Archive for the "Volunteers" Category

  • The Elephant in the Board Room

    Board members and fundraising. Uh, oh! Here it comes – the deer-in-the-headlights look. Board members don’t really know what is expected of them. Staff members wish they’d just get on with it. In so many cases it doesn’t seem to be working.
    I’ve been there. About eight years ago I saw an article called The Myth of the Fundraising Board. It argued that very few boards actually did fundraising, so we might as well just… Read the rest

  • Of Crisis, Caring and Creativity

    After a lifetime of working in the charity sector, I unexpectedly found myself in need. And I discovered a seemingly infinite pool of people and organizations willing to help at a moment’s notice. As my children and I escaped the Fourmile Canyon Fire with dog and photos in tow, my husband fought the fire around the clock as a member of the Sugar Loaf Volunteer Fire Department. Our home still stands, but those of many… Read the rest

  • Too Much of a Good Thing?

    Here’s something you probably already suspected. Last year, volunteering had its biggest increase in six years. According to an annual report compiled by the public-private Corporation for National and Community Service, 1.6 million more Americans volunteered in 2009 than did in 2008. You can also check out this story in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
    If you’re on the front lines of social service, you don’t just suspect this trend, you have experienced the… Read the rest