Presented by AVA "dialogue"...Voices from the Field https://www.avaintl.org/profession/voices.html [Vol. 9, March-April 2004] "dialogue" is a free, on-line monthly publication of the Association for Volunteer Administration, the international professional organization promoting excellence in the effective management of volunteer resources. The "dialogue" series is funded under a generous grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The series provides AVA the opportunity to dialogue with authors, advocates, and leaders across multiple sectors about the profession of volunteer resources management and our mutual goals to build a more engaged and sustainable society. In keeping with its name, this publication was created by AVA to stimulate thought and discussion, and to present viewpoints to practitioners from thoughtful individuals they may not otherwise hear from on this topic. Please feel free to forward "dialogue" on to your colleagues, executive directors of nonprofit organizations and other nonprofit advocates whom you believe would value its content. ********** "dialogue"...Voices from the Field Between July and October 2003, nearly 100 AVA members and other advocates of effective volunteering completed a six-item survey on the state of the volunteer resources management profession. Respondents completed surveys via the Internet and on-site during the 2003 International Conference on Volunteer Administration held in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. In a content analysis of the 96 responses, two themes surfaced as being critical to the future viability of the profession: education and public awareness, or promotion, of the profession. This issue of dialogue reports the outcomes of the survey and shares some of the respondents' insights. The survey results, along with the implementation of AVA's comprehensive strategic planning initiative currently underway, add to a growing body of information that will help to influence and shape the future direction of AVA and, by extension, the profession. ********** Defining Opportunities for Advancement ________________________________________________________ Survey Findings The top three opportunities or strategies to advance the volunteer resources management profession over the next decade are...(rounded to the nearest %) 1. Education/professional development 26% 2. Public awareness/promotion 19% 3. Credentialing/certification 15% ________________________________________________________ Education is clearly a complex and comprehensive issue for the profession. It encompasses a perceived need for greater professional development for practitioners, ranging from developing higher education courses and academic and/or certificate programs for practitioners, to enhancing both the value of and opportunities for professional credentialing or certification. Although the number of "how to" resources and a cadre of trainers and consultants are accessible through a variety of outlets, survey responses indicated that practitioners want their professional association to provide a comprehensive repository of "one-stop" training and development information or opportunities for both newcomers and veterans alike. Further, respondents expressed great difficulty separating the need for enhanced education or professional development from the need for greater public awareness. Many people indicated that one opportunity (education/professional development or credentialing) could not be achieved without the other (public awareness/promotion). Expanding Stakeholder Understanding & Volunteer Markets... Although it did not emerge among the top three responses, increasing understanding of the profession and buy-in among both funders and executive directors was cited by 13% of respondents as essential to a viable future. Another 13% also identified the need to expand engagement opportunities for DOVIAs (Directors of Volunteers in Agencies) and AVA Affiliates, and to expand volunteer opportunities throughout the sector for young people, families, baby boomers, and early retirees. These findings reinforce the consensus within AVA about the importance of education and public awareness, and indicate that both top-down and bottom-up approaches are required to implement these advancement strategies. Remaining answers to this survey item clustered around the need to increase research and evaluation efforts, funding, and passion for the profession, and how to promote or reframe volunteer resources management as a function of overall human resources management within the nonprofit sector. ________________________________________________________ Survey Responses As a profession, we need to... "Promote higher education developing this field as a for-credit line of study at the graduate level" "Show how social accounting can reveal the true value of volunteer effort and the attendant need for professional management and accountability" ________________________________________________________ Framing Future Challenges ________________________________________________________ Survey Findings The top three challenges to the future of the volunteer resources management profession over the next decade are...(rounded to the nearest %) 1. Money/limited resources 18% 2. Lack of vision & expertise within the profession 12% & Limited public awareness about the profession 12% 3. Lack of executive director's support 10% ________________________________________________________ There is little surprise that "money/limited resources" emerged as the most frequently cited challenge to the profession. Volunteer resources management is traditionally under-funded and under-supported within many nonprofit organizations. The ability to implement public awareness activities on a large-scale basis is also greatly impacted by having limited resources. Significant public awareness work could be done, however, at little to no cost at the local level...one organization or one volunteer resources manager at a time. Consistently executed grassroots activities could also seed the ground for a more effective "top down" education and public awareness initiative by AVA and other national volunteer development or volunteer management organizations. Several survey respondents commented that a menu of AVA-sponsored resources and materials would be useful in helping them to articulate or validate their role. The perceived lack of vision and general expertise within the profession poses a unique challenge to the profession. A perceived lack of expertise could result from a desire for greater training and professional development opportunities, particularly for newcomers and other professionals in the early stages of their career. It could also stem from a perception that turnover in the field yields few long-term veterans in the profession. Further research and exploration is needed to determine the basis of this response. Several respondents suggested, however, that a clearly articulated vision from AVA for the future of the profession would help to attract new members, increase public awareness, and energize practitioners around the globe to work toward a unifying goal. ________________________________________________________ Survey Responses "We have to get out of the loop that constrains and defines us by our 'challenges.' It's time to practice what we preach...and step into the void and w-o-r-k our way out of the box we're in." "We've got to set a big goal and work to make it happen." ________________________________________________________ Developing Sustainable Strategies & Alliances Education, membership development and expansion, and raising public awareness emerged as the top three strategies respondents feel