Here’s our complete manual on how to plan for, recruit, and manage volunteers at grassroots NGOs. Full PDF can be downloaded in English or in Chinese.
[COMMENTARY] UN MDG hearings: When NGOs Speak, Are States Listening?
By Meg Davis
On June 14-15, the United Nations convened informal
hearings in the General Assembly for NGOs on the Millennium Development Goals.
The hearings were to prepare states for the more high-profile summit on the
MDGs scheduled for September 20-22. Unfortunately, while the NGO presentations
were diverse and international, turnout by member states was relatively low.
[COMMENTARY] China’s New Nonprofit Regulations: Season of Instability
by Meg Davis
Since March 2010, we’ve received a flurry of calls and
emails from reporters, donors and lawyers asking about the new regulations on NGOs
in China. Here’s our take on the regulations that have been
causing trans-Pacific headaches, and a few thoughts on what this means for
Chinese NGOs in the future.
[RESOURCE] Managing Volunteers and Avoiding Burnout
By Josh Clarkson and Meg Davis
This is part four of our manual on volunteer management
It’s not easy to keep up motivation among volunteers, that’s why positive management is essential to making effective use of your organization’s volunteers. Some of the steps detailed below can also help to avoid volunteer burnout.
[RESOURCE] Volunteer Management: Hiring and Orientation
by Meg Davis
This is part three of our manual on volunteer management.
Now that you have a plan for the volunteers, the next task is to find them, which you can do by talking up your volunteer program in social situations, giving out flyers, sending out emails, posting an ad on your website, or holding volunteer recruitment meetings.
When you have found someone who is interested in volunteering, you should have a set of steps that you can follow for interviewing and “hiring” the volunteer. The steps should be a procedure that is the same for each person, whether the volunteer is someone you just met on the street, or a friend you’ve known for 20 years. Making everyone follow similar steps for recruitment, and having everyone begin and start at the same time, creates an ethic of fairness in the organization and avoids the impression that the organization is run by cliques (more about that in our section on management).
