The Institute For Conservation Leadership
Is your volunteer workforce “2.0?”
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Resource Type:
Articles
Topic:
Volunteers The Network, Spring 2011
Volunteers are the foundation upon which the environmental movement has grown and thrived. Whether your organization has a large, paid staff or is largely a volunteer-driven effort, robust nonprofits cannot ignore the contribution of this dedicated (and cost-effective!) workforce.
While a perfect world might consist of plentiful, eager volunteers doing the hands-on work of environmental protection, the face of that workforce—the who/what/when/where/why behind volunteering—is changing dramatically. Reaching the vibrant volunteer workforce of today's world requires new strategies, or moving from what we like to call “1.0” thinking to “2.0.”
Why? Because the economic downturn, retirement of baby-boomers, and influence of social and other online media have dramatically changed the reasons for volunteering, as well as the demographics of who will be knocking on your door and how they will reach you.
To better understand this new paradigm, ICL has released a new report, Volunteerism 2.0: Skilled Volunteers Bring New Talent to Organizations.
Enhancing your volunteer workforce
Putting our 20 years of leadership experience together with real-life stories from conservation organizations around the country, ICL staff came to a new understanding of this changing face of volunteerism. This dynamic workforce—young people who are plugged in to a variety of media, older people nearing retirement with a wealth of wisdom and experience, workers whose job situation has shifted and are looking for new fields to pursue—offers a variety of additional volunteer possibilities as well as very real challenges.
“2.0” thinking begins by asking the right questions. Are you reaching the volunteers you want to reach? Are you using them in the most effective way—one that enriches their experience as well as their commitment to your organization’s long-term goals? Does your organization embrace volunteerism at all levels?
Some of the tips below will get you started. Download a copy of Volunteering 2.0: Skilled Volunteers Bring New Talent to Organizations from our website (it’s free!), and start the process of building a new volunteer workforce for change in your organization.