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From Martin J:
Hey leaders, your NFPs need you!
A chilling survey conducted by the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), has hard evidence which shows how desperate things are becoming for US not-for-profits.- 88% will operate at a loss this year
- 31% have cash in hand to cover only a
month of expenses- 31% have less than three months worth
- 38% are concerned about meeting 2009 expenses
- 47% are feeling uncertain about making it in 2010
- most see their revenue from all sources falling.
The NFF says: "the recession... reveals the precarious state of a sector that is continually asked to do more with less."
This backs up a claim by Professor of public
service at NYU, Paul Light, who said in November 08, that "at a minimum" more than
100,000 nonprofit organizations will be wiped out in the USA in the next two
years.
The bottom line is that while NFPs across the world are facing greater demand for services, they are in a precarious position.
Without some significant help, the outcomes for the community sector could be:
- reduction in NFP numbers
- key social services will cease, causing increases in significant social problems
I had intended writing about something else this issue but I am so concerned as to what's happening in the sector that we who work at People First -Total Solutions love, I feel compelled to address it again.
I am curious to know what you think the outcomes for not-for-profits in your country, state, region, town or city?
I also want to know how we as a sector can help each other and finally how we as a company can help you.
We already provide advice and assistance to the sector in a number of ways made a recent commitment to provide 18 sessiosn of free and 50%-cost training to volunteer centers and managers in the US. Can we do more? Please email me and let me know.
I believe the sector is resilient but we have a tough ride ahead.
Yours sincerely,
Martin J Cowling |
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Welcome Martin!
Every month on the 15th tune into the latest news from the leading international consultant on not-for-profit issues. Enjoy our news and please let us know how it assists you.
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Effective people: Volunteers and change
 In our seminars, many participants raise issues and ask questions about bringing change to volunteer programs. As many have discovered, change in not-for-profits can alienate volunteers.
Here are six steps to prevent a poor change process:
- Check that the change is necessary.
- Have volunteers involved in the change when it impacts on them and their work.
- Advance notice of change works better than sudden change: only bring in sudden changes in a real crisis.
- Need to give volunteers space and time to "vent": ensure people understand that it's okay to disagree with change and explain why the change is necessary -set a limit to the venting, however.
- Give training to your volunteers to prepare and take them through the training: some people will be "early adopters" and some will take longer. Build that range into your training.
- Ensure that your volunteers are supported throughout the process: have key volunteers mentor other volunteers.
Before you introduce change in your program, talk to us about how we can help you achieve significant change. |
Better organisations: Rob Jackson, England
 Rob, Director of Development & Innovation at Volunteering England,
recently visited Australia and Singapore, sponsored by People First
-Total Solutions and OzVPM. He spoke at the Australasian Retreat for Advanced Volunteer Management.
Do you feel volunteering is changing?
Volunteering
is always changing and always will change. That is inevitable and a
consequence of it being a self-defining activity undertaken by
individuals around the world. What I think of as volunteering may not
be what you think of as volunteering, but so long as benefits are
derived from then what we call what we do does not matter.
The
challenge Volunteer Managers face is whether we are willing to embrace
this change or stick to our comfort zone of narrow definitions of
volunteering and risk limiting our role and influence as a result.
What do you see staying the same?
Nothing, other than the commitment, passion and dedication of millions of volunteers to make this world a better place.
What do you believe managers of volunteers need to do to prepare for the future?
We
need to open our eyes to the world around us. We need to look for what
is common and different in our practices around the world and apply the
best bits to what we do in our agencies. This is infinitely easier
...thanks to the internet. We also need to ...see what we can learn
from other fields. For example, I believe that an advanced approach to
volunteer recruitment involves reading about marketing and applying it
back to what we do.
What is your hope for volunteerism in ten years' time?
That
Volunteer Managers will have moved on from what I call "whingeing
children syndrome"; in other words, always seeking the approval of
others and complaining that nobody takes us seriously. Instead we will
have become a self-confident field that demonstrates its
professionalism and wins the respect of others through our competence.
