What WAS New with Jayne
& Her Web Site
June 2005 through December
2015
December 2015 blogs: (in published date reverse order)
November 2015:
Online
Leadership / Influencing Online
There is a plethora of information about leading a team
online, but as the Duvall Leader in Residence at the
University of Kentucky’s Center for Leadership Development
(CFLD) in October 2015, I wanted to focus specifically on
online leadership, on engaging in activities that influence
others online, that create a profile for a person as someone
that provides credible, important, even vital information
about a particular subject. What does it take to be a leader
online? This new page explores that.
November 2015
blogs: (in published date reverse
order)
October
2015:
Me
in Kentucky in October
I'll be in Henderson,
Kentucky for a week and Lexington,
Kentucky for the last week of October.
Check out the above link, which has
complete details about dates, and, if you
want to attend the conferences where I'll
be, or if you want a consultation or to
buy me coffee while I'm in either city,
let me know.
August 2015:
Tips
for staying in contact with remote staff in developing countries
/ conflict zones
Many factors stand in the way of trying to stay in contact with
field staff at projects in rural or conflicted areas in developing
countries. I review all of the various challenges faced by people
in a main office in getting data from field staff working in
humanitarian / development / aid initiatives, and how to address
those challenges.
July 2015:
UPDATED: Oregon
Orgs Involved in Overseas Development / Humanitarian Efforts
Or Educating People Re: Other Countries/Global Affairs
I now have more than 30 organizations and
initiatives in Oregon, primarily in the Portland, Oregon area,
that are involved in overseas development / aid / relief /
humanitarian efforts, or that are involved in educating people
about other countries - and a few in Oregon but outside PDX.
Recruiting
Mentors
(or
any high-responsibility volunteers that will work with
clients)
Recruitment is a mentality. Successful recruitment of volunteer
mentors comes from a mentality that permeates the organization,
one that prompts employees and volunteers to always be looking
for opportunities for outreach and partnership, and where all
employees and volunteers are advocates for the program,
regardless of the tasks they undertake. This web page has
specific recommendations to recruit mentors for youth, but these
recommendations could be used for most any high-responsibility,
high-commitment volunteer role working with clients, such as
counselors, tutors, volunteer firefighters, CASA volunteers,
etc.
Me in Kentucky in October
I’ll be the Fall 2015 Duvall Leader in Residence
at the University of Kentucky’s Center for Leadership
Development (CFLD), part of UK’s College of Agriculture, Food
and Environment, Oct. 26 – 30, in and around Lexington. The week
before, I’ll be in Henderson, on the other side of the state, to
be the keynote speaker for a capacity-building event for
nonprofits organized by Kentucky Network for Development, Leadership
and Engagement (KYNDLE), serving Henderson, McLean, Union
and Webster counties in northwestern Kentucky and the Henderson
Community Foundation. More
information about these Kentucky gigs.
July & August
2015 blogs: (in published date reverse order)
May & June 2015 blogs:
(in published date reverse order)
April 2015:
Updated: Ideas
for Leadership Volunteering Activities
Information on my web site about volunteerism is focused
mostly on those who work with volunteers, rather than
volunteer themselves. But an FAQ on various online groups is
from young people looking leadership volunteering activities
- ideas to create or lead a sustainable, lasting benefit to
a community, and that involve recruiting others to help.
These can also be activities for the Girl Scouts Gold Award,
the Duke of Edinburgh's Award (U.K.), a mitzvah project, or
even scholarship consideration.
March & April 2015 blogs:
(in published date reverse order)
March
2015:
Packing Advice For First-Time
Humanitarians & Aid Workers
What you should pack before you head out on your first mission
trip, based on my own experiences working for the UN abroad.
This information is on a part of my web site that has
advertising on the side of the page. The revenue helps me cover
the cost of maintaining this entire web site.
Daily, Mandatory, Minimal
Tasks for Nonprofits on Facebook & Twitter
There are a lot of nonprofits using Facebook and Twitter just to
post to press releases. And if that's how your nonprofit, NGO or
government agency is using social media, then your organization
is missing out on most of the benefits you could gain from such.
Facebook, Twitter and other social media are all about
engagement. Social media is NOT one-way communication; you want
people and organizations to read your information, but you also
want them to respond to it. And they want YOU to respond to what
THEY are saying. I broke these must-do tasks down into the most
simple, basic list as possible - these tasks take minutes, not
hours, a day.
February
2015:
Recommendations
for UN & UNDP in Ukraine to use Twitter, Facebook,
Blogs and Other Social Media to Promote Reconciliation,
Social Inclusion, & Peace-Building in Ukraine (PDF). This is a draft document I submitted to
UNDP Ukraine just before I left Kyiv in October 2014, having
completed my term there as a "Surge" Communications Advisor.
