The Decision to Volunteer
I got a sneak peak!
ASAE and the Center for Association Leadership surveyed 26,305 association members to identify how they volunteer, where they do it - and why they do it.
The Decision to Volunteer is the resulting book and goes on sale this Saturday.
I received an advance copy – and thought I’d share a sneak peak at some of their findings with you.
- The document is heaven for folks who like to read charts.
- They’ve cross analyzed their data by age, geography, gender and more.
Interestingly, age did not determine whether or not a person volunteered.
- People at all ages are volunteering.
- If you don’t have younger volunteers, their age is not to blame.
(Hmm… does this mean lack of volunteers might have something to do with your chapter - and their experience?)
Listed below are some of their key findings - and the bullets reflect what we’ve been talking about in our discussions here.
1. People volunteer based on values.
- Volunteers want to be part of something bigger than themselves.
- As leaders you need to be able to identify their hot buttons
- And make your opportunities relevant to move your mission forward.
2. Personally asking is the most powerful way to get new volunteers.
- And is even more effective when you hit their hot button with the ask.
3. Meaningful experiences keep volunteers coming back.
- Time wasted = volunteers lost.
- As a leader, your job is to create meaningful experiences for others.
4. The importance of “ad hoc” volunteers.
- Your typical committee or board involvement may be a bridge too far based on personal schedules.
- Your leadership reputation impacts enthusiasm for major commitment.
- To maximize outreach, you need a variety of volunteer options that are still meaningful - and do not require a long-term commitments.
5. People view volunteering as a benefit of membership.
- This is why the martyr mentality no longer works.
- Martyrs deny others the opportunity to get involved!
6. Organizational structure can support or discourage volunteering.
- As a potential volunteer, I need to know how I can get involved.
- I need more than last minute notice.
- As a volunteer I need a quality experience
- I also need to feel like my effort mattered and is appreciated.
Personally I’m thrilled with the research findings – they are in line with what I’ve been saying for more than ten years.
- All my chapter leader books have addressed these issues.
- Including my first book for chapter leaders, How to Turn Generation Me into Active Members of Your Association.
- As well as my new book, The Lazy Leader’s Guide to Outrageous Results (Due out this January.)
The Decision to Volunteer is a thought-provoking read.
What’s the next step?
Associations and chapters need to do is make a commitment to developing all their leaders from the President and board to the committee chairs and future leaders.
- The data reinforces the fact many chapter leaders need a new awareness - and support in learning new skills - to be more attractive to today’s volunteers.
- If I have a rotten committee experience, it is my chapter experience.
- Just training incoming presidents is not enough.
Every chapter needs to find ways to help their leaders learn the new skills
- You may do it internally
- You can join the Chapter Leaders Playground as an organization.
- (Dues for 200 members is less than $1/year/person - and membership includes 40+ webinars!)
Those who choose to ignore these new demands on leaders will be struggling even more as we move forward to 2010.
The difference between a surplus of volunteers and a lack of volunteers is well-trained leaders at all levels of your chapter.
Makes me think of chapter leaders…What is your chapter doing to train your current and future leaders? Is your current approach to training working? Do you have a surplus of volunteers? If not, what are you doing about it?
Filed under: Getting More Members Involved, Volunteers | 1 Comment »
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