Stop Treating Everyone Equally!

Exceptional volunteer experiences account for the uniqueness of each person, and their reasons for volunteering in the first place. Whether you are managing your company's Employee Volunteer Program as part of the overall CSR mission, or you are coordinating volunteers at an NPO, you have to avoid one of the worst mistakes you can make - trying to treat everyone equally.

Quick Review

A month ago I began writing about How To Offer A Great Volunteer Experience. A month can be a long time in blogland, so here’s a little recap:

First, we established the need to automate as much of the volunteer process of recruiting, screening, job assignments and evaluation as possible. Most NPO’s don’t have dedicated Volunteer Managers and even if they do, standard Volunteer Management Theory acts as a bottle neck in many cases.

Next, we covered meeting the volunteer where they are at. Our positions require us to maintain the perspective of a realist and admit that if volunteers don’t ‘get it’ that’s not their problem - its ours. Provide experiences that create the space in people to learn. That’s the job, nothing less.

Finally, we covered the idea of meeting people at their Highest Level of Contribution. This means paying attention to who people are, rather than seeing them as a sack of experience and skill sets for the organization’s purposes. People are desperate for meaning. If you can align yours with theirs, the convergence of those horizons will transform your volunteer programs.

In the coming weeks we will discuss demoting your staff to grow your resources exponentially, and how to avoid becoming myopic by focusing too narrowly on your clients, or your “primary audience.”

But right now we need to talk about the problem of equality.

The problem of equality

The most destructive part of any volunteer program is not poor planning, unclear job descriptions, late emails, or even lousy recognition programs. Rather, it is the tendency to treat everyone equally. Giving each volunteer equal ‘say’, equal privilege, equal responsibility and equal recognition will kill enthusiasm and create insurmountable obstacles for people.

(the rest of the article)

Of course, the ideology of social equality is necessary for societies to achieve greatness. Offering equal rights to all people is essentially non-negotiable in developed nations today. Although here in Canada women have only been allowed to vote for the past 90 years, today the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1985) is a formidable legal document ensuring equality under the law. “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. “ One of the best known proclamations of equality is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, with Jefferson, cribbing a bit from British philosopher John Locke , stating, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ Unfortunately, nobody seemed to take the idea seriously until much later when slaves were freed, Native Americans were no longer massacred as part of Manifest Destiny, and again, women were allowed to vote as of the 19th Amendment in 1920. While these developments are encouraging, we find significant societal norms that show how far we remain from operating as a people who believe each other to hold equal value.

The Confusion of Equality and Sameness

The problem I have is not really with equality. The problem is that we often confuse the political and societal ideals of equality with sameness. We believe that everyone should be treated fairly (I agree), that each of us has merit and worth in our own right (I could not agree more) and therefore, everyone should be treated the same (wrong!). Most of the time, when we talk about treating everyone equally, this is the sequence of thinking that goes on in our heads. So when someone shows up to volunteer for the first time, we try to give them the same opportunities, attention, responsibilities and recognition that we do those who have been coming for years. This is a great mistake and here’s why: people are not the same. When it comes to volunteering in particular, they are at various stages of realizing the worth of the opportunity, the cause, and themselves.

The Stages of Realized Worth

There are basically 3 Stages that your volunteers fall into:

1st Stage - The Investigators. As this group investigates, they are generally uninformed and have loose ideas about what they’re looking for. They may dislike the work, they may stop showing up. No problem. They are some of the pool from which you will discover the best of your volunteers.

2nd Stage - The Investing. These folks are after something. They’re still not quite sure what it is, but they have an inkling that you might be offering it. They are beginning to invest in the cause. You may notice them asking asking questions or even complaining a bit (which is an encouraging sign that they’re connecting emotionally.) They need to be seen and heard. Discover them. What are they after? What meaning do they hope to find by volunteering with you? You can recognize them because they have a quirky type of commitment which is mostly dependable.

3rd Stage - The Invested. This group is there for the same reasons healthy people go to the gym. It’s part of their lifestyle, their brand. They believe in your cause and will show themselves to be dependable quickly (just a caution here, it’s easy to get enthusiastic 1st Stage people confused with 3rd Stage stalwart.) Take every effort to hear their ideas and involve them in the work. If they feel they have permission, they are usually power-house recruiters, because they are includers. Depend on them, and they will find the kind of reward they live for. Oh, by the way, you probably only have one or two 3rd Stage people, if any. That’s just the way it goes.

So what does it look like to allow for people’s differences within your organization? What kind of space does each stage require? It may help to imagine yourself in each stage (we all go through them) and consider what your needs may have been at the time...