This draft document offers considerations and
recommendations for social media messaging that promotes
reconciliation, social inclusion, and peace-building in
Ukraine. It provides ideas for messaging related to
promoting tolerance, respect and reconciliation in the
country, and messaging to counter bigotry, prejudice,
inequality, misperceptions and misconceptions about a
particular group of people or different people among
Ukrainians as a whole.
Research
and case studies regarding recruitment and retainment of
volunteer firefighters & justifications for
involving volunteer firefighters that do NOT relate to
"money saved"
A little bit of commentary and a long list of
resources, compiled from various sources. Updates welcomed!
December
2014:
PDX-area
Organizations Involved in Overseas
Development / Aid / Relief &
Volunteer Efforts
Or Educating People Re: Other
Countries/Global Affairs
This page tracks Portland, Oregon metro-area
organizations that are involved in overseas
development / aid / relief / humanitarian
efforts, or that are involved in educating
people about other countries. Some are
nonprofits, some are university programs,
and some are for-profit companies /
businesses. Some are focused exclusively on
aid and development, some are focused only
partially on such.
List of
Volunteer Management Software
Yes, I've finally updated this page. It also now
includes my detailed recommendations on
How to
Choose Volunteer Management Software.
For this page, volunteer management
software is defined as software that
actually has "volunteer" somewhere in its
official description (it does NOT have to
be called "volunteer management" software,
however). Also, note that many
organizations use software developed to
track all kinds of constituents - funders,
clients, customers, etc. - to also track
their volunteers, or software designed to
track employees to, instead, track
volunteers. Therefore, this page could not
be considered a comprehensive list of
software that can be used to manage
volunteer information.
My tech: the
networked technology tools I use
I'm an independent
consultant, a one-woman shop, and I
don't have the funds to buy the very best,
very latest computers, tablets, and smart
phones, or to upgrade my technology every
year. Yet, I've made a name for myself
regarding using the Internet to
communicate effectively, to be an integral
part of a nonprofit organizations'
mission-based work, to work remotely and
to supervise others remotely, and to
support and manage volunteers (virtual
volunteering). How do I remain
cutting edge online and still be able to
afford to pay my bills? How often do I
upgrade my technology? I put together this
page to answer those questions.
December
2014 blogs (in
reverse order):
- Most
popular blog entries of 2014, December 30, 2014
- A
warning re: Facebook privacy from Nicholas Thompson,
December 29, 2014
- Terrific
resources you?re missing from Twitter, December 19,
2014
- CNCS
continues its old-fashioned measurement of volunteer
value, December 16, 2014
- Research
Fellow re: in Civil Society Organisations and research,
Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility,
December 15, 2014
- How
to apologize to the world, December 13, 2014
- A
PR disaster that has me outraged (Strange Fruit),
December 10, 2014
- guide
to social media emergency management analytics,
December 9, 2014
- How
many virtual volunteering projects are there?,
December 5, 2014
- Spontaneous
online volunteering/crowdsourcing in response to Eric
Gardner grand jury decision, December 4, 2014
- Fight
against unpaid internships will hurt volunteering,
December 1, 2014
Me in Warsaw,
Poland, Nov. 12 - 15,
2014,
then Barcelona,
Catalunya, Spain,
until 19,
then back to Poland
and the USA
I?ll fly to Warsaw,
Poland, arriving
November 12, to present
workshops on November
13th and 14th regarding
virtual volunteering and
meet with various NGOs
from Eastern Europe,
including
representatives from
Ukraine (HURRAH!!), for
e-wolontariat.pl,
a Polish-based NGO that
is at the forefront of
promoting digital
volunteering in Europe.
Participants will
include finalists of the
e-volunteering
competition ? NGO
representatives who are
finalists to win a grant
for the implementation
of their ideas for
e-volunteering projects.
I?ll also be in
Barcelona,
Catalunya/Spain, all day
on November 17, 18 and
19, for a personal
visit, but would be
happy to meet with any
NGO, university or
government
representative who might
like to have lunch or
coffee and a chat about
anything related to
volunteering, NGOs,
and/or tech4good. More
details.
I'm booked
through Dec. 2014
(& soon, beyond
that!)
I am fully booked with
work through December
2014 (and it looks
like I may soon be
booked through April
2014 as well!). My
schedule tends to fill
up very quickly, so if
you are thinking of me
for a project, contact
me soon! Please
note I'm taking only
paid work - no pro
bono projects right
now. More about my consulting and
training/teaching.
Oct.
14, Dublin,
Ireland
Featured
speaker at Comhlámh
annual report
launch.
I'll be
talking about
how
organizations
that send
volunteers
overseas can
incorporate
virtual
volunteering
into the
support for
those
volunteers. I
met
representatives
from Comhlámh
when I worked
on the EU Aid
Initiative
earlier this
year. In
Germany after
that, until
Oct. 22, 2014.
