Customer Reviews

Volunteers: How to Get Them, How to Keep Them

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

As a new Outreach Coordinator for a small non profit, I am looking specifically for information on how to recruit volunteers. The title suggests this book is the one, and other reviewers found it helpful. But, I'll just say, it is not about recruiting, it is about managing volunteers. After a very short Chapter 1 discussing the "myth" of the volunteer shortage, the author tells us "the remainder of the book is dedicated to helping" us recognize and meet the needs of my volunteers. Humm, a very misleading title! I wish I had found it in the library, then I'd have known it was not the book I needed without paying for it.

Unless you've never been a volunteer, never worked with a volunteer, and/or never heard of the word "volunteer", you do not need this book. First, this should cost about $5, as it is essentially an overgrown pamphlet. It contains great insights like "get name tags!" and "seat people with vision trouble near the front". Really?!?

I have no idea why the other reviews were so high. Maybe those of us in non-profits are too nice... I don't know... but I guarantee that no one with previous experience in volunteer management found this book worth the purchase price.

I have worked in the not for profit world for over 25 years as an association executive. I have also served on the Board of the Cerebral Palsy Center for the Bay Area for over 20 years. In each experience, the importance of finding and retaining and inspiring and engaging volunteer leaders is the factor that contributes to successfully achieving vision and mission. In the not for profit world, we are here to serve. The pressure to be the best at meeting the needs of those we serve never ends; the demands stretch our hearts and our minds; but in the not for profit world new knowledge, new ideas, new approaches, best practices, quality, and innovation can help meet important needs, and can even save a life. This book will inspire organizations seeking the best and brightest leaders, and is equally capable of inspiring the leaders we seek for our organizations. Well done and long needed by the field.

This book is easy to read. It has great examples, templates and case studies. I found useful tools that readily adapt to our situation.

In my role as a volunteer leader in a national membership organization, I have found this book to be an invaluable resource in getting members more involved in carrying out the work of our organization. I am recommending that my organization purchase it for all of our local leaders. This is a must have for any membership organization!

This is a well-organized, easy-to-read book which explores the reasons people volunteer, what they need to do the job well, how to make volunteering a positive experience for them, and how to select from your grass-roots volunteers those who will move up the ladder of leadership in your organization. Numerous forms are shown for tracking volunteer efforts; many are downloadable. A valuable resource.

As Education and Training chairperson of the Junior League of Scranton, I found this book to be an essential training tool for all board members and committee chairs. Keep your "hard-earned" members--read this book! A must read and re-read!