Hot Topics

November 2002
Local Level in Susan's Utopia:
(Beginning of Hot Topic)

The Individual Practitioner takes responsibility for:

• Self-education – learning how to lead the best possible volunteer involvement effort through reading books and periodicals, attending training sessions, and interacting with colleagues.
• Internal education of agency executives and staff on what is necessary to support volunteers.
• Connecting to or participating in wider community activities such as National Volunteer Week
• Recruiting volunteers specifically for one agency, which includes the listing/posting of opportunities in centralized databases at all levels.
• Collecting and reporting data about volunteer contributions both internally and for community-wide studies.

The Agency in Which Volunteers Work is responsible for:

• Articulating a vision for volunteer involvement in its setting and laying the foundation necessary for success: goals, policies, budget and resources, etc.
• Hiring qualified staff to coordinate volunteers.
• Training other agency staff to work effectively with volunteers.

The Local DOVIA (or whatever you wish to call the local network of practitioners of volunteer management, regardless of setting):

• Works with individual volunteer management practitioners.
• Brings colleagues together for both formal and informal exchange – particularly fostering the synergy of various settings.
• Provides education opportunities, especially the chance to discuss the local implications of more global issues. Works with local colleges to establish academic courses.
• Nurtures newcomers to the field (mentoring) and stimulates veterans (professional development opportunities)
• Forms collaborations and cooperative ventures.
• Uses the umbrella of the association to respond to local issues in a way individual members cannot, such as protesting the elimination of a volunteer management position or contacting the mayor about a city ordinance affecting volunteers.
• Supports the local Volunteer Center.

The Local Volunteer Center:

• Works with:
  • agencies that involve volunteers formally, usually through the designated volunteer resources manager;
  • agencies that do not involve volunteers formally (yet), usually through the executive director
  • members of the public who wish to volunteer
  • leaders of all-volunteer associations such as civic groups
  • schools, businesses, and others seeking ways to get their students, employees, and other constituents engaged in service
• Provides a centralized contact point for all local volunteer-involving agencies, particularly for volunteer recruitment and referral. Continually publicizes the importance and impact of volunteering in general.
• Models effective volunteer involvement by recruiting and working with volunteers who assist with (or lead) the Center’s activities.
• On behalf of all constituent volunteer-involving agencies, interacts with local government officials, community funders, and business leaders to generate more resources and recognition of the field.
• Provides visibility to volunteerism through media relations, awards, public forums, etc.
• Coordinates National Volunteer Week celebrations for its community.
• Develops a library of volunteerism materials available to all.
• Targets agencies or settings in which volunteerism is not yet developed and advocates/consults/provides technical assistance to form new volunteer programs.
• Serves individuals who are seeking volunteer work.
• Serves all-volunteer organizations.
• Provides training opportunities for all constituencies, including notifying everyone of workshops and conferences taking place elsewhere, but of possible interest. (Occasionally rents a bus to take a group of local folks to an important event that is less than a four-hour ride away.)
• Collects and reports data on the state-of-volunteerism in its community, fostering an understanding of the scope and breadth of volunteer activity (countering stereotypes).
• Supports the local DOVIA.
• Interprets trends in volunteerism for and to the local community, and represents that community to the volunteer world at large.

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