Blogs re: my work
in Ukraine Aug. 3 - Oct. 3, 2014:
I'm
in Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine, August 4, 2014
Apps
for good ? two things I learned in Ukraine this week, August 12, 2014
Fearing
your own colleagues in the field, August 13, 2014
What
a work day is like ? so far, August 15, 2014
Ukrainian
named Wikipedian of the Year 2014, August 15, 2014
World
Humanitarian Day is TODAY, August 19, 2014
Reconciliation,
August 20, 2014
My
job: reading the consequences of war, August 26, 2014
Humans
of New York guy posting re: Ukraine, September 8, 2014
where
are the evaluations of hacksforgood/appsforgood?, September 9, 2014
Ukrainian
journalism student project: Stopfake.org, September 10, 2014
Tweets
from UNDP Ukraine?s Social Good #inno4dev summit, September 25, 2014
Using
social media to promote respect, tolerance, reconciliation?,
September 26, 2014
What
I Did in Ukraine for the United Nations, October 12, 2014
August 2014
Hard to Reach: In
Ukraine for Aug & Sept., Germany & Ireland
for most of Oct.
I'm off to Kiev (Kyiv) Ukraine for all of August and
September, for a
two-month consultation with UNDP. I'll be blogging
and tweeting
about my experience as much as time allows. Then, in
October, I'll be in Germany for most of the month for
a vacation - it will be my first time back in Germany
since I left in 2009, after living there for 8 years.
My phone numbers will
not work while I am abroad. If you need to
reach me, please email
me; if you need to reach me URGENTLY (for
instance, you are from the media and you are working
on a story and you are on deadline), write a tweet and
mention @jcravens42.
June
2014
Incorporating
virtual volunteering into a corporate employee
volunteer program
(a resource for businesses / for-profit companies)
Virtual volunteering - volunteers providing service
via a computer, smart phone, tablet or other
networked advice - presents a great opportunity for
companies to expand their employee philanthropic
offerings. Through virtual volunteering, some
employees will choose to help organizations online
that they are already helping onsite. Other
employees who are unable to volunteer onsite at a
nonprofit or school will choose to volunteer online
because of the convenience.
Información
de voluntariado virtual en español
Aquí hay unas enlaces a la información en español
sobre el voluntariado virtual.
A
blog about my two-week motorcycle tour of Utah,
Nevada & Oregon in June 2014.
2989 miles / 4810.329 kilometres. Included
Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, Moab, Arches
National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol
Reef National Park (the most under-rated national
park), Goblin Valley - Utah State Park, Anasazi
State Park Museum, Bryce Canyon National Park,
Great Basin National Park, camping on BLM land,
Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, and more!
Onsite workshop in Portland, Oregon:
Virtual
Volunteering: The Right Way to Engage Online
Volunteers
Wednesday, June
4, 2014, 6 to 8 pm, Idealist, 209 SW Oak
St, Ste 600. Networking and refreshments
6pm-6:15pm/6:30pm
May 2014
Webinar: Virtual
Volunteering: An Untapped Resource for
Employee Engagement
10-11 a.m. San Francisco time (1 - 2 p.m. New
York City time), Wed., May 28th, 2014
Why is virtual volunteering worth encouraging at
your company or business, to benefit nonprofit
organizations, what policies do you need in
place, how can you support employees as online
volunteers, and how can you track and celebrate
their accomplishments? Join VolunteerMatch in
conversation with me, Jayne Cravens, and Kaye
Morgan-Curtis, of Newell Rubbermaid, to answer
these questions and hear how companies are using
this strategy to engage employees who might not
have otherwise been able to participate in their
programs.
April 2014
Internet-mediated
Volunteering in the EU (virtual
volunteering)
At long last, Internet-mediated
Volunteering in the EU: Its history,
prevalence, and approaches and how it
relates to employability and social
inclusion, has been published. My
research was for the ICT4EMPL Future Work
project undertaken by the Information Society
Unit of the Institute for Prospective
Technological Studies at the European
Commission?s Joint Research Centre, and consumed
most of my 2013.
Updated:
Folklore,
Rumors (or Rumours) & Urban Myths
Interfering with Development & Aid/Relief
Efforts, & Government Initiatives (&
how these are overcome)
Folklore, rumors (or rumours) and urban myths /
urban legends often interfere with relief and
development activities, and government
initiatives, including public health initiatives
-- even bringing such to a grinding halt. They
create ongoing misunderstandings among communities
and cultures, prevent people from seeking help,
encourage people to engage in unhealthy and even
dangerous practices, cultivate mistrust of people
and institutions, and have even lead to mobs of
people attacking someone or others for no reason
other than something they heard from a friend of a
friend of a friend. This resource has examples of
this happening and how to prevent or address such.