If you are in the 1st Stage: You require spaces of discovery where you are free to investigate. At this point, pressure and obligation will only hinder you, so long term commitments aren’t really what you’re after. You’re at your best when compelled to ask better questions and go beyond what you’ve always known and believed.

If you are in the 2nd Stage: You need permission to be a little angry and a little confused. You know that committing to this organization is akin to committing to a relationship: If you never get past the infatuation stage to start getting angry, hurt and wounded, then you probably never cared much in the first place. When things don’t matter, things are easy. You are ready for substance and you hope that the organization can prove to you that they’re ready for your investment.

If you are in the 3rd Stage: You need a space brimming with offers of high-level, contributing responsibility. You know they know you’ll take care of the ditch-digging every time, but they respect you too much for that. You need to be treated carefully because, like a long-term relationship, this kind of commitment is rare and fragile - not to be taken lightly.

Working with the Stages of Realized Worth

The 1st Stage is easy to develop and manage and offers tremendous benefits to your recruiting and screening process. It essentially automates much of the Volunteer Management Cycle. You can read more about it in detail in the article “Automatic Volunteer Management: How to Offer a Great Volunteer Experience”. At this stage you will spend a little bit of time with a lot of people. This is a place of discovery for you and the volunteer. Resist the urge to develop, recruit, or retain.
The 2nd Stage is tricky. It can go by quickly, or last for many years. Everyone has unique issues, questions, and reasons for coming to you. When they start asking better questions, showing up with regularity, making themselves more available, or getting a bit difficult to deal with, they are probably working through this stage. Offer answers to questions in the form or training, or further exposure to issues. Better questions are what we are after, so always provide answers knowing that they serve only to take us further down the road of discovery. Classes, assessments, time at a coffee shop, field-trips and introductions to broader networks of people are all helpful spaces for discovery.

The 3rd Stage will consume most of your time and energy, and it should. You will spend most of your time with the fewest number of people. A true 3rd Stage person will pay off in spades for every investment you make. They have moved beyond the need for external constructs like your volunteer program. Drop them anywhere on the planet, and they are such dyed-in-the-wool-sold-out-for-the-cause believers they will invent ways to do what they do. Facilitation is the key word here, along with collaboration. Use their ideas, partner with them, give them what they need, resource them and then let them loose. They will recruit, promote, network, fundraise, whatever - all the time. All. The. Time. And you know why? Because they are doing it for their own reasons - not yours. There is convergence between your needs, the required work, and their needs. All three horizons have merged and now they are operating at their highest level of contribution. The only thing you can do to mess it up, is treat them or talk to them like they are 1st Stage people.

Know your volunteers. People are not the same; they do not function within a formula and they are not children to recognize with gold stars on a chart. The more we treat our people equally, the more likely we are to lose our most valuable stakeholders without ever knowing they were there.

NEXT on How To Offer A Great Volunteer Experience: The most effective key to really take advantage of 3rd Stage people....

DEMOTE YOUR STAFF!
Re-write the job description of every staff member you have. In order to run an excellent volunteer program your staff must see themselves as facilitators of volunteers rather than “bosses” working to get a job done. Staff make it possible for volunteers to do the work, not the other way around.

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According to researchers at Yale, once sustainable practices put in place, a polluted ecosystem will recover within a generation or two.  Which is very good news, even though the study is talking about more, er, traditional forms of pollution, and not about climate change. 

From Yale's website: "The Yale researchers found that forest ecosystems recovered in 42 years on average, while ocean bottoms recovered in less than 10 years. When examined by disturbance type, ecosystems undergoing multiple, interacting disturbances recovered in 56 years, and those affected by either invasive species, mining, oil spills or trawling recovered in as little as five years. Most ecosystems took longer to recover from human-induced disturbances than from natural events, such as hurricanes." 

It's like Jeff Goldblum said in Jurassic Park: life finds a way.

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The tiny Alaskan village of Kivalina is suing 23 of the world's biggest producers of oil and gas, alleging conspiracy to mislead the world about global warming.  Kivalina's own microclimate has changed so dramatically in the past decade that the village is being forced to move from its barrier reef on Alaska's coast, as a lack of sea ice leads to alarmingly quick erosion, carrying the village into the sea. 

This case is reminiscent of the big tobacco lawsuits of the 1990's, which fundamentally altered the relationship of the tobacco companies to society.  This will be an interesting case to follow. 

This news report from Aljazeera is 23 minutes long, but well worth the time.

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We've talked about Carrotmob before.  Here's a video that explains how it works in greater detail, using easy to understand language, and also hip-hop.

