Executive Director, Role of

For volunteers to be most successful, they must be fully integrated into an organization -- and that means it is critical for senior-level managers to be engaged in laying the foundation for volunteers. So this section of the library is about what it needed from agency executives (and what usually cannot be done by a volunteer resources manager alone) to set policy, allocate resources, train staff, and more to support volunteer involvement.

After dismissing docents, Hirshhorn starts new program to encourage their return, Peggy McGlone, The Washington Post

How NOT to work with volunteers.

CEO as Board Chair: The Nonprofit Ethicist Just Doesn’t Like It, NPO Quarterly

Precise ethical reasoning as to why an executive director should not be a member of a nonprofit board of directors

Clarifying Expectations on Both Sides, Eileen Hammond, 64-66, Directory of Social Change
Consultation/Listening, Debra Allcock Tyler, It's Tough at the Top: The no-fibbing guide to leadership, Directory of Social Change
Creating a Statement of Philosophy on Volunteer Engagement, Betty B. Stallings with Susan J. Ellis, Energize Inc.
Designated Liaison Staff in Each Work Area, Susan J. Ellis and Rob Jackson, pp. 86-88, Energize, Inc.
Divining a Skills Set, George Weiner, The NonProfit Times

A Volunteer Management Perspective on Boards of Directors

Do Volunteers Pose Greater Risks Than Paid Staff?, Linda Graff, pp. 13-14, Linda Graff and Associates Inc.
Give Volunteers a Voice, Susan J. Ellis
It's Volunteers and Money, Susan J. Ellis
Money is No Object, Susan J. Ellis
Perspective: Climate Change for the Voluntary Sector, Barney Ellis-Perry, for Volunteer Vancouver, , Volunteering Vancouver
Problem Boards or Board Problems?, William P. Ryan, Richard R. Chait, and Barbara E. Taylor, Nonprofit Quarterly

Excellent examination of a nonprofit board's role

Retention of Volunteers, Susan J. Ellis and Rob Jackson, Energize, Inc.
Staffing the Volunteer Program for Success, Susan J. Ellis, Energize Inc.
Volunteers as Beta Testers, Susan J. Ellis
By Betty B. Stallings, this free report looks at what real-life "Volunteer Program Champion" CEOs think, feel, and do to support volunteer involvement in their organizations. , 2005, pp. 22

CNIB has produced this material for how to create a corporate culture embracing volunteerism. Although focused on serving people with vision loss, the resources are intentionally applicable to any organization and can be downloaded for free in Word to be tailored to individual situations.  Includes the documents "Spirit of Partnership" and "Philosophy of Volunteerism." The manual is accompanied by a Creating a Culture of Volunteerism Training Guide.

, 2017
Part of AVA's "Positioning the Profession" project, this guide can be used anywhere to educate funders about the value of supporting volunteer efforts. , pp. 21
By Wendy Liu and Jennifer Aaker, Center for Responsible Business. Concludes that people asked to volunteer give more money than those who are not. , 2008, pp. 51

Report from BoardSource  on its survey of more than 1700 board chairs and executives of nonprofit organizations sharing data and insights about their boards’ composition, practices, performance, and culture. Of special interest for its data on lack of diversity. See a review of the study published in Nonprofit Quarterly on 9/6/17.

, 2017, pp. 64

Developed by CNIB, this manual highlights best practices for partnering with leadership volunteers, particular board and committee members, senior advisors, and project leaders.  Accompanied by a Toolkit.

, 2017
This document from Volunteering England explores what "valuing volunteer management" really means and is designed to help organisations assess how they currently value volunteer management, why this is important, and what extra steps they could take., 2011, pp. 16
The National Human Services Assembly, seeking to advocate the findings of the 2004 "Volunteer Management Capacity" report, sponsored "From Research to Action," an executable blueprint of capacity building strategies. A guide was produced: "Organizational Readiness and Management Brief ". , 2004
Urban Institute, UPS Foundation, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the USA Freedom Corps , 2004, pp. 34
Associations Now (blog)

About all things related to association management, from ASAE (American Society for Association Executives). Was previously called "Acronym" and that archive is still accessible at http://blogs.asaecenter.org/Acronym/.

Value Volunteer Management

Initiative of Volunteering England to advocate for the importance of "investing in volunteering."

Vantage Point Blog

This community blog from Vancouver, BC focuses on voluntary sector issues, leadership, organizations, and people engagement.

Print and e-Books in Our Store

Book cover

A walk-through of the importance of developing policies for and about volunteers, with clear examples and templates.

From the Top Down UK edition book cover

UK Edition of the best-selling book that identifies the critical link between the actions of an organisation’s senior management and the overall success of volunteer engagement.

Book cover for From the Top Down

Outlines the key executive decisions necessary to lay the foundation for successful volunteer involvement: policies, budgeting, staffing, employee-volunteer relationships, legal issues, cost and value of volunteers, and more.