The 2010 Retreat will be held in Adelaide, March 17 to 19. |
Stronger society: A missed opportunity?
 Recent news reports on a clash between New York's Metropolitan Transport Authority and a group calling themselves the MTA Service Specialists have raised eyebrows among volunteer managers.
The group, four attractive young women in retro-style hostess uniforms, push tea trolleys through train cars, giving assistance, advice and refreshments to commuters. The group is acting as a voice for dissatisfied New Yorker commuters, with the motto, "if you need something, say something".
The dispute seems to primarily centre around the group's use of MTA-style branding on their uniforms and website. The resulting publicity has only increased the public awareness of the Service Specialists' campaign.
Jayne Cravens of Coyote Communications suggested a cooperative approach would have achieved better results on both sides: "Don't immediately call the lawyers, call the volunteers and, if at all possible, channel that fantastic enthusiasm and initiative to your organisation!" Rob Jackson, of Volunteering England, agreed: "Many organisations would be concerned if people were seen to be acting on their behalf without actually being authorised to do so. Perhaps if the MTA had the foresight to incorporate such an excellent volunteerism initiative into their service they'd be more willing to embrace these kinds of efforts."
Did the MTA miss a prime opportunity to build social capital in this case? It certainly seems so. What do you think? How many opportunities are missed because we fear volunteer power?
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Company news
Advanced Volunteer Management Institute, June, San Fran
Join Martin J Cowling and other world-renowned facilitators in this engaging exploration of advanced topics in
volunteer management. For more information, visit the website.
Implementation of Standards for volunteer programs
 Martin J Cowling met with students from Carnegie Mellon University to discuss the implementation of standards for volunteer programs, a project being conducted by Vol SA & NT.
Facilitator Cathy Taylor said, "We had a great talk about a range of volunteer issues, in particular those related to implementation of standards and retention of volunteers. Martin kindly went through the list of questions we had compiled and gave us useful feedback."
Martin J Cowling and Kerrie Spinks upcoming travel
USA - April
Martin is in the USA for the Serve Idaho Conference (April 15 to 18) and the Idaho Hospital Association 2009 Auxiliary/Volunteer Leadership Conference (April 30 & May 1), plus meetings in Dallas, Las Vegas, Oklahoma, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Check Martin's whereabouts on Facebook and, if you would like him to do training or just meet for coffee, drop us a line.
Western and South Australia - May
Martin is in these two states in May and has some slots available for training, consulting or coaching sessions.
USA - June
Kerrie and Martin are available in the USA in June. Check out our recession buster offer (below) or Volunteer Program Assessments.
US Recession Buster Offer
This offer is designed to kick start training for managers of volunteers in the USA. Check out our offer of free and half price training- We have no free sessions left but still have four half price sessions. Check out our special US-only offer here.
Facebook Friends
The more the merrier as Martin J Cowling heads toward 400 friends on Facebook.
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Other news
Australian Journal on Volunteering goes online in 09
Subscribe to this online journal! Subscribers have access to articles from
previous issues of the journal for the life of their subscription and
all new articles as they are progressively published throughout 2009. |
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Your say
In response to Debby Butler's note in the March 09 People First e-News I just wanted to indeed reiterate that the response to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal here in New Zealand has indeed been overwhelming and quite humbling.
To date NZ$1.7m has been raised from members of the public, organizations and companies in New Zealand with a further $535k currently pledged. We are most grateful for all generous donations to this special appeal; 100% of which will be used to help the bushfire victims recover and rebuild.
Clare Cain, National Fundraising Manager, New Zealand Red Cross
I've appreciated your recent messages regarding volunteering in hard economic times.
Nancy Gaston
I know I speak on behalf of the entire board when I say, "Thank you for helping us to provide quality programming for our membership."
Diane Kinsella, Director, Family Life Center, Cincinnati, OH
Thank you Martin, this was my first time attending your workshop and I am very impressed.
Volunteering Canterbury, NZ participant.
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