It's finally spring! How's the weather where you live? We cats in Knoxville just got buckets of rain. This month, we share wise resources for more empowered leadership for volunteer coordinators and and tips for improving communication within your team. Check out new ways to address passive aggression, offer meaningful feedback, deal with not knowing [...]
How to Recruit Volunteers Using Power WordsLooking for new ways to recruit volunteers? Look no further than your word processing software. To pump up the effectiveness of your written appeals, use the secret weapon marketing copywriters have known about for years -- power words.Words spark emotions, and emotions drive behavior. So, by using power words you can pack more punch [...]
4 Ways to Practice Gratitude as a Volunteer Manager This post was originally published on tobijohnson.com. Have you ever been the lucky beneficiary of expressions of gratitude from clients and friends. Their heartfelt thank you notes really lift spirits during tough weeks. Have you ever stoped to think about the power of gratitude? How might [...]
Remember, no one gets paid to rebel. All revolutions start with volunteers. - Susan J. Ellis On the Shoulders of Giants We were saddened to hear that Susan Ellis passed away on February 24, after a long, valiant bout with cancer -- she was the founder of Energize, Inc and Everyone Ready, and she was [...]
How to Get Over Your Fear of Giving Volunteer Feedback Does even the thought of giving volunteer feedback make you break out in a cold sweat? Have you been putting off coaching someone because the potential conflict makes you nervous? Is your default to send an email rather than have a crucial conversation face to [...]
If you're plagued by volunteer retention issues -- or want to encourage deeper volunteer engagement -- it helps to know what the research says about why volunteers quit. You may think you understand why a volunteer quit, but they usually don’t tell us directly. Giving critical feedback is difficult. Most people won’t come right out [...]
How to Inspire Better Volunteer Performance Without More Training No matter how much time or energy you devote to preparing new supporters for service, you can expect to encounter a few volunteer performance issues. It’s only natural for folks to struggle a little as they learn the ropes. But, when volunteers seem to be [...]
Successful Recruitment = Successful Marketing Happy Almost Valentine’s Day! At the beginning of this month, we released our Volunteer Management Progress Report. As in years past, recruitment is at the top of your biggest challenges list with 33% of you stating it as an obstacle to success. One of the keys to successful recruitment in [...]