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Build Your Jobs Around Your Volunteers

Meeting People at their Highest Level of Contribution


On a beautiful, mid-western morning in Spring, I was enjoying breakfast with my friend, Jay Hein. At the time, Jay was the Executive Director of Civil Society Programs at the Hudson Institute, a ‘think tank’ and public policy research organization in the U.S. I had a lot of respect for his position and experience, thus valued any opportunity to glean a bit of wisdom. A dilemma I was facing at the time was with the number of talented and well-connected people who were leaving the congregation of the church where we both attended, and in which we were highly invested. We had heard the stories of some of these people and had noticed a similarity that would almost be funny - if it weren’t so damn serious. They were bored. Not with the sermon....not with the people or the classes.....But as educated and intellectual men and women, there was simply no appropriate outlet for their talents.

Now, if you know Jay, you understand that when he speaks, you listen. He spent the last two years at the White House as the Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Without question, he’s a smart guy. On that sunny morning at our small breakfast table, Jay defined the problem that had plagued me for months, “Chris,” he said, “we’ve got to meet people at their highest level of contribution.”

With that phrase, “highest level of contribution,” my perspective changed. Rather than try and shape a volunteer around the ill-fitting form of a “need”, fit the “need” to the shape of the volunteer. This way, volunteers find that they are acting out of who they are, and the sense of “becoming” that we’ve spoke of before begins to take place.

Ok, so let’s just pause here for a moment of realism. There are essential roles in every organization that simply need to be filled. We need those roles to enable programs and projects to happen. Volunteers make what we do possible. In fact, in a Whitepaper prepared by LBG Associates “Can Corporate Giving Support The Bottom Line,” the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is cited as estimating that the amount of time Americans spent serving their communities in 2004 may be valued in excess of $58 trillion. We need volunteers if we’re ever going to accomplish our goals. If they’re not feeling challenged enough, if they’re “bored,” we just need to clarify our expectations, specify roles and job descriptions, and provide the support they need to do the jobs we need. Right?

Actually, um....no.

Admittedly, certain types of organizations do need volunteers simply to fill allotted roles. These usually boast a large administrative support staff with access to high numbers of eager volunteers. For example the Vancouver Winter Olympics is in need of some 30,000 volunteers and have received 50,000 applications from around the world. The Toronto International Film Festival, regularly turns hopefuls away who want to give their time. Situations like these aren’t directly applicable to our discussion because of their unique nature. Our focus is on the normative; the long-term struggle.

This “long-term struggle” is where many NPOs are stuck. We want something that works, but we’re not sure where to start. Creating a volunteer experience that meets people at their highest level of contribution takes concentrated effort. It means stepping back and, like most of the elements of “creating a great volunteer experience,” it means reevaluating the basic functions of your program. At times this process can be a challenge, but just wait - the payoff is more than worth it.

The first step is automation (Automatic Volunteer Management: How to Offer A Great Volunteer Experience). This is the method we discussed a few weeks ago. It welcomes people to a “First Stage Experience” where they self-select ‘in’ if they feel a personal connection. We did this by meeting people “where they were at.” We never asked them to be someone other than themselves. At this point, the highest level of contribution had nothing to do with skills, talent, experience or availability. It had everything to do with value. “Do you see the value here? Do you believe in what you can bring to this?” This is the first stage of “realized worth.”

As people connected with the value of the opportunity we were offering them, and returned on a repeated basis, we began to spend more time getting to know them. We wanted to know who they were. We asked questions about their lives, and why they were regularly making the 1/2 hour trip to spend their afternoons with us. We spent some time telling them more about us, the work, and what we believed was important about what we were trying to accomplish. With these questions we began to understand who we could become together. Of course, we eventually got around to discussing what they did for a living, their experience and background, their skills and connections. These ‘doing’ questions always followed ‘being’ questions.

This is the essential departure point between the Realized Worth approach to volunteerism and the typical ‘need bodies to do tasks’ mentality of volunteer management. As we understood who our volunteers were, it became natural and effective to build our positions around the unique talents, life-skills, passions and abilities of each one.

John McKnight of Northwestern University founded an approach known as Asset-Based Community Development and Asset Mapping. He believes that absolutely everyone has something to contribute. These contributions can be arranged into a map of assets. I enthusiastically endorse McKnight’s approach; it is sustainability at its finest. Everyone has a ‘highest level of contribution’, whether you work at the Whitehouse, or you’re illiterate and living in subsidized housing.