March 2014
Online volunteers
supporting aid and development
Since November 2013, I've been providing advice
and research regarding the online
volunteering component of the EU
Aid Volunteers initiative, through
People In Aid and France Volontaire. I'm finishing
up my involvement in the project by the end of
March.
Motorcycle
& bicycle riders supporting aid
and development
Just updated with new examples!
Motorcycles for good? Indeed! This page
tracks the use of motorcycles in
development / aid / relief / humanitarian
efforts in developing countries. This
isn't so much about volunteers going to
developing countries and using motorcycles
for relief efforts; rather, these efforts
are more about local people being trained
to ride and service motorcycles themselves
as a part of such efforts, which not only
helps get aid, including medicine, where
it needs to go, but also helps create
small businesses. At the bottom of the
page is advice for individuals and small
groups who want to use their motorcycles
and travels to help others.
February & March 2014 Webinars
The
Best Assignments for Online Volunteers, an hour-long webinar
for TechSoup.
The
Right Way to Engage Online Volunteers, an hour-long webinar
for VolunteerMatch.
January 2014
On January 21, I had a super fun tweet chat as a guest of
VolunteerMatch. The subject? Virtual volunteering, of course! You
can read the transcript here.
Here's the video
from my presentation for San
Francisco Online Community Meetup Group (OCTribe), at
TechSoup, talking about applying volunteer
management principles to online community management. Here
are the slides
I used for the presentation.
November 2013
Free training
video of me talking about Using Internet &
Smartphone Apps to Work With Volunteers.
This workshop, Real Tools
for Real People: Using Internet & Smartphone Apps to
Work With Volunteers, is a 90 minute training video
made at the October Corporation for National and Community
Service 2013
Pacific Cluster Learning Community Conference,
with twang (I'd been in Kentucky two weeks previously). It's
focused on managers of AmeriCorps, VISTA, SeniorCorps and
other national service members, however, it's applicable to
any initiative involving volunteers. Sorry that the video
doesn't pick up the laughs from the terrific audience of
about 50 or more people.
Virtual
Volunteering in Europe 2013
For much of
2013, I researched and wrote about Internet-mediated
volunteering (virtual volunteering, online volunteering,
microvolunteering, online mentoring, etc.) in European Union
(EU) countries. I've provide some analysis from that project
that either aren't in the paper I've submitted, but I think
they should be out in public for discussion, or, that are
in the paper, but I wanted to highlight them in particular
for discussion.
Initiatives
opposed to some or all volunteering (unpaid work), and
online and print articles about or addressing
controversies regarding volunteers replacing paid
staff
This is a list of organizations and initiatives opposed to
some kinds of volunteering (unpaid work), or ALL kinds of
volunteering, including unpaid internships at nonprofit
organizations / charities. It is also a list of online and
print articles about or addressing controversies regarding
volunteers replacing paid staff. Most of the links are to
initiatives or actions in Europe or the USA. This list has
been compiled to help researchers regarding volunteerism,
as well as for policy makers and volunteerism advocates
who want to avoid these kinds of controversies at
nonprofit organizations and government agencies. This list
is also compiled to refute those who believe that there
are no such controversies (believe it or not, those people
DO exist).
NEW RESOURCE
One(-ish)
Day "Tech" Activities for Volunteers
Volunteers are getting together for intense, one-day events,
or events of just a few days, to build web pages, to write
code, to edit Wikipedia pages, and more. These are
gatherings of onsite volunteers, where everyone is in one
location, together, to do an online-related project in one
day, or a few days. It's a form of episodic volunteering,
because volunteers don't have to make an ongoing commitment
- they can come to the event, contribute their services, and
then leave and never volunteer again. Because computers are
involved, these events are sometimes called hackathons, even
if coding isn't involved. This page provides advice on how
to put together a one-day event, or just-a-few-days-of
activity, for a group of tech volunteers onsite, working
together, for a nonprofit, non-governmental organization
(NGO), community-focused government program, school or other
mission-based organization - or association of such.
Do you welcome
people with your language - or make them
uncomfortable (even drive them away)?
An online exchange
with a volunteer manager putting together
a volunteer recognition event lead to this
blog regarding
word choices
and religious
activities at secular
organizations.
An archive of previous updates (at least six
months old) to my web site and blog. Some of these URLs will no
longer work, as I do sometimes change web page addresses (and I
do not update the URLs on this page):
October & November 2013
blogs
How
do international NGOs use Twitter?, 27 November
2013
It?s
real: the unpaid internships & volunteers controversy,
23 November 2013
New
report NOT by me re: microvolunteering, 14
November 2013
Online
volunteers, social media, disaster response & the
Philippines, 13 November 2013
mobile
devices, mobile apps, texting & volunteers, 28 October 2013
The
question I get asked again & again, 22 October 2013
No
complaints means success?, 17 October
2013
Freaking
out over Facebook privacy?, 15 October
2013
Volunteer
groups leading to financial donation/sponsorships?
