A People Lens: Why Can't We Find Board Members and Other Volunteers We Require?

There’s no doubt that organizations seeking traditional volunteers to do repetitive and often menial tasks need to rethink how they involve volunteers. Colleen Kelly, executive director of Volunteer Vancouver, suggests focusing on how to creatively involve people by using their unique skill set to help grow and support the organization. 

The advantage of adopting a People Lens is that volunteers with a range of specialized skills can help organizations be more strategic with their financial base—like allocating funds to employee salaries which in turn, helps attracts a strong workforce. Another added advantage is that every person who has a positive experience will become a champion for the organization, resulting in valuable word-of-mouth advertising.
 
By adopting this philosophy, organizations will have the capability of “growing from the inside out”. Kelly provides an interesting, real-life example of how Volunteer Vancouver was able to help a chemical engineer find a volunteer position where he could use his skills at a program for women who were attempting to leave the sex trade. It seems like an unlikely match, but a closer look at his skills and past work experience shows that the placement is a perfect example of thinking creatively to match a volunteer with an appropriate volunteer opportunity.
 
To learn more about how you can apply a People Lens to your organization, click here to read the full story.

Last updated: July 24, 2008