Margarite is a beautiful friend of mine. A middle-aged women with a formidable physique and a personality to match, she has lived a colorful and difficult life. Upon our first meeting at the Sunday Suppers in Halifax, I was warned to be careful of her. As if the weekly crowd’s collective fear of crossing her wasn’t enough, her strong street “cred” and even stronger connections virtually flashed a “warning” sign over her head. The second time we met, she marched up to me with a greasy mess of governement-issued papers in one outstretched hand. She announced what the papers were for: I was to document the 1200 hours of community service that she had been ordered to perform. She stated that she planned to serve all 1200 with me at the Sunday Suppers and not only that - I could pick her up on the my way to the City each week and she would help me set up before our guests arrived. Despite my confusion, I agreed. I figured I would speak later to whoever had ‘okayed’ all of this. Turns out no one had - she just decided.

Margarite and I grew to be friends over those 1200 hours of community service. While she was no less trouble than I had been warned to expect, she also proved to have more to give than I dared to predict. Within a year she had move from helping orient new volunteers (in her own unique style), to actually playing supervisory roles with a number of community projects. In one of my finest moments of brilliance (or insanity) I decided to put some of her ‘street smarts’ to use with the people who regularly came in to ask for financial assistance. It was often difficult to decide whether or not the stories of hardship and need were legitimate - a middle class status could render a person a bit naive. Margarite, well, she knew what she was talking about. She had her own stories of winning over the gullible hearts of the financially blessed. So, when the requests came in I happily asked them to wait a sec while I grabbed “the person in charge of that.” Many times, when they saw Margarite walking over they would roll their eyes and shuffle away mumbling something akin to, “forget it.” They knew Margarite could speak their language, and they had heard that she was unassailable in her ability to identify a legitimate request. When we could not offer assistance, she offered alternative solutions for late rent or power bills. More often than not, she would request a higher amount than the individual thought they could ask for because she knew the whole situation.

It was a delight to see Margarite acting at her highest level of contribution. Even Jay Hein, with his education, skills and intelligence, could not do what Margarite did at the Sunday Suppers. Had I never taken the opportunity to get to know Margarite, I wouldn’t have been able to see that she was capable of the roles we ended up giving her. But who she was became clear to us over time and we were able to fit our needs to Margarite’s specific shape. Other needs were fit to other volunteers, based on their unique talents, life skills and passions.

At times the volunteers that come to your organization will easily line up with the current needs. Other times, probably more often than not, the expeditious method for moving the cause forward will not be so direct. It will take the effort to meet people at their highest level of contribution. Pay attention to who your people are, give them a chance to discover the value of the opportunity offered, and maximize the skills, connections and experience they bring. Your priority may simply be to get a job done, and that’s your prerogative. But if you’re after something more, if you want to see your cause succeed in more substantial ways than getting through the day, try meeting people at their highest level of contribution. It’s a vital step on a rewarding path.

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Give The Volunteer What He/She Wants!

Most people don’t actually want to volunteer. Most of us are over-worked, over-stressed, and have obligations far beyond intended human capacity. When we say, “I’ve been thinking of doing some volunteer work,” we usually mean something more along the lines of, “I’ve been thinking about this sense of dissatisfaction that overwhelms my life and I thought volunteering might offer a remedy.”

Of course, as we’ve talked about in earlier discussions, there are a myriad of reasons to volunteer. Several recent studies offered reasons like, “to impress your mom” (Volunteer Match), to have a “feeling of belonging” (Voluntary Action Directorate; Multiculturalism and Citizenship Canada), or to “contribute to a cause in which they believe”(Volunteer Canada).

Often we are simply unclear of our own motivations. In the great scheme of things, however, volunteering is not so much unlike the rest of life....where we are all deeply involved in the great search for meaning.

What is the thing - the issue, the problem, the heartache - that causes a palpable stir in your soul? Do you gravitate toward justice for people; the homeless, the illiterate, the starved and abused? Maybe the recent reports of thousands of whales and dolphins killed in Japan have moved you to tears (Peta), or the ban of energy-wasting light bulbs in Argentina last spring had you celebrating (Greenpeace).

For various psychological, spiritual, sociological and genetic reasons, we each identify with specific “tastes.” The cover-article in this month’s Psychology Today, refers to differences in taste as an opportunity for “interpersonal revelation”; a chance to learn something about who we are. Tastes are poignantly personal. They do not belong to the world, they belong to each one of us and they are meaningful. If you doubt this, try listening to an argument between an environmentalist and an animal rights activist regarding saving whales versus saving trees. No one will win (or ought to win) that discussion.

Our tastes influence our search for meaning. Whatever reasons we may offer for choosing to volunteer, there is, without fail, a plea for some semblance of a solution to our human search. NPOs must know that offering a great volunteer experience requires an effort to understand that people come to us believing we might offer them something that will connect with who they are.

