Resources
Training in Managing Volunteers
Volunteering New Zealand offers a six-week online course for people interested in extending their knowledge and skills. A course book is complemented by an online forum for posting assignments, and by personal tutor support. Find out more at Volunteering NZ. Completion of assignments and a multi-choice questionnaire will gain a certificate of achievement.
References for Defining Volunteering
http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/resources/policy-documents/united-nations/doc/volunteerism-is-a-means.html (This page is summarising a 2009 UN Commission on Social Development report)
- Volunteerism is “a means to promoting social integration”
- Volunteerism has contributed to developing social capital for social groups, including those that have traditionally found themselves marginalized from mainstream participation in development activities
http://www.ozvpm.com/resourcebank/resource_definitions.htm : Andy Fryar has assembled articles on definitions and terminology which help clarify thinking.
http://www.energizeinc.com/art/1vol.html : Susan Ellis considers the difference between Volunt/ar/eer/ism
http://www.energizeinc.com/art/defnew.html : Here is the most comprehensive resource on definitions of ‘Volunteer’. This site will open portals to many other resources. See particularly the heading: Hot Topics that discuss vocabulary. In Hot Topic December 2010 Susan Ellis reviews meanings of ’volunteer’ and why vocabulary matters.
Webwatching – Explore this topic further at :
http://www.coyotecommunications.com/webdevo/index.shtml Basic Web Development & Maintenance for Nonprofits, NGOs, Government Offices & Other Mission-Based Organizations. (Jayne Cravens is an ardent supporter of using the net for and by volunteers. Read this to learn some basic principles on web design and management.)
http://blogs.forumer.com/jcravens/43934/emerging+trends+in+volunteer+management.html A little bit of what might help to enhance your organisation’s website. http://www.energizeinc.com/hot/2010/10sep.html Online Information Overload – and How to Cope
http://jocote.org/2010/10/engagement-and-support/ On Youth usage of the net
http://www.e-volunteerism.com/subscriber/quarterly/09oct/09oct-danielsfull.html Social Media and the Gift Economy: Volunteerism in the Vanguard, by Patrick Daniels. (Some salutary lessons about the net, volunteering, and what managers need to do.)
The Push of Politics -
http://www.infed.org/association/civil_society.htm The best of theoretical stuff on Civil Society from Michael Edwards
http://paddaniels.posterous.com/international-society-for-third-sector-resear An overview of the meaning of ‘Third Sector’
http://jocote.org/2010/06/big-society-chatter/ A good discussion paper on the UK Big Society Policies
http://www.urbanforum.org.uk/briefings/big-society-bite-sized An outline of what is happening and the background to Big Society Policies.
http://www.i-volunteer.org.uk/newshound/youth-volunteering-charity-v-hit-with-cuts-of-15m/ The real impact of the new policies.
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/CCS/what_is_civil_society.htm Useful for definitions of Civil Society
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8292.2010.00409.x/abstract Lester Salamon. Putting the Civil Society Sector on the Economic Map of the World. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 81: 167–210.
Putnam, Robert. (2002) Democracies in Flux: the Evolution of Social Capital in Contemporary Society. New York, OUP.
www.ocvs.govt.nz Look for the Statement of Government Intentions; the Government Policy on Volunteering; ANGOA’s document on Good Intentions, etc.
http://www.kansalaisareena.fi/using_VCs_to_build_final.pdf A thoughtful overview of volunteering and civil society with primary reference to Volunteer Centres.
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Here’s the page for Best Refs. Well, the ones I use regularly or find interesting. I’ll be adding new leads from time to time, and letting you know why they are worth following.
Regular newsletters / updates:
- www.volunteeringnz.org.nz Volunteering New Zealand provides a national voice for volunteering and volunteers in Aotearoa NZ. There is some useful stuff on management of volunteers on the website. Newsletters include local reports, international news and all you want to know about the VNZ Programme for Management of Volunteers.
- www.energizeinc.com : Find the bookstore, connect to receive the monthly newsletter, read the hot topics, and more and more. Susan Ellis is a world leader on volunteer management.
- www.ozvpm.com : a southern hemisphere version of Energize, yet complementary and international. Run by Andy Fryar, frequent visitor to NZ for training programmes.
- www.pfts.com.au Website for Martin J Cowling, also engaged in training in NZ. See him too on Facebook.
- http://ivo.org This site is a sort-of blog spot where you can keep up to date with events and issues in the UK, which might not seem interesting but turn out mostly to be entirely relevant to our local scene.
- DJ Cronin at www.djcronin.blogspot.com puts a deal of humour and sometimes outrageous challenge into his blog, along with enormous passion for the profession of management of volunteers.
- AAMoV – the Australasian Association of Managers of Volunteers – is the professional association for individuals across all sections of the community who are involved with managing volunteer programs within the Australasian region, including Australia and New Zealand. See www.aava.asn.au Go join for a modest fee, and get access to the best of writing on volunteering and management at www.e-Volunteerism.com.
New Zealand Sites
- www.community.net.nz is a huge resource for people managing volunteers, including models of all the practice principles and processes you ever wanted to know, produced by Department of Internal Affairs.
- www.sparc.org.nz is another good site for practical resources. Have a look at the research on volunteer motivation.
- Hook into the website of your local Volunteer centre to keep up with the play in your area.
- When you want to know details of the regulatory environment most Government Agencies are really helpful re conditions for volunteers.
Other useful stuff
- http://www.baudville.com/epraise/epgrp/1 - for free e-cards to say thank you to volunteers.
- http://www.idealist.org/en/vmrc/professionaldevelopment/index.html - here you will find just about everything you want to know for training in professional development.
- Go to www.energizeinc.com/art/subj/field.html to find a heap of useful references and resources on professional development.
- http://www.cvacert.org - I really like the certification programme offered on this site because it is experience-based rather than instructional. You will also find here an internationally approved code of ethics.
- www.oursharedresources.com The true spirit of volunteerism is found on this site, where you can download (for free!) templates for just about everything you need for running your volunteer programme.
- Want to see how you fit in a profile of NZ managers of volunteers? Have a look at Management Matters: Who Managers New Zealand’s Volunteers? Newly published research from Victoria University, available at http://www.victoria.ac.nz/fca/research-services/volunteer-management-research.aspx.
Recommended from Posts:
At http://www.bettystallings.com/ideas.htm you will find a salutary reminder to appreciate staff for their support of your volunteer programme. Better still, download a pdf.doc on 12 Key Actions of Volunteer Program Champions: CEOs Who Lead the Way – every organisation should have a copy.
Mahi Aroha: Maori Perspectives on Volunteering and Cultural Obligations is a good intoduction to volunteering in a Maori context (available via www.ocvs.govt.nz.)
Turn Your Organisation into a Volunteer Magnet (2nd edition (2007), published by Andy Fryar, Rob Jackson & Fraser Dyer, Adelaide and London. Available for free download at http://www.oursharedresources.com/Compilation/ViewCompilation/34?AccessCode=MAGNET
Michelle Wanwimolruk said,
April 22, 2013 at 5:32 am
Great stuff Sue. I really like this site/ your blog.