunteers can provide increased capacity and that
organizations are increasing their reliance on volunteers. The
findings raise questions, however, regarding how sustainable
this is. Only 7% of respondents saw an increase in the
volunteer program budget in 2010, while 55% projected
greater reliance on volunteers in 2011. Many volunteer
programs are clearly doing more with flat resources, but the
results of the survey confirm the value of increasing
investments in volunteer programs so that the 55% that project
increased reliance on volunteers can successfully do so.”
“The Status of Minnesota’s Volunteer Programs In a Shifting Environment”, MAVA 2010

17. Key facts and figures
“There is a disconnect between many organizations’
increasing reliance on volunteers and few organizations
putting more resources into volunteer management. If
the “new normal” is a larger reliance on volunteers to
meet mission, this is not being supported by an
investment of resources to accomplish this”.
“The Status of Minnesota’s Volunteer Programs In a Shifting Environment”, MAVA 2013

18. Key messages for AVM and peers

19. What do you want to say?

20. Contact us
rob@robjacksonconsulting.com
07557 419 074
www.robjacksonconsulting.com
@robjconsulting
www.robjacksonconsulting.blogspot.
com
http://robjackson.thirdsector.co.uk