This connection, via the issue your volunteers adhere themselves to, may be quite simple. For example, Nancy had a hankering to hand out religion - in the form of small Bibles. It went something like this:

I stood, facing Nancy, with a stupid, half-grin on my face.
“We should give out Bibles,” she repeated, with the innocence and enthusiasm that you might see on the face of a three-year-old.
“Um, okay.” I said.
“I got a whole box donated, and even though it’s the King James Version, it’s the most updated one,” she pulled out a little paperback edition and handed it to me.
“Um, okay.”
“Good. I’ll bring a couple boxes in before we start and you tell me where to put them, okay?”
“Um, sure. Okay.” I was gaining eloquence.

Okay, so....I guess her perspective wasn’t so difficult to understand. After all, we did hold Sunday Suppers in a church and a good number of our volunteers showed up from the various congregations in the vicinity. Still, Bibles were simply not conducive to our cause. The reasons were simple and I knew them well: 1; Personal religion or faith potentially presents a barrier to community. 2; only a fraction of the people we were serving could read above an elementary level, if at all.

But, still, I said yes. (Or, more accurately, “Um, sure.”)

I suppose “Um, sure” marks a change that had begun to take place in me. Week after week, well-meaning volunteers shared new ideas for making the Suppers bigger and better than ever. And week after week I found myself saying, “yes.” Admittedly, many of the ideas were good...and some were terrible, but that’s not really the point. The point is, when given permission to participate beyond the day’s allotted work, volunteers inadvertently reveal why they show up in the first place. As volunteers learn about themselves, they experience an authentic and unexpected sense of meaning, and thus become the most passionate and invested workers - staff or otherwise.

It takes awhile. I mean, when Nancy handed out the Bibles, and later walked outside to see that our guests were happily using the thin pages as cigarette paper, she was a bit shocked. And disappointed. But this experience was one stepping stone along a path of growth that became invaluable to Nancy.

Our tastes influence our search for meaning. Offering a great volunteer experience requires that we account for both those elements (tastes and meaning). Still, let’s be realistic. When a guy comes to you ready to save the environment, but he’s brand new to the cause, we can pretty much count on a few things:

1. He wants to do hands-on work with nature, but you don’t have hands-on work with nature readily available. You have envelopes readily available. And letters that need to go in them. Today. So, you tell him that the donations these letters bring in will change the world. And that’s that. Newbie + busywork = No headaches.

2. He’s all revved up and excited to be a martyr for the cause, but at your stage of experience this enthusiasm has you rolling your eyes. He doesn’t know what the real issues are. He is uninformed. He is annoying.

3. The trouble is really more than the newbie is worth. If he stuffs envelopes you could actually advance the cause somewhat. But getting him out raking gravel for a new trail is only moderately helpful, and it just ties up your time. It feels like wasteful hand-holding and tawdry publicity.

Here’s another thing that we can pretty much count on: your newbie showed up to investigate your cause. He wants to know; Is there anything here for me? Can I learn something here about who I am? Will I discover a sense of meaning?

Despite the difficulties new volunteers present, you must allow for these kinds of connections. Your volunteers will not want the “right” things, but give them what they want nonetheless. When people want to fight poverty, let them ‘do’ something. When they want to save whales, get them as close as possible to the whales themselves. Besides offering high potential for a life-changing experience, direct contact with the “cause” almost guarantees long-term commitment. (Obviously, if they’re simply at the wrong organization - you don’t save whales, you build parks - send them on their way.) Allow the meaning behind the work you’re doing, to converge with the meaning the volunteer brings to the work (known as the Point of Convergence), and you’ll find yourself with a fighting chance to change the world.

Ask yourself the question, “What kind of volunteer experiences do we offer?” If we insist on using volunteers for the benefit of our staff and organization to get work done expeditiously, we will institutionalize volunteer recruitment and retainment as a herculean task. But if we upend the organization, meet our volunteers where they are, and create volunteer experiences that allow for Points of Convergence, we will have a steady flow of converts to the cause.

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au·to·mat·ic:
Having the capability of starting and operating hands-free.

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain in the 18th century, almost 80% of Agrarian (agricultural) societies were focused on self subsistence, which roughly means “just enough to get by.” There was no ‘middle class’ and very little new revenue - with the exception of the gold bullion coming across the Atlantic from ancient civilizations. But with new ideas about technology and innovation, the world began to change. By the time electricity, the combustible engine and the assembly line came about in the 19th century, the possibilities of automation were endless. Soon, handfuls of people would produce more goods and services than entire nations would have been able to produce over hundreds of years.

