Article Learning 2 min read

Volunteer Management: Reframe Your Resources

When your volunteer management inventory seems a little low, think in terms of what you do have, not what you don’t. Also: Why it’s important to instill a sense of mission into your new employees.

Ernie Smith

December 7, 2016

Heads up: this content is over 5 years old, so some information may be out of date.

“Making decisions from a place of lack will keep you stuck in the status quo. Instead, reframe your concerns from a place of abundance.”

The nonprofit blog Twenty Hats suggests  (opens in a new tab) that if resources at your nonprofit are feeling a little strained, it might help to reframe your thinking.

The website’s Elisa Kosarin offers suggestions for how to get past “scarcity thinking,” particularly about your volunteers. If you always focus on your limitations—on your time, your budget, or your volunteer resources—you’re more likely to work to preserve what you have rather than push for the smart investments your organization needs.

“When we value our time, our well-being, and our judgment, we do a better job of making the case to spend or invest in anything important to our work,” she writes. “Climbing out of scarcity has more to do with our outlook than it does with our program’s wallet.”

Inspire Your New Employees

Best Practices for Onboarding New Staff – https://t.co/OSnEpMwu2x  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) pic.twitter.com/MLR5k8Dh4W  (opens in a new tab)

— MemberClicks (@MemberClicks) December 7, 2016  (opens in a new tab)

Onboarding a new employee? The MemberClicks blog breaks down the importance of instilling a sense of mission in your new hire.

“See, when employees don’t know how to do their job or what they’re working towards to begin with, they get frustrated and contemplate leaving,” they write. Check out the post for more thoughts  (opens in a new tab).

Other Links of Note

The problem of fake news may meet its match in the form of machine learning. The Verge reports that Facebook has patented a new tool  (opens in a new tab) that appears well suited for stopping the spread of misleading information.

Trying to get volunteers involved in your social media outreach? It’s all about coordination. At Frank J. Kenny’s blog, Christina Green offers some tips for building such coordinated efforts  (opens in a new tab).

Need a little motivation going into 2017? This post from Metal Treating Institute CEO Tom Morrison  (opens in a new tab) might do the trick.

(Moodboard/Thinkstock)

Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now.