14 October 2013
October 2013
Want to know what it looks like to live tweet an event? The 2013
Pacific Cluster Learning Community Conference, a
multi-day, multi-state training for people managing national
service programs, such as AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, was
held in October, and several of the sessions were broadcast
live on the Internet. I live-tweeted several sessions one day,
as the @Oregonvolunteer
guest tweeter. I have a
record of the day's tweets here (in reverse order).
Where I'm speaking
in October:
October 2, 8 to 10:30 a.m.
More
Donors, More Volunteers and More Awareness: Doing It All
With Better Outreach
at the Henderson County Cooperative Extension Education and
Exposition Center in Henderson, Kentucky - my first
presentation ever in my hometown!
October 7
ZAPP® / Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) 2013
Arts Festival Conference, in Louisville, Kentucky.
October 9 & 11
Essentials of Volunteer Engagement - all day intensive
trainings for AmeriCorps members in Oregon, hosted by Oregon Volunteers,
in Portland, Oregon.
October 23
Pacific
Cluster Learning Community Conference in Portland,
Oregon. For members of AmeriCorps and SeniorCorps, as well
as the program directors of such.
August
& September 2013 blogs
What
I learned from researching virtual volunteering in
Europe 16 September 2013
Open
Air Hackathon ? Nonprofits Get Web Sites, Designers Get
Accessibility Training, 4 September 2013
I
need your (not so stinking) badges, 31 August 2013
pro
vs. volunteer firefighters, 26 August 2013
Volunteers
needed, but are they wanted?, 21 August 2013
Fire
station turns away volunteers ? and how it could be
different World
Humanitarian Day, August 19, 20 August 2013
Me
in D.C. & Philly area in April 2014, 14 August
2013
Unions
& Nonprofits: Commentary from the Nonprofit
Quarterly, 12 August 2013
July 2013
I'm absolutely consumed with finishing the EU
project related to virtual volunteering and
employability/social inclusion, plus getting updated
edition of the Virtual
Volunteering Guidebook finished with Susan Ellis. PLUS,
doing all that a new home owner needs to do (no one told me
THAT was a full-time, unpaid job!). I apologize if you have
written me and I haven't responded. I am devoting an hour
every day to doing nothing but responding to email - but if
you wrote before, say, May and still haven't heard from me, by
all means, write me again!
I'll be available again for consulting around September, but
heads up: I am a part of a team put together by an
organization that just submitted a bid on a very large
project, and if that bid comes through, I may be booked solid
again for the rest of the year - so get those requests in now
for training/teaching
and consulting!
July 2013 blogs
global
survey on volunteer management software, 25 July 2013
Virtual
Student Foreign Service & eInternship program, 25
July 2013
Conferencia
Latinoamericana de Voluntariado, 14 al 16 de octubre, 23
July 2013
Virtual
volunteering & a rose by any other name…, 17 July
2013
Wiki
re: virtual volunteering in Europe, 15 July 2013
Virtual
volunteering in Europe, 11 July 2013
Update
re: research on virtual volunteering in Europe, 09 July
2013
Presenting
online July 19
I'll be presenting regarding virtual volunteering for the
Metropolitan Volunteer Management Association (MVMA) in St.
Louis for all those in St. Louis, Missouri that work with
volunteers in any capacity on July 19th at 11:30 am. I'll be
here in Oregon and they will be there in St. Louis, at
Paraquad (near the Science Center) - we'll be doing this via
WebEx. Good thing they booked me months in advance, because
otherwise, I couldn't have done this presentation now. Want
me to do this for you too in Fall 2013 or in 2014? Book
now!
April, May & June 2013 blogs
Time
Magazine asserts there are no organized Atheist volunteers,
28 June 2013
Survey
for EU online volunteers, 27 June 2013
EU
agencies exploiting interns?, 27 June 2013
Campaign
to End the Overhead Myth, 18 June 2013
When
to NOT pay interns, redux, 14 June 2013
Finding
out how many orgs are involving online volunteers, 14
June 2013
Volunteerism
research should include virtual volunteering!, 05 June
2013
Why
I’m not outraged at the IRS, 31 May 2013
Say
yes to filling out that online profile, 30 May 2013
Free
online courses for relief & development workers,
28 May 2013
Spontaneous
“online volunteers” after disasters, 23 May 2013
From
just a bulletin board to a DISCUSSION, 09 May 2013
Thank
you, Portland metro area, 06 May 2013
April 2013
Thrilled to be working on a project for
the European Union regarding virtual volunteering!
I have a wiki
detailing the ict4empl project here. If you
are a charity, NGO, or other organization in any
European country that has involved volunteers
online, please check out the wiki and contact me!