If you will allow the analogous stretch, most NPO’s operate as agrarian societies. With a tremendous demand on resources just to provide basic services to their clients, we function with near equivalence to subsistence. The occasional influx of new bullion via generous donors enables some growth in infrastructure, but what is gained is soon consumed by the demands that inevitably follow. The answer to this quandary is, of course, to mobilize an army of volunteers. But developing an army demands amounts of time and personnel which are already in scarce supply. We are due for a change that, so far, remains all too elusive.

The Volunteer Management Cycle (VMC) has done it’s best to offer a caveat to this change. While most NPOs will acknowledge the logic behind the VMC, they admit it is virtually impossible to effectively implement due to limited time and personnel. Frankly, the VMC seems to be intended for use only by organizations with numerous support staff and strong financial support. Without these guarantees, the Cycle is neither realistic nor practical. In fact, as I mentioned in the first of this blog series, if you’re in charge of the volunteer program, you are probably the E.D. and in charge of....well, everything. (Except your salary, eh? Bummer.)

So, your time is limited - too limited to find the people you need. You need Board and committee members, fundraisers, mentors, program helpers, project coordinators, counselors, custodians, outreach workers, administrative support, special events personnel and so on. If only a few of these positions were up and running, you just might be able to find, train, place and retain more volunteers. But you don’t and that makes it all feel like subsistence living - peasants of the middle ages.

I know, I’ve been there. I remember, after a particularly long and discouraging Board meeting, saying goodbye to each member and trying hard to hide the fact that I was nearing the end of my rope. Those last few lingerers must have regretted their pace when they became the lucky recipients of my frustrated sputterings. “There’s no time!” I began, “There’s no time to get the help I need.....to make the time.....to find the help I need!” (It made sense to me.) I was spinning my wheels, inches away from the solution to my traction-less work. The Chairman stood in the doorway listening with sympathy registered on his face. It felt good to say (however ineloquently), “Its not my fault...arrrggghhh!” Then, in an act of wondrous problem solving that I will never forget, he said, “You know what your problem is, son?” (I’m sorry, what?) “You need to delegate!” (I’m sorry...wait....WHAT??).

Wow, just writing this brings back some un-dealt-with emotional baggage.

It would be years before I realized that the answer to both issues (lack of time and personnel) had been within reach since the 18th Century. The key was automation. Manage the process, not the volunteer.

I had taken a position at a large church as the guy responsible for engaging the congregation in local expressions of social justice. This was no mean feat, considering this particular congregation numbered up to 7000. They had been mobilizing hundreds into the community, but the leadership wanted to see that number increased. I came in with high ambitions and decided the number should be increased by several thousand per year. One problem: there was just one me, and one part-time assistant (who, incidentally, was the best assistant I could have asked for at the time).

Needless to say, the VMC wasn’t an option. I didn’t have the time to Plan, Recruit, Organize, Train or Supervise anyone. And I didn’t have the help I needed in order to mobilize thousands. If I focused on the few that I could handle, it would be years before we saw the numbers increased and I simply didn’t have the patience for that. I wanted to ramp up the numbers fast. Specifically, the goal was to see 1000 new volunteers in 12 months. I had to make a decision and it looked like I would be required to step outside the ordinary boundaries and try something unconventional. Mentally I tossed the VMC aside, and in the end, it wasn’t much of a decision because I only had one option: Forget about volunteers. Offer an experience. Automate.

My Industrial Revolution happened the day I created the Stage One experience. This was the first piece of what I now call the Stages of Realized Worth. A Stage One experience is all about offering people who want to volunteer a chance to see what we were all about. Because I needed to automate everything, and find enough time for everyone, I simply took myself out of the process. I let the space I was inviting people into do all the work for me.

First, I found an organization offering an opportunity to serve a meal on the weekend. I met with them and described what I was hoping to achieve. In one meeting we agreed that I could bring in a handful of volunteers each Sunday to serve the meals. This offered them a connection with the community (potential donors) and me a basic entry point for potential volunteers. In order to automate the process I would need to achieve the following;

RECRUITMENT. Eliminate repeat promotional events, large activities or organization of any sort and thereby move to a passive (hence automatic) recruitment process. By making the Sunday Suppers a regular, identical, weekly event, all project management implications were removed. I also had a continual entry point that would eventually fit anyone’s calendar.

SCREENING. Use the space where you invite volunteers to do the screening for you. With so few available resources, I could only afford to invest in people who would eventually be able to return on the investment. If they came back a number of times, I figured they were someone I should start spending a bit more time with.

TRAINING. Create opportunities that don’t require training. Beyond a simple brief, I didn’t have time to train or orient anyone. The space itself needed to be structured to communicate what most training events aspire to. For us this looked like one-on-one time with our guests, and a quick de-brief after the event to learn from each other.

