Association Leadership - September/October 2008 - (Page 21)

olunteers and believe in the services that the TMEA provides.” id ” Floyd says, accordingly, the membership must step up to the plate for the organization to accomplish its goals. “We put on the largest music events in the country – our music convention every February in San Antonio draws about 25,000 people. Over three days of concerts and performances and over 200 workshops, teachers come and learn to be better teachers. And our members recognize that, yes, we need volunteers to help make that happen and ﬁll this commitment to give back. Simply put, they recognize for our events to be successful, it does take the participation of many members giving a few hours of their time.” Don’t be shy about asking members to do more than write a check once a year. Diana Everett, CAE, executive director for the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, says when struggling to increase numbers, the ﬁrst thing to do is ask, in no uncertain terms. “The ﬁrst thing I would do is ﬁnd every opportunity I could to speak to the largest number of people at a time, be it at a general assembly session at convention or some kind of meeting. And I would just explain No. 1; this is how many volunteers we need to run this organization. Give the numbers and then say this is how many we currently have and point out the gap there – the positions are not all being ﬁlled. You want to educate them about how serious the situation is for volunteers.” Ralston Creswell, CAE, senior executive director of the Houston and Southeast Texas, Louisiana and Southern Mississippi American Diabetes Association, says, however, that organizations must also do have a teaching plan for the organization. Organizations have goals, but do they have a teaching plan, with volunteer leadership and development as a strategic goal of that organization? If not, it should be.” Once the volunteer strategy is deﬁned, and volunteers have been asked “for their support and commitment to springboard the organization into the future,” Creswell says sometimes it comes down to not accepting no. “If a prospect tells you no, don’t accept a no. I would ask them if they would be willing to do something else – if they could commit their company, if they could make a gift. The no is usually the wrong time or the wrong amount, so you want to follow up and get some kind of minimal involvement.” il t” can’t commit to the post ﬁrst offered, negotiate. Richie Jackson, CAE, executive ti t Ri hi J k CAE ti vice president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, says it’s also incumbent upon the organization to set reasonable expectations when asking people to give of their time. “I think it’s all in how and what you ask – people are very hesitant to write a blank check, and when you ask them to serve on a board or committee, sometimes they view that as a blank check on their time.” To that end, he continues, TRA has documented exactly what is expected of their executive volunteers. “It’s very important to deﬁne what you’re asking for. Several years back, we put together a board leadership recruitment document for any potential board member. It has photos of the board in action, committees itt continued on page 23 eo Be Reasonable Though most organizations can o trade on the inheren passion ent of their membership, it is p, important not to get carried ca away and ask too muc ch of volunteers. As Creswell says, if a potential volunteer Beyond the Warm and Fuzzy Benefits of Volunteering Giving back to your industry and your community can be gift enough, but today’s volunteers can also take heart that they may be literally helping their hearts as well. A study by the Corporation for National and Community Service found a signiﬁcant connection between volunteering and good health. The report shows that volunteers have greater longevity, higher functional ability, lower rates of depression and less incidence of heart disease. Volunteering appears to be of particular beneﬁt to older adults and to those who serve more than 100 hours per year. David Eisner, CEO of the corporation, says, “Volunteering makes the heart grow stronger. More than 61 million Americans volunteer to improve conditions for people in need and to unselﬁshly give of themselves. While the motivation is altruistic, it is gratifying to learn that their efforts are returning considerable health beneﬁts.” Sept Se tember/Oc ober 20 8 | Association LEADER HIP 21 b October 2008 EA ERSH P

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Association Leadership - September/October 2008

Association Leadership - September/October 2008 Contents President’s Column Homepage 60-Second Solutions An Interview with TSAE’s New Chairperson TSAE’s Newest Board Members Vetting Volunteers Orientation of Volunteer Leaders Get on Board – Qualification Considerations Questions to Ask Before Saying Yes Liability Insurance for Volunteer Leaders Committee Planning TSAE’s Annual Golf Outing Congratulations to Our New CAEs Perspectives Association Case Study New Members Community Spotlight San Antonio Beaumont Index to Advertisers Advertiser.com The Lighter Side of Associations

Association Leadership - September/October 2008

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