The book that *must* be on the nonprofit leader bookshelf
08:04, 12 November 2010
.. Posted in Volunteerism and Volunteer Management0 trackbacks
.. Link
It's the book that set the course for how I approach volunteer program management.
It's From the Top Down: The Executive Role in Successful Volunteer Involvement, by Susan Ellis, and the third edition is now available.
In my opinion, the book is mandatory reading by managers of volunteer programs, no matter what the context -- from an animal shelter to a fire house to a school to a women's shelter to a state park and absolutely everything in between -- as well as by executive staff to whom these managers report. If you run a nonprofit organization, you need this book.
This book remains the strongest, most compelling argument for executive level support for volunteer involvement at any organization. Because the reality is that, no matter how great the manager of a volunteer program is, that program will NEVER reach its potential without real support at the executive level -- support as in real resources (office space, meeting space, computers, volunteer management training for staff) and real recognition (much more than a mention on the web site and in the annual report saying "... and it wouldn't have been possible without volunteers").
From the book:
"Too many volunteer involvement efforts suffer from "benign neglect." Top executives consider volunteers nice but not essential... volunteer initiatives languish from a lack of high expectations, volunteers are stopped from having substantial impact and from achieving their fullest productivity. The unfortunate fact is that more volunteers are underutilized than are overburdened."
Some people find the title off-putting, since "bottom up" practice has been a buzz phrase for some time. Susan's book does not dispute the importance of bottom-up program development -- in fact, in many ways, this book is a call for senior level management to support bottom-up development and involvement of volunteers. Rather, its purpose is to help those who work with volunteers to be able to educate their organization's senior management to give real support to volunteers, beyond just lip service. It helps such in-house advocates to encourage senior management to look at the benefits of involving volunteers beyond "money saved in paying staff" and volunteer numbers.
It's not just a lecture book; there are practical tips to help you transform the way your entire organization -- your employees, your donors, even your volunteers themselves -- thinks about and engages with its volunteers.
Trackback