FOLLOW-UP. We pretty much need to eliminate follow-up all together. Besides a simple database entry process to prevent unnecessary risk, I didn’t have time to call anyone or explain much of anything. My focus was on the weekly rhythm of the Sunday Suppers; the process, not the people. If people came back a number of times I would invite them to the next opportunity or training event (which we’ll talk more about when we get to “stage 2” opportunities).

DEVELOPMENT. Allow the space to self-select people in or out of a development process. I only wanted to work with the most interested, the most dedicated and the most committed. Again, with a week after week event, it was pretty easy to know who these people were.

Automating everything is just one step towards leaving the agrarian reality behind. Subsistent living is not good enough for NPOs - not anymore. If we are willing to take a few, innovative steps toward our own, personal Industrial Revolutions, we will soon accomplish in days what is currently taking us years. Most importantly, the world will begin to change. And you and I will be an integral part of that change.

Don’t forget, this is the first of a 6-part series. “Automate everything” does not address your immediate needs (for example, those boxes of letters on the floor of your office that need to be collated and stuffed this week), but don’t worry - we’re getting there.

Realizing Your Worth Blog; realizedworth.blogspot.com
LinkedIn Profile ; http://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisjarviscan
Twitter; @RealizedWorth

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Dear old Citigroup.  The latest way they're spending their $45 billion bailout?  An email campaign to their student borrowers, trying to incite them to lobby Congress on Citigroup's behalf in opposition to President Obama's proposed student loan overhaul. 

The overhaul, which would eliminate the $15 million a day the banker-middlmen have been raking in on student loans by allowing students to borrow directly from the Federal govenrnment, is obviously bad news for Citibank.  But is it bad news for students? 

TPM has a full copy of the email sent to student borrowers here.  Here's my favorite part:

"Why Get Involved?
The government budget outline proposes offering federal student loans solely through the federal government's Direct Lending Program starting July of next year. While this proposal will not impact a borrower's ability to obtain a federal student loan, it will eliminate your ability to choose a student loan provider. It will also substantially increase the national debt since each and every federally-insured student loan will be funded by the Federal Treasury through the issuance of treasury securities. This proposal impacts you as a citizen - both as a taxpayer and as a borrower."

I will leave the argument about "choice" for another day; suffice to say it's the same tired old argument that private companies always make whenever the public sector threatens a favorite cash cow.  "Choice," in this case, is a complete fallacy: because the government already sets the terms for Federally-guaranteed Stafford loans, it doesn't matter to students who loans them the money.

No, the part I LOVE is the bit about how borrowing from the government will "increase the national debt," something that Citibank knows young people are (rightly) concerned about.  This is where it looks like Citigroup is hoping that America's students are a big bunch of dummies who apparently don't know the difference between a loan, which is repaid with interest, thus adding to the national coffers, and a gift.  A gift, like the $45 billion the Federal treasury, no, the American taxpayers, have given to Citibank, no strings attached.

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Here’s an interesting illustration of a trend that we’ve seen recently at VolunteerMatch.

On the one hand, our traffic rates to VolunteerMatch.org, while still steadily growing, have slowed down from the phenomenal rates we saw 2, 3 or 4 years ago. On the other hand, we’re getting more media calls and requests for partnerships than ever before.

Well, the latest Google Trends report for “volunteering” shows how our experience confirms the trend beyond our network.

According to the chart, since 2006, search volume for “volunteering” has been flat or shrinking and during that same time news references for “volunteering” have been steadily rising. The trend is even more pronounced for searches related to the word “volunteer.”

What gives?
 

• It could be that more people are using social networks to find a great place to volunteer and bypassing search tools like Google.com completely.
   
• It could be that lots of informal volunteering — much of it driven by social networks or by acting on problems that are visible in local communities — is beginning to redirect do-gooders from the world of “volunteering” toward unaffiliated service.
   
• It could also be that individual effort is being tapped out — ironically, at the same time that communities are recognizing that service can be a sustainable way to solve local problems.
   
• It could also be that nonprofits are improving their ability to go out into the Webosphere and local communities and locate and target the volunteer audiences they want to recruit. Such efforts would yield lots of volunteer hours without Google searches.
   
• It’s also possible that positive spin and upbeat press simply aren’t key drivers of service and volunteering.

What are some other possibilities? Curious what you all think.

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Where do you draw the line with the organization you volunteer for? There is always so much work to be done, and if you respect and believe in the cause, how do you know when you need to say ‘no’ to the next request?

