A final comment on International Volunteer Managers Day 2010 via an open letter to many.

Dear IVMD committee

Thank you for your tireless work year in and year out in your efforts to have the profession of Volunteer Management recognised and understood. All of you, volunteers, deserve the respect and praise that is rightly yours. Don’t give up on your cause because there are many people behind you. While I may be vocal in my support please understand that some may not have the confidence or indeed time to express their support.

Dear people who are ideologically opposed to the day and have publically engaged in the debate while still demonstrating their support for Volunteer Management

Thank you for your support of Volunteer Management. Thank you for engaging in healthy debate and I look forward to more discussion with you in 2011!

Dear Media

Once again you were totally absent! However I acknowledge that the Volunteer Management sector and the Volunteerism sector are to blame for this. We need to work harder collectively to spread the message

Dear Facebook

Credit must go to you for allowing a forum to spread this global message

Dear Volunteering Australia

You are the peak body for volunteering in my country. You do some great work. Yet the perception I and others have is that you totally “dissed” this day. As a volunteer Manager who is passionate about my job and volunteering, I was hurt by this. If my perception is wrong please correct me. But I simply appeal to you to drop the politics and embrace the day for the good of unity in volunteerism. One day VA will celebrate the day. Why not now? Please don’t give me material for another blog next year!

Dear AAVA

My professional association for volunteer management in Australia. A mere mention of IVMD on your website doesn’t cut it. Please see my “Dear Volunteering Australia “ comment above and please be more vocal for my profession! Perhaps you are making strides to support our sector but we need to know this. We need to see some evidence of this. Please be louder in championing our cause AAVA.

Dear Senator Ursula Stephens

Thank you for moving a motion in support of our sector in the Australian senate!

Dear Volunteering Calgary

Your YouTube video inspired Volunteer Managers globally!

Dear Fingal Volunteer Centre

Your support for Volunteer Management stands out internationally! You inspire me!

Dear e-volunteerism

Thank you for your offer to Volunteer Managers globally with free access to your site for a period! A tangible recognition award for VMs globally! Great vision!

Dear state peak bodies for volunteering

Thank you to the state peak bodies in Australia who organized events for Volunteer Managers in their states. You know who you are! The ones who didn’t bother? We hope you try harder next year. You know who you are!

Dear everybody else who supported the day globally!

Thank you from a Volunteer Manager!

And finally

Dear Volunteer Managers, Coordinators, :eaders Administrators etc. who celebrated the day..

Hope it was fun! Hope you felt valued! Hope you continue with your brilliant profession and hope you continue to spread the IVMD word!

One day IVMD will be globally recognised for what it is…

Long live volunteerism and those who are leaders and managers and coordinators within the field!

Thank you IVM Day (with apologies to Abba)

Today is special, in fact it’s a little bit more
You could celebrate, you've probably done it before
For you have a talent, a wonderful thing
The value to communities you bring
Of this day we are proud
All I want is to sing it out loud

So I say
Thank you IVM Day, the tune your singing
Thanks for all the joy your bringing
Where were we without it, I ask in all honesty
What would we be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you IVM Day
For giving this to me

Think recognition and IVM Day walks the walk
It uses “our sectors important” kind of talk
And I’m often thankful that it came to be
For our jobs real importance is plain to see
I’m glad the day began
And, whenever it was, I'm a fan

So I say
Thank you IVM Day, the tune your singing
Thanks for all the joy your bringing
Where were we without it, I ask in all honesty
What would we be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you IVM Day
For giving this to me

We’ve been so lucky, It is the day with plenty cheer
I wanna sing it out to everybody
What a joy, what a life, what a chance!

So I say
Thank you IVM Day, the tune your singing
Thanks for all the joy your bringing
Where were we without it, I ask in all honesty
What would we be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you IVM Day
For giving this to me

Thank you IVM Day
For giving this to me...

Reflection on Blog in the lead up to International Volunteer Managers Day

In March of this year I set up this blog. In the week that brings us International Volunteer Managers Day I want to reflect on the blog itself.

I truly wanted to have a forum where I could have a say about the profession that I love. I hoped that some people might come here and have a read of my views and perhaps engage in some dialogue about Volunteer management.

Being new to blogging I had no idea what to expect. I am a volunteer manager at the coalface and enjoy working every day with a great team of volunteers. I also happen to be privileged to work with and have as colleagues some great volunteer coordinators and managers who share my vision for the sector.

At some point yesterday the 3,000th unique visitor visited this site.

Perhaps this is small considering what other blog sites attract in a day not to mind 7 months.

But for a humble blogger like myself I am astounded. Truly.

Thank you for visiting this blog. At the end of the day I want to get more people engaged with the issues and challenges we face in volunteerism.

Now to get more people responding and answering polls!

However – by being here in the first place you are engaging! Thank you for sharing the journey with me.

What International Volunteer Managers Day can help us achieve!

Here’s one that crept under my radar

According to Pro Bono News on October 27th

“more than 2300 Not for Profit professionals in 10 countries,. including Australia and New Zealand, have shared their management strategies, as global software provider, Blackbaud releases its 2010 Global State of the Nonprofit Industry Survey. The State of the Nonprofit Industry (SONI) Survey is a global report covering general operations, fundraising, technology and Internet usage, and accountability and stewardship. Responses were received from 2,383 individuals in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.”

You can read about it yourself by posting this link

http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2010/10/retaining-staff-and-donors-key-aussie-nfps

The article titled “Retaining Staff and Donors Key for Aussie NFPs” is an interesting read in itself but from a volunteer management point of view it got me thinking after I read one of the four global trends have emerged from the data of the survey. Here’s the one that drew my attention

“Fundraising is emerging as a widely-recognized profession around the globe. The vast majority of NFPs around the world are expecting to increase their investment in fundraising staff, according to the SONI survey. It is clear that fundraising is no longer someone’s “part-time” responsibility. Techniques and data are becoming more complex, and the rate of change is increasing. What was once mostly art is rapidly becoming science, requiring new tools and techniques, partnerships, and better skilled staff.”

In the week that brings us International Volunteer Managers Day, could we not mirror that point about fundraising? Perhaps not. Could you put your hand on your heart and honestly say that Volunteer Management is emerging as a widely recognized profession around the globe? I personally would say no – that’s not the case but I acknowledge that some hard work is being done in various pockets to achieve this. I certainly don’t think Volunteer Management is a widely recognized profession in Australia. Yet.

When will we see written “The vast majority of NFPs around the world are expecting to increase their investment in Volunteer management staff” Let me know when you see instances of that if you don’t mind?

Can we say now with confidence that it is clear that volunteer management is no longer someone’s “part-time” responsibility? Nope – I don’t think we can claim that either.

Does Volunteer management require new tools and techniques, partnerships and better skilled staff? You betcha! And a recent survey on Volunteer management in the UK said as much. Look at the language used here when the profession of fundraising is used. It is apparent that the profession is valued.

In the week that brings us International Volunteer Managers Day I believe that our sector should be reflecting on these things. This is the real meaning of IVMD for me. An opportunity to reflect on the profession I care about.


IVMD, in my opinion will thrive if it is utilized to challenge us to talk up our profession and take an honest look at where we, within the volunteerism sector, are falling down in relation to volunteer management.