Such a topical question and a conversation I've already had twice this week with different colleagues! At Marie Curie UK, we have this to an extent through Chairs of fundraising groups but is something we're keen to explore so would love to hear what others are doing - we recently contributed to some research re lead volunteer roles in fundraising and looking forward to hearing those results.
It was Guide Dogs who contacted us, we're hoping they'll come along and share their findings at a Fundraising Volunteer Managers network meeting as really interested to find out what lead roles are already out there and how they are working.
Thanks so much for your thoughts on this subject Rob. Some much great food for thought and some robust reasons why we can and should involve volunteers in leadership and management. I agree with you, but have struggled to articulate the reasons why as well as you! I'm hoping to trial something in this area early next year. Thanks again.
Interesting question, volunteer lead roles is something I've built in to several volunteer programmes, as well as all the reasons already mentioned it also gives the volunteer a progression route within the organisation.
Having worked in organisations that engaged volunteers either with specific skills and/or qualifications or trained them for key roles, the volunteer leadership framework was imperative and worked very well. Some staff could feel threatened by volunteers more skilled and experienced than they were and for example some refused to be trained or led by a volunteer. As the Head of Volunteering I emphasised that without the volunteers the o organisation couldn’t deliver its aims without the volunteers in all the roles and was in awe of the things the volunteers did, especially in emergency situations. Also admire how creative they can be E.g. fundraising, using technology, marketing etc. What would you rather have -a manager with little experience and knowledge ( apart from being a manager in the particular organisation) or a volunteer who was qualified, skilled, knowledgeable and experienced?
The volunteers have respected my role, the authority to make key decisions and understood the boundaries and limits of what they could do. In some cases more than staff colleagues! I was lucky enough to work with fantastic volunteers over my 40 + year career, many of whom led, co-ordinated, recruited, trained and supported other volunteers (many in groups/teams) in many roles across the country. One of the things I’ve always loved about managing volunteers is the freedom to create new roles, creating pathways for development, progression and embracing new opportunities E.g. during the pandemic all the changes, online/Zoom/virtual/digital champions and learning new things along the way. Volunteers rock! And good, passionate VMs facilitate it all for them 😁
Such a topical question and a conversation I've already had twice this week with different colleagues! At Marie Curie UK, we have this to an extent through Chairs of fundraising groups but is something we're keen to explore so would love to hear what others are doing - we recently contributed to some research re lead volunteer roles in fundraising and looking forward to hearing those results.
Who is leading that research Jenn, can you say?
It was Guide Dogs who contacted us, we're hoping they'll come along and share their findings at a Fundraising Volunteer Managers network meeting as really interested to find out what lead roles are already out there and how they are working.
Thanks so much for your thoughts on this subject Rob. Some much great food for thought and some robust reasons why we can and should involve volunteers in leadership and management. I agree with you, but have struggled to articulate the reasons why as well as you! I'm hoping to trial something in this area early next year. Thanks again.
Please let me know how you get on Janice, and if I can be of any help, please get in touch.
Interesting question, volunteer lead roles is something I've built in to several volunteer programmes, as well as all the reasons already mentioned it also gives the volunteer a progression route within the organisation.
Having worked in organisations that engaged volunteers either with specific skills and/or qualifications or trained them for key roles, the volunteer leadership framework was imperative and worked very well. Some staff could feel threatened by volunteers more skilled and experienced than they were and for example some refused to be trained or led by a volunteer. As the Head of Volunteering I emphasised that without the volunteers the o organisation couldn’t deliver its aims without the volunteers in all the roles and was in awe of the things the volunteers did, especially in emergency situations. Also admire how creative they can be E.g. fundraising, using technology, marketing etc. What would you rather have -a manager with little experience and knowledge ( apart from being a manager in the particular organisation) or a volunteer who was qualified, skilled, knowledgeable and experienced?
The volunteers have respected my role, the authority to make key decisions and understood the boundaries and limits of what they could do. In some cases more than staff colleagues! I was lucky enough to work with fantastic volunteers over my 40 + year career, many of whom led, co-ordinated, recruited, trained and supported other volunteers (many in groups/teams) in many roles across the country. One of the things I’ve always loved about managing volunteers is the freedom to create new roles, creating pathways for development, progression and embracing new opportunities E.g. during the pandemic all the changes, online/Zoom/virtual/digital champions and learning new things along the way. Volunteers rock! And good, passionate VMs facilitate it all for them 😁