So, you’ve signed up to volunteer with a great organization, for an important cause. You’ve put your best effort into the work, and you’ve discovered it to be more rewarding than expected. So far, so good. Now, 6 months later, you hate to admit it, but these days you’re just not as enthused. Like the monotony that settles into some relationships after the honeymoon period, you wonder if the “glow” of this once new and exciting endeavor has worn off. It doesn’t make sense really, because everyone is so nice and you’re constantly being thanked, but still....the doubt keeps nagging.

Frankly, you wonder if anyone at the organization really understands the value of your time. And it’s not that you can’t handle the more mundane work. You understand mundane - sometimes it’s just what needs to be done. What you can’t handle is being asked to do everything. Everything. If there’s an empty slot, they call you. Someone needs to stay late? Yup, you. Oh, and arrive early? Yours truly. Every time. You have a distinct sense of your dependability being taken advantage of. Even with all the “thanks,” you’re feeling a little used.

Here’s an idea: maybe you should do a time assessment and assign a dollar value to the hours you’re spending at the organization? Except....that feels a little dirty. It’s like telling your best friend how much he’s worth to you and expecting him to respect you for it. Yeah....never mind. It just feels wrong. Still, how do you know where to draw the line?

The good die young

In my experience, it is the best, most loyal and invested volunteers who ask these kinds of questions. And usually, you ask them because you volunteer with a passionate, cause-driven, mission-focused non-profit. We all love to work for this type of organization. What they do matters enough that they’re able to make believers out of anyone who stands still long enough to hear what they have to say. Unfortunately, the tremendous importance of their cause can potentially obfuscate the value of the people who are there to help achieve it.

You, of course, start out entirely ignorant of this recipe for burnout that awaits you. You dive in with absolute abandon. You find respect and admiration growing in you for the people you work with. You fall in love with the mission. You’re invigorated by the seemingly endless need for your personal contribution. Each day there is more work to be done, new milestones to achieve, greater good to give. But somewhere in there, that nagging feeling begins to creep in as you realize that the demand far exceeds your resources. And yet, you really believe in this thing, so you tell yourself to find a bit more time, create a wider margin, give just a little more.

Next thing you know, the thanks you’re receiving just isn’t enough. Even the plaques and public acknowledgment are beginning to come across a little insincere. Do they really understand why you’re there or what you’ve been giving? You feel a pair of unwelcome and conflicting emotions building inside of you: guilt and resentment.

Setting limits or creating a meaningful gauge can help a little, but it will always feel like you’re selling out, giving up, losing the faith. Eventually the time will come where the stress is no longer worth the effort, and you’ll take a break or decide to leave. Maybe a more suitable opportunity will present itself down the road.

It’s all about give and take

Okay, here’s what you do: Start taking rather than giving.

I know, I know, it’s better to give than to receive, right? Well, yes, that’s right. But what I am advocating is sustainable giving. When you decide what, why and how much you’re willing to give, both you and the non-profit will experience long-term benefit. Giving for these reasons is healthier and longer-lasting than giving for banal praise or general appreciation. You didn’t get into this thing so that everyone would think you’re a great person. (Ok, maybe you did - but I guarantee you that’s not why you’re still there after all this time.)

Sit down and think through why you got involved with volunteering in the first place - and specifically why you chose the organization you’re with. What was it that you connected with? What ideas reached something meaningful inside you? Who moved you to become involved? In what ways did you hope volunteering would change your life? Focus on these things and strictly limit the rest. Your enthusiasm for serving on the soup line does not obligate you to chair the board. If you came to participate in the river clean-up, you don’t have to stay late to clear out just because you’re known as the “go-to” guy. Do what you love. That’s it. This is your highest level of contribution. When you step outside of who you’re meant to be, you will inevitably diminish your contribution and begin the path to burn-out.

I promise you this: If you focus on what you get out of the experience and give yourself permission to remain faithful to it, you won’t have to ask these kinds of questions anymore.

It’s not that non-profits don’t benefit from new volunteers who arrive full of passion and enthusiasm. They certainly do. I mean, at the beginning, it’s mutual euphoria! The non-profit has renewed hope with someone positive and dependable to send work through, and the volunteer feels like a god with all the gushing praises like, “How did we ever make it without you?” It’s wonderful! And....it’s the beginning of a perpetually damaging cycle of enabling and codependency. When the euphoria wears off, both parties feel betrayed. The nonprofit feels their volunteer is ungrateful for the privileged work they provided, while the volunteer feels conned into bearing the weight of the organization’s survival.

Both sides are responsible to work for the solution. Organizations must begin to acknowledge that the health and growth of the volunteer is vital to their own health and growth. Volunteers have got to stop giving so damn much, and take a little. It’s only when they are confident of the value of what they are receiving that volunteers will have anything meaningful to give.

It is always better to give than to receive. As long as we’re giving at our highest level of contribution.

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