AVA should pursue to make the profession more sustainable over the next five years. Each of these three strategies garnered 15% of the total responses. Other five-year strategies receiving a critical mass of responses included: - Fiscal management and performance measurement 6% - Increasing diversity within both the profession and volunteer markets 6% - Social entrepreneurship/developing funding opportunities 4% ________________________________________________________ Survey Responses "What are we paying for now that we could get sponsored or run by volunteers?" "What products and services could we sell on behalf of our organizations that would also help educate people about our role?" ________________________________________________________ Allies & Alliances...Respondents were also clear about the alliances and relationships they want their professional organization to strengthen over the next five years. People identified a host of new, or expanded, relationships and alliances that AVA should develop within a target market of professional associations, business organizations, and grant-making or philanthropic organizations. Respondents also expressed the desire to strengthen the network and partnership with DOVIAs, AVA affiliates, and other volunteer-development organizations. ________________________________________________________ Allies & Alliances to Build Over the Next Five Years... (rounded to the nearest %) National/international organizations 26% Higher education/research-based organizations 17% DOVIAs & other volunteer-development organizations 15% Corporate volunteer councils/corporate sector 14% Other "miscellaneous" organizations 13% Government 11% Faith-based organizations 4% ________________________________________________________ Building Capacity & Bridges to the Future ________________________________________________________ Survey Findings The best ways to build capacity within the profession are to...(rounded to the nearest %) Partner with higher education 21% Expand membership opportunities/professional development 19% Increase public awareness 13% Promote certification 9% ________________________________________________________ Once again, the importance of education resonated among respondents, with the distinction of higher education surfacing as the best way for AVA and the profession to build capacity. The importance of higher education in the survey results seems to point to a call - or perhaps an outcry - for volunteer resources management to be recognized as a field that is worthy of being studied, or affirmed by the academic community. This response was followed closely by a desire for expanded member development and professional development efforts. Several individuals suggested that one way to build capacity and develop the membership would be to provide consulting teams and mentors for new members to help shorten their learning curve and accelerate professionalism in the field. One respondent indicated that consulting teams could greatly assist the membership in the area of performance assessment and conducting relevant research about the profession and its impact in organizations and communities. Respondents believe that having a research- and performance-based foundation from which to explore volunteering and the impact of effective volunteer involvement would also help to attract the attention and partnership of the higher education community. Survey responses also indicated that practitioners believe a comprehensive, long-term, targeted public awareness effort will be needed to draw the attention of higher education, expand membership, and promote certification and other professional development opportunities. Capturing "Who We Are..." Developing the language to convey the passion, performance, and potential of the profession is no small feat. As many respondents indicated on the last survey item, "who we are" is a challenging question to address, and to answer. "Who we are" includes the committed professionals who either "fell into" the profession as well as those who chose it. "Who we are" counts both the practitioners for whom volunteer management is a full-time endeavor, and those who find the duties and responsibilities added to their job descriptions. "Who we are" covers the gamut of volunteer resources managers and encompasses a broad spectrum of nonprofit organizations, government agencies or entities, other professional associations, political parties and campaigns, schools, hospitals and other healthcare settings, sports or artistic organizations and events, civic groups, community-based foundations, and other philanthropic or research-based organizations. "Who we are" includes anyone who is committed to effective volunteering, and volunteer resources management. Given the size of the nonprofit sector, and the parameters of "who we are", the potential membership base and impact of AVA in the global environment is staggering. Meeting the volunteer resources management needs of the twenty-first century requires AVA to provide a clear and easily understood answer to the question of "who we are." That message, or response, is still under construction. These "voices from the field," certainly acknowledge the challenges facing both AVA and the profession, yet there is the strong sense in reading the surveys that failure to overcome these challenges is simply not an option. After all, as one respondent summed it up, volunteer resources managers are "practitioners of hope for a better world, and a brighter tomorrow." Perhaps one day soon that sentiment will represent a global vision every volunteer resources manager can rally around. ________________________________________________________ Survey Findings We are... "cultivators of spirit and soul" "dedicated to volunteers, and effective volunteering" "helping to shape communities through volunteering" "social and humanitarian practitioners" "responsible for successful, satisfying volunteer experiences" "community advocates" "practitioners of hope for a better world, and a brighter tomorrow" ________________________________________________________ AVA wishes to extend its sincere thanks to the Canadian Administrators of Volunteer Resources for their support and partnership in conducting the "Voices from the Field" survey. ********** Did you find this "dialogue" informative? Would you like to know more? AVA would love to hear from you, so let us know what you think: dialogue@always-write.com ********** Do you know someone who might find this "dialogue" valuable? Forward this article to a friend or colleague: https://www.avaintl.org/profession/archives.html ********** In the next "dialogue"...AVA interviews author and consultant Peter Block. Mr. Block is the author of "Flawless Consulting", "The Empowered Manager", "Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest", and "The Answer to How is Yes: Acting on What Matters Most", which won the 2002 Independent Book Publisher Award for Business Breakthrough Book of the Year. [May-June 2004] ********** Privacy Policy: Your privacy is important to us. Any personal information collected for the purpose of subscribing or unsubscribing to the "dialogue" mailing list will not be rented, leased, sold, or otherwise disclosed to any third parties. Use the following link to subscribe to our mailing list and receive e-mail notification of future "dialogue" publications: https://www.avaintl.org/profession/subscribe.html If you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please use the following link to unsubscribe: https://www.avaintl.org/profession/unsubscribe.html Already a subscriber and need to update your email address? 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