This EU project means that, through July 2013, I
won't be taking on any new consulting projects,
though I might be able to squeeze in an
online presentation.
I would really love to start a new
consulting project in mid-September! It's
not too early to
start thinking about how I might be able to help
YOUR organization or program!
March
2013 blogs
Online
community service company tries to seem legit, Mar 26,
2013
Crowdsourcing
& Microvolunteering: still not new, still takes a lot of
work, Mar 25, 2013
Without
a Champion, Your Initiative Won’t Survive, Mar 18, 2013
It's
Official: My New Blog Home, Mar 6, 2013
February 2 8, 2013
Just got word last week that posterous.com is shutting down - it
hosts my blog. So, for the next several weeks, I'm working on moving my
blog to a new host. And then, once all of the content is
moved, I have to change all of the addresses on my web site to
blog posts to the correct locations. So, no new blogs until
March. Sorry for that. And altogether, this is another reminder
of why you still need to keep a traditional web site, and own
the domain name for such - don't let anyone tell you to switch
your entire web site to a blog host - blog hosts DO go away!
January & February 2013 blogs
Everything
old is new again, & again, Feb 6, 2013
What
do NGOs understand that USA nonprofits don't?, Feb 4, 2013
No,
I won't post your jargon, Jan 30, 2013
Hey,
where did January go?, Jan 25, 2013
Nonprofits
*are* job creators!, Jan 07, 2013
Hire
me in 2013 - let me help make your organization even better!,
Jan 02, 2013
February 7, 2013
Apologies for being so lax in updating my web site
and blogging so far in 2013. My excuses:
- I bought a house and moved (house, office, the works)
- I started a new consultancy gig (in addition to one I
already have - hey, maybe the economy is improving!)
I have been very busy in 2013 on my twitter account (
@jcravens42) and my fan
page on Facebook, posting lots of news, resources and
questions. And, of course, I've been super busy on the TechSoup
Community Forum.
December 11, 2012
Email fail part deux.
In early 2012, I lost two year's of email, thanks to
Thunderbird's "compact mail" feature, which actually means
"delete mail." I posted about it to Twitter and to Facebook
several times, as well as here on my What's New page, but I know
there were several people who were waiting for replies from me
who may not have known their messages were deleted and I had no
way to contact them. Well, it's happened again, this time
because I accidentally marked an entire day's email as junk mail
and deleted it. I also realized several folks have been sending
me email and it's been blocked as junk for probably six months!
I keep telling you all I'm not a techie - now you have proof. If
you have written me and are wondering why I haven't responded,
please try again - and apologies. I'd fire myself but,
unfortunately, I'm the only tech staff I can afford.
December 2012 blogs
volunteering
in the digital age - cool, but not new, Dec 20
mobile
apps in nonprofit program & management work, Dec 17
Nonprofits
still struggling, Dec 13
Striking
a chord in 2012, Dec 11
Dec.
5: International Volunteer Day for Economic & Social
Development, Dec 05
Volunteer
Engagement the Roller Derby Way, Dec 03
November 16, 2012
I'm looking for photos of online volunteers - people
engaged in virtual volunteering. Online mentoring. Cyber
service. Microvolunteering. Crowd-sourcing. Clowd computing
volunteering. Whatever the hot new term is. These are people
who research information, design web sites, databases or
graphics, prepare proposals, edit documents, translate text,
offer professional advice, moderate online discussion groups,
contact the press write newsletter articles, manage web sites,
manage Flickr accounts, edit podcasts or online videos, or any
other activities to help organizations that support causes
those people believe in - but these people perform their
service as a volunteer (unpaid!) from their homes, their work,
a computer cafe, a cell phone/smart phone. Upload
your photos on this group on Flickr, and be sure
to note describe what you do (or the person in the photo does)
as an online volunteer, including either the name or a
description of the organization(s) supported.
November 2012 blogs
March
20-22, 2013 Australasian Retreat for Advanced Volunteer
Management, Nov 27, 2012
A
volunteerism blog, not a political one, Nov 14, 2012
What
mobile apps do you promote to clients, volunteers, supporters,
staff?, Nov 13, 2012
Adventure
tourism as a tool for economic & community development
Nov 09, 2012
Update
on a virtual volunteering scam, Nov 06, 2012
October 23, 2012
My
tech: the networked technology tools I use
(and have used over the years)
Since I started this web site back in 1996, I have
shared what technology tools I use - and how I use it.
I do that because I have found web sites by various
folks so very helpful when I'm learning some new
technology or wondering if I should invest in a new
tool, and because the Internet started off as a place
where people freely offered helpful advice and tools -
and it's my way of keeping that spirit alive. I'm no
techie, but I do like being a good citizen.
