61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of the Leading Books, But Not the Whole Picture, July 23, 2002
This review is from: Volunteers: How to Get Them, How to Keep Them (Paperback)
There are upwards of a 100 fairly good books on managing volunteers, and of those I selected four based on the information provided by Amazon and its readers, who now represent a critical mass of useful guidance. Of the four books, this is the best. If you buy only one, this is the one. (The other three were Vineyard & McCurley's "Best Practices for Volunteer Programs", Lee & Catagnus, "Supervising Volunteers", and what may be one of the originals (from 1994), Susan J. Ellis' "The Volunteer Recruitment and Membership Development Book." These latter three are reviewed in their own spaces.)
This book by Helen Little, as good as it is, would normally lose one star because it fails to provide an index or a guide to other readings (including web sites) in niche areas of volunteer management. However, it does provide excellent forms for each step of the volunteer management process and these are all downloadable from a given web address, so we'll call it even.
By way of larger context, this book, and books on volunteer management in general, are valuable not only for organizations that use volunteers as a resource, but for those who would manage citizen activism, as well as teen-agers with chips on their shoulders and a reluctance to bear down on chores.
While others have outlined volunteer "needs" and how to address them, Helen Little does it best. The 12 basic needs--applicable to neighborhood mobilization, regional political campaigns, and teen-ager "work for respect" programs--are very well and concisely listed: 1) specific manageable task; 2) task that matches motivation; 3) good reason for doing the task; 4) written instructions; 5) reasonable deadline; 6) freedom to complete the task; 7) everything necessary to complete the task; 8) adequate training; 9) safe, comfortable, friendly environment; 10) follow-up; 11) opportunity (for the volunteer) to provide feed-back; and 12) appreciation, recognition, and rewards.
As I read this thoughtful book, comparing what volunteers need at each step of the way--and the more advanced comments by the author on how to plan for succession at every level of the organization from neighborhood to national, I kept thinking to myself: "traditional political parties are dead." Both the Democratic and Republican parties are violating every single tenet of this excellent work on how to attract, motivate, and activate citizen-voters. It remains to be seen if our neighborhoods might yet self-organize. This would be a good book for anyone thinking about organizing any endeavor of free spirits, at any level of play.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It will turn you around!, November 3, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Volunteers: How to Get Them, How to Keep Them (Paperback)
I hate to read books like this. Every once in a while I come across a book that is so helpful it stands me on my head. Really! After reading this book I felt a lot more confident to deal with thw 100+ volunteers I have in my organization. I would recommend this book to anyone who is responsible for volunteers.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practical, easy-to-read,lots of great tools, tips and guides, November 1, 1999
This review is from: Volunteers: How to Get Them, How to Keep Them (Paperback)
Volunteers: How to Get Them, How to Keep Them, by Helen Little, is a creative and practical book, full of innovative information, tips and tools on how to recruit, manage, train, evaluate motivate, and inspire volunteers. Ms. Little outlines the twelve basic needs of volunteers and shows step-by-step you how to meet those needs, ultimately helping you build and retain a successful "volunteer management team."
Anyone who has been involved volunteer management soon learns that volunteers work most successfully when the job is clearly defined and when volunteers clearly understand their roles and responsibilities. This book has lots of useful and infinitely usable examples, templates, and guidelines to help you you "hit the ground running," and successfully accomplish the goals and objectives of your program and/or organization. A "must read" (and an easy read) for anyone involved in the care and feeding of volunteers.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
