Volunteer Nation

In today's episode, we are going to be talking with Marianne Chance about promoting a healthy workplace culture for volunteers, not only for volunteers, but in our nonprofits in general.Marianne Chance is the the founder of Work Warrior and she is described as a brilliant, hilarious, awesome sauce and so engaging, you'll forget to eat your snacks. Marianne has trained over 20,000 people in nearly every state and all over the world.  She's recognized as one of the top trainers in America, and in 2013 she started Work Warrior, a training organization that provides manager and team trainings to companies across all states. Marianne provides professional coaching, utilization of certifications and business and entrepreneurship, spirituality, life purpose, and forgiveness. Marian discusses her thoughts on how leaders of volunteers in nonprofit organizations may foster a healthy work environment for volunteers and paid staff alike, as well as how to inspire everyone to bring their best selves to the purpose.Full show notes: 053– Promoting a Healthy Workplace Culture for Volunteers with Marianne ChanceThanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause. For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at WeCare@VolPro.net.

We are pleased to discuss and bring to our audience a new research report from my friends at VolunteerMatch and how we connect hopeful and helpful data from today’s volunteers. In today’s episode, we have Darcy Hughes and Jennifer Bennett. Jennifer is the Director of Education & Training joined VolunteerMatch to formalize and manage the organization’s volunteer engagement program. With her breadth of experience, she is well qualified to help VolunteerMatch’s community of nonprofits better recruit and engage volunteers.  Darcy is the Content & Storytelling Manager, responsible for newsletters for nonprofits and volunteers, conducting surveys, execute marketing and sponsorship campaigns, and their social media, basically all external communications to broader audiences.We discussed what does their recent research tell us about where volunteers are at as we come out of  nearly three years of a pandemic, some of the key takeaways and what does it tell us about where volunteers are at right now.Full show notes: 052– New Volunteer Research with Jennifer Bennett and Darcy Hughes of VolunteerMatchThanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause. For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at WeCare@VolPro.net.

April, which is worldwide volunteer month, is set to start. I wanted to take some time to reflect on the significance of volunteering.And I want to go way beyond the fluff. We all talk about, we're all getting together, we're working in community, we're helping our nonprofits meet their mission. These are all important things, but there is so much more power and volunteerism out there that I believe we don't often recognize, especially those of us who work in the field on a daily basis.We usually don't give it much thought because we don't have the time. So, in this episode, I'd like to discuss ten reasons why volunteering is important.Full show notes: 051– 10 Reasons Why Volunteerism is Important (Way Beyond the Fluff!)Thanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause. For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at WeCare@VolPro.net.

In our 50th Volunteer Nation episode, Tobi talks about how to use volunteer quotes to inspire leadership and resilience. These are the volunteer quotes we usually see in newsletter, in social media, et cetera. They're usually a little bit cliché or they've just been used overused, and they start to lose their meaning. Tobi also what shares some of the quotes she shared with her team on her Post-It mantra. She's going to talk about what's behind them and how you can use volunteer quotes in different ways to create themes and as inspiration for larger gratitude or recognition or kudos speech. Full show notes: 050 – How to Use Volunteer Quotes to Inspire Leadership & ResilienceThanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause. For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at WeCare@VolPro.net.

In this week’s episode, Tobi offers a peek behind the curtain at the process of developing new VolunteerPro curriculum – in this case, for our newly updated VolunteerPro Membership learning hub!She’s also sharing some of her key takeaways when it comes to developing online learning that will be enormously helpful to anyone tasked with developing new training for volunteers or coworkers.Full show notes: 049-Behind the Scenes at Our VolunteerPro Membership Makeover! - Tobi Johnson & AssociatesThanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause. For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at WeCare@VolPro.net.

In this week’s episode, we welcome guest Dr. Mary Hyde from AmeriCorps to share some fascinating results from the most recent Volunteer Engagement and Civic Life census supplement.  These results shine a light on both the enduring spirit of volunteerism in America – even during the height of the pandemic – and what the data can tell us about future trends in formal and informal volunteering.  The latest Volunteering and Civic Engagement in America survey was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic, and while the results showed an expected drop in formal volunteering (giving time freely to help others through an organization), there was actually no drop in informal volunteering (giving time freely to help others outside of an organizational context) nationwide. These results contradict the pervasive sense that “people just don’t want to volunteer anymore.” Rather, it highlights the ongoing desire of individuals to serve their neighbors and communities in personally meaningful ways, without necessarily feeling the need to do so within the structure of a formal organization.  Full show notes: 048-New Statistics on Volunteering & Civic Life with Dr Mary Hyde - Tobi Johnson & AssociatesThanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause. For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at WeCare@VolPro.net.

In this week’s episode, we welcome guests Dr. Sue Carter Kahl and Dr. Nathan Dietz to discuss two fascinating new studies on the state of volunteer engagement.These reports offer the unique perspectives and feedback of nonprofit CEOs and funders and it is enlightening to view the value of volunteer service through their eyes, especially as it relates to program funding.Full show notes: 047-The State of Volunteer Engagement with Dr. Sue Kahl and Dr. Nathan Dietz - Tobi Johnson & AssociatesThanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause. For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at WeCare@VolPro.net.

Soccer is all about moving the ball down the field as efficiently as possible and making a goal before your opponent has a chance to catch up. And if you’ve watched one particular Premier League team this year (looking at you, Chelsea!), you’ve seen them lose many opportunities to score because they hesitate and take one too many steps before taking a shot on goal (and if you’re nearby, you may have heard Tobi yelling at the television!).Volunteers can often, unintentionally, get stuck by those same feelings of hesitation. They know they need to move toward the goal, but they’re not entirely sure of the steps to get there. So, they dribble the ball, stalling, waiting for clearer instruction on their next move from the coach or their teammates.This is where clear volunteer management systems come into play. These procedures are the playbook by which volunteers can know, and quickly act on, the next right step to accomplish the goals that your organization has established.Full show notes: 046-Save Time with Better Volunteer Management Systems - Tobi Johnson & AssociatesThanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause. For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at WeCare@VolPro.net.

Learn how to create a top-notch volunteer experience and improve retention. Strategies include creating a purposeful user experience, addressing emotional journey, and reinforcing the decision of new volunteers. Explore the significance of safety, satisfaction, and connection in retaining volunteers. Understand volunteer engagement and retention metrics. Discover three key strategies for improving retention: thinking like an architect, understanding human nature, and using data.

When we think about recruiting volunteers, too often we focus on pushing out a big appeal as many times as possible on as many platforms as possible. But…what if you could apply some strategy and creativity to the process to reach the right people for your call to action and offer more meaningful volunteer opportunities?In this episode, Tobi offers six creative ways to recruit volunteers along with some fresh thinking around that evergreen task: volunteer recruitment.Full show notes: 044-6 Creative Ways to Recruit Volunteers - Tobi Johnson & AssociatesThanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause. For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at WeCare@VolPro.net.