I led two
tweetchats on Twitter this month! The
tweetchat is focused on building and sustaining online
communities for nonprofits, charities, schools,
government programs and other mission-based
initiatives, though some corporate folks frequently
show up and share. More about
the #commbuild
tweetchat events.
August &
September 2012 blogs
NGOs
are using the cloud - but there are barriers, September
24, 2012
Magical
paychecks, September 18, 2012
Theater
as a community development/education tool - it takes more
than artists, August 21, 2012
Women
& the Digital Divide: still a reality?, August 14,
2012
Tourism
as a tool for economic & community development,
August 08, 2012
Managers
of volunteers love spreadsheets, August 06, 2012
I'm away from the Internet Aug. 31 - Sept. 16, 2012
I'm away from the Internet - no email, no Twitter, no nuthin'.
Truly unplugged. I expect to dig out from the piled up email
and tweets by the end of the month.
August 2012
July
2012 blogs
What's
so fabulous about software tools for volunteer management?,
July 23, 2012
What
did you learn today? Or this week?, July 19, 2012
What
do volunteers do? The answer may surprise you, July
17, 2012
Results
of survey re volunteer management software, July 10,
2012
Have
you ever changed your mind?, July 02, 2012
July 11, 2012
Results of our survey regarding volunteer management
software
In March and April 2012, myself and Rob Jackson drafted and
circulated a survey regarding software used to manage
volunteer information. The purpose of the survey was to
gather some basic data that might help organizations that
involve volunteers to make better-informed decisions when
choosing software, and to help software designers to
understand the needs of those organizations. We also wanted
to get a sense of what organizations were thinking about
volunteer management software. At long last, we're
publishing the results of the survey here (in PDF). It
includes an executive summary of our findings, as well as
the complete responses to questions and our analysis of
such. Rob and I did not have time to analyze all of the
comments made in answer to some questions; for all
questions, we listed the comments made, but we did not
always offer any observations about such, or group the
responses into categories. We welcome the efforts of other
researchers to offer their own analysis of the data
provided. You can make
comments about the survey results on my blog.
June & May 2012 blogs
Say
it! Say it! "MANAGERS OF VOLUNTEERS", June 27, 2012
How
Yahoo could THRIVE, June 25, 2012
Do
departments at your org hate each other?, June 20, 2012
Before
you create that online profile... do you want to keep it?,
June 14, 2012
Pioneering
in "hacks for good": Knowbility, June 11, 2012
Volunteer
online with TechSoup, Jun 06, 2012
Nonprofits
& volunteers - time to brag on Techsoup!, June 04, 2012
Careful
what you claim: the passions around identity, May 31, 2012
Sound
off re employees & volunteers appropriate behavior online,
May 29, , 2012
what's
most important about software experience, May 21, 2012
When
to NOT pay interns, May 14, 2012
Don't
know Linda Graff? You're in trouble! , May 09, 2012
mama
jane., May 03, 2012
Share!
Spout! Debate! Discuss!, May 02, 2012
Presentation May 17, 2012
Portland, Oregon
Trends in Volunteer Engagement
Join me for a workshop for this intensive workshop for the Northwest Oregon Volunteer
Administrators Association (NOVAA), 9 am - noon, at the
First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson, Portland,
Oregon. Here are complete
details on the workshop, and how to RSVP. With the economy
the way it is, it's rare that I present onsite, face-to-face these
days (usually, I'm asked for webinars), let alone for something
this intensive, so don't miss this opportunity!
Book
me to present /teach a class for your organization!
April 2012 blogs
The
volunteer as bully = the toxic volunteer, April 24, 2012
Fear
of Wrestling, April 16, 2012
My
Twitter Lists, April 12, 2012
I
don't like "Closed Gardens", April 10, 2012
So
Many Young People, April 5, 2012
Volunteer
Management: Once More with Meaning, April 04, 2012
Unofficial,
DIY volunteer? Or something else?, April 03, 2012
April 11, 2012
March 30, 2012
Transitioning from an iBook to
a MacBook
(& then upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard)
In January 2008, I transitioned from my lime clamshell iBook,
running OS 9.2.2, to a MacBook running OS X. Part of that
transition was figuring out what the software on my MacBook
isn't just a demo and what such is actually for. Then in March
2012, I upgraded my MacBook from OS 10.5.8 to OS 10.6.8 (Snow
Leopard) - and I went through the same exercise as far as
software. Most of my choices are free and open source software
(FOSS). I share this in the hopes that it will help others
struggling with transitioning from one computer to another -
and to encourage more volunteers, paid consultants and staff
working with mission-based organizations to share such
stories, so we can all learn from each other.
