![]() ![]() Especially today, with all the talk about Baby Boomers and their desire for more entrepreneurial volunteer roles, the concept of “telling ‘em what to do” seems out of place. “Directing” also makes some people uncomfortable. Some folks will tell you in no uncertain terms that one “manages things, not people” – despite the universality of the word management in most executive training programs, whether in for- or not-for-profit settings. Whew, here’s how to get your head spinning. Changing the “volunteer program” language is another way of demonstrating that volunteers are integral to the agency and not a possibly temporary activity.ĭo We Manage? Direct? Lead? Coordinate? Facilitate? Similarly, volunteers are not a client service, they are part of the staffing of the organization and also deliver services within existing programs. Employees staff the agency and deliver programs. Do we talk about the “employee program”? Of course not. However, the problem with referring to volunteer involvement or engagement (two excellent alternative terms) as a “volunteer program” is really inaccurate. As a publisher and author, I have found no way around having to discuss volunteer program development and management for the simple and good reason that it communicates something the reader can picture. Newcomers are sometimes surprised at the lack of agreement about this, because the term “volunteer program” is so accepted in general conversation. That’s the rationale behind efforts to find broader terms more reflective of the scope of our work: Now that makes us mad! Besides, the majority of people running volunteer programs are also responsible for a much wider spectrum of unpaid workers, including student interns, loaned executives, court-ordered, and so on, and there are times that a title “limited” to “volunteers” confuses them, too. For those who still think little-old-lady-stuffing-envelopes, any title including the word volunteer is self-evidently low level. More crucial is the “problem” of having to deal with the general public’s (and our agencies’) stereotypes about what the word volunteer describes. On the other hand, it causes a double take – did I hear that right? Is it misspelled? The latter continually raises the question “are you paid?” (It’s another Hot Topic to consider why we react so negatively to being perceived like the people we claim to care about.) I suspect that’s why our British colleagues have tried Volunteers Manager – it’s short and sweet, yet avoids the implication of the first word as a modifier. Since volunteer is both a noun and an adjective, depending on context, it has long been understood that it is less confusing to use it as a noun in our title, as in Coordinator or Manager of Volunteers, rather than Volunteer Coordinator. Is “Volunteer” a Noun, an Adjective, or a Limitation? Let’s look at some of the issues causing concern. We also use “Volunteer Administration” and “Volunteer Leadership” as umbrella terms for the profession, although very few people hold the title “Volunteer Administrator” or “Leader of Volunteers” – and I doubt anyone would want to! Volunteers Manager (has some popularity in the UK).Volunteer Resources Manager (gaining ground just recently).Director of Volunteer Services (very common in hospital setting).Volunteer Program Manager (adopted by several of the online communities, such as CyberVPM, OzVPM, UKVPMs).Right now the following are the titles seen most often in English-speaking countries: If anything, we’ve seen titles go in and out of vogue for various reasons. What should we call ourselves? Įvidently there is no right answer, since we’ve been having this debate for decades and are no closer to agreement than before. A long-unresolved topic has resurfaced in several ways this past month: What’s the best title for the person who is designated as the leader of volunteers? Even more important, is there a name/term on which we can all agree as a label for our profession? Just two of the situations that have elevated this into a current “hot” topic are the publicity surrounding IVMD – International Volunteer Managers Day (November 5, ) – and all the discussions about what to name any organization seeking to “replace” the former AVA – Association for Volunteer Administration.
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