I’ve always wanted to see a shareable pamphlet entitled “Volunteer Management, The Cliffs Notes.” It would list all the things we want organizations and senior management to know about volunteers and volunteer management. Here’s 10 of them:

10.Volunteers do not sit by their phones waiting for us to call. We don’t just “order up” when staff asks for eight volunteers who can work twelve-hour shifts, outside, tomorrow at 8 am. No one wishes it were that easy more than we, volunteer managers. Take volunteer Charles for example. Asking him to volunteer at the last minute when he has a job, other volunteering activities, managing his elderly mother’s affairs, and a family is unrealistic. He can’t drop everything to help us. It takes a wise volunteer manager to know how to sustain volunteers’ involvement so that volunteers are not overwhelmed and look forward to coming in to help.

9.