Association Leadership - September/October 2008 - (Page 23)

volunteers: vetting volunteers working and kind of gives you a little ﬂavor of what it’s like, and it also has a great deal of information. It lists who else has volunteered; it lists our program of work and expectations in both time and ﬁnancial commitments. And if you really sit down with the folder, it gives you a very fair indication of what the expectations are.” Creswell says it’s a matter of respect. “You have to be very respectful in this day and time of people’s time and abilities. You have to think of their organizational needs and determine your volunteer needs, and ﬁnd a ﬁt for them based on their limits and availability.” Pam Donahoo, CAE, executive director for American Mensa, takes that respect for volunteers a step further. “We need to be very cognizant that life happens and changes happen. And the very worst thing is to see someone in a volunteer position struggle because they’ve had a change in their life and they can no longer meet their obligations. And instead of letting them off the hook, we watch them as they slowly sink into the muck. We need to get better at jumping in to rescue by acknowledging things have changed and asking how we can help. ‘Do you need to get off the board, or would an assistant or a month off help?’ If we do that, we have volunteers for life – they know their organization appreciates them through the good and the bad.” Make It Meaningful It is important to match the association’s needs with the volunteer’s needs – nothing will sour a volunteer faster than feeling underutilized or, even worse, overwhelmed. Linda Beverly, vice president of administration for the International Facility Management Association, says people today don’t have the luxuries from times past, namely free time and a staff to which to delegate. “People want to have meaning in what they’re doing. We are also very limited on time that we have to devote to anything anymore, and so it’s ‘don’t give me busy work – if I’m going to be there as a volunteer, I want it to be a meaningful engagement, so I’m going to get something back out of it and I’m going to be able to give to it also.’” 383834_Wyndham.indd 1 23 September/October 2008 | Association LEADERSHIP 11:24:04 AM 7/8/08 http://www.wyndham.com

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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