Have you ever just asked your volunteers how they like to be recognized?

I see so many articles and toolkits and workshops with titles such as “50 ways to recognize your volunteers” or “how to run a successful volunteer recognition program”.  Too often, organizations plan huge volunteer events with awards and recognition gifts - wall art, mugs, t-shirts – which never get used because they aren’t meaningful to the people who receive them. [more ...]

Intensity increases when we apply greater energy over a shorter period of time. That is somewhat counterintuitive. Common sense might suggest that adding intensity would deplete our energy. Yet applied in the right way, intensity actually has the opposite effect.  

Think about workouts. For years I tried to regularly hit the gym. My goal was to go four times a week for an hour each time. I was never able to maintain this schedule and therefore never saw results. Then I started working with a trainer who increased the difficulty of my cardio and weight training, while decreasing the amount of time I spent at the gym. The end result was more progress, more quickly and with more commitment (I’m still regularly working out eight years later).

Many people perform better and become more energized when facing higher intensity challenges. Their drive often comes from stepping out of their comfort zone to take on a higher level of responsibility. [more ...]

I’ve been on a mission for the past few months to “date” a not-for-profit organization and explore a possible “long term relationship”. Eventually, I’d like to join a board of directors, but first I’m looking for a short-term volunteer project that will allow me to get to know the organization’s culture and values.

I have reached out to four organizations and let them know my short and long term plans. Each has offered me a role on a committee with a one to two year commitment. I’ve politely declined all their offers.

I believe many people, like me, want to contribute to your organization. And yet we may not want to jump right into a long term commitment. Do you structure your work in a way that allows you to intentionally engage skilled people on a short-term basis?  [more ...]

Two weeks ago, our crew was buzzing about a potential knowledge philanthropist who’d left us a voice message. David is a self-described entrepreneur, innovator, and influencer. Soon after moving to Vancouver he wandered past Vantage Point’s offices, noticed a poster about our new book, went home and downloaded it, read it and called us to see how his skills could further our mission. Wow! [more ...]

In my experience, absolutely.

In the recent post Are Volunteers actually Mythical Creatures? Colleen Kelly debunks the myth that volunteers are not accountable. In Monday’s Abundant Not-for-Profit webinar we raised this myth again, and 38% of participants said in their experience volunteers are not accountable. One webinar participant who did not buy into this myth shared this insight: “I believe that volunteers are accountable, but in my experience they are not held accountable”. [more ...]

Last week I posted an email from a potential knowledge philanthropist who wanted to volunteer with Vantage Point. I posed the question: What process do you have in place to engage the talents of people who knock on your door? 

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Right now, someone with high-level skills and expertise in your community is thinking about volunteering with your organization. When they knock on your door, will you know how to put their talent to work?

This is an actual email our organization received two weeks ago: 

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What happens when we underutilize the talent that exists in our organizations? We may think it’s simply a missed opportunity for greater growth and better mission delivery. But what if it’s actually harmful?

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A different type of inspiration came my way today.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend a Vantage Point workshop about ‘Board Basics’. [more ...]

You have to keep close to keep warm. The further away you move, the less connected you feel to the warmth. A member of one of our Task Forces recently used this analogy to explain how critical it was for us to stay close to our Vantage Point people. [more ...]