March
2012 blogs
Nonprofits
& NGOs: Get to Know a University, Mar 27, 2012
Why
Your Organization Probably Doesn't Need A Facebook Page,
Mar 23, 2012
I
need your email address, Mar 20, 2012
learning
from a campaign that went viral, Mar 09, 2012
Same
thoughts as last year re International Women's Day, Mar
08, 2012
survey
re: volunteer management software, Mar 07, 2012
Do
NOT say "Need to Cut Costs? Involve Volunteers!", Mar
01, 2012
March 23, 2012
BIG UGLY COMPUTER PROBLEMS
If you have been trying to reach me, or waiting for a reply,
and wonder why I'm ignoring you, note: I am NOT ignoring you.
In fact, I tried up upgrade my OS and ended up nuking my hard
drive. The good news was almost everything was backed up. The
bad news was that what wasn't backed up was my email from all
of 2010, 2011 and 2012. If you you contacted me in that time,
you ever want to hear from me in the future AND you haven't
since March 16, 2012, please contact me.
March 15, 2012
Please take this
survey regarding the
software you are now using to track and/or schedule
volunteers. Whether you are using a series of
spreadsheets, a donor management software, or something
designed specifically for volunteers, I want to hear from
you! Software vendors: please consider sharing this survey
with your customers; the survey results, sans the
identifying information of survey takers, will be shared,
and can help you improve your product. THIS SURVEY WILL BE
REMOVED ON APRIL 4, 2012.
March 2, 2012
February 2012 blogs
Excuses,
excuses, Feb 29, 2012
I'm
a Frustrated Volunteer, Feb 22, 2012
I'm
a volunteer & you should just be GRATEFUL I'm here!,
Feb 21, 2012
Corporate
Volunteer Programs: What Do Nonprofits Want From Them?,
Feb 17, 2012
Volunteers:
still not free, Feb 15, 2012
In
defense of skills over passion, Feb 09, 2012
Can
potential volunteers find you?, Feb 07, 2012
No
more warm, fuzzy language to talk about volunteers!,
Feb 06, 2012
Can
Komen recover?, Feb 03, 2012
Why
I won't follow you on Twitter, Feb 02, 2012
January 2012 blogs
Volunteerism-related
research wish list for 2012, Jan 30, 2012
I'm
available for consulting & employment, Jan 27,
2012
volunteer
managers: you are NOT psychic!, Jan 24, 2012
Learning,
learning everywhere, Jan 18, 2012
Use
the LinkedIn Events Function!, Jan 17, 2012
A
missed opportunity with volunteers, Jan 12, 2012
Get
your 2012 events on Facebook NOW, Jan 10, 2012
Your
questions/comments re volunteers & technology,
Jan 09, 2012
Online
stuff: greater than, less than, Jan 06, 2012
Using
a Cell Phone or Feature Phone as a Smart Phone,
Jan 04, 2012
New Resources! (January 3, 2012)
Using a Cell Phone or
Feature Phone as a Smart Phone
Though it may be hard for those of you have smart
phones to believe, not everyone has a smart phone.
Millions of people simply cannot afford a smart phone.
Some of them use a simple cell phone, with very
limited capabilities: the ability to make and receive
phone calls and text messages. Some people have
something that's more than a cell phone but less than
a smart phone: they have a feature phone,
which has some web browsing capabilities. Can you use
a simple cell phone or a feature phone as a smart
phone? Yes! There are several free online tools that
can help you use whatever phone you have interact with
various Internet tools.
Using the Internet
to Share Your Adventure During Your
Adventure
Advice on blogging, photo-sharing, tweeting, etc.
while you are traveling.
Most of the academic articles that have cited my
work are listed at my
Google Scholar account.
October 19, 2011
I started my second ever independent,
grass-roots online advocacy campaign - to get
the word out about the horrifically-named
"Pimp My Cause" and mobilize activists to tell
the organization that name has got to GO.
Here's my
first blog on the subject, and a followup
blog. It's been a fascinating experience
to be in such a role; while I've helped with
many a local, state, national or international
campaign undertaken by a nonprofit
organization, an NGO, an international agency
or a government agency, this was my first
attempt to start and lead such entirely on my
own. I didn't do it for just the learning
experience, but that's definitely been one of
the primary benefits for me. What was my first
ever independent, grass-roots online advocacy
campaign? To bring
to light this virtual volunteering / online
community service possible scam
(note updates in comments section).
July 18, 2011, 2011
July 10, 2011
Required
Volunteer Information on Your Web Site
If your organization or department involves volunteers,
or wants to, there are certain things your organization
or department must have on its web site - not by law, of
course, but from a point of view of ethics and
credibility. To not have this basic information about
volunteer engagement on your web site says that your
organization or department takes volunteers for granted,
does not value volunteers beyond money saved in
salaries, or is not really ready to involve volunteers.
Mission
statements for your volunteer engagement
(Saying WHY your organization or department involves
volunteers!)
In addition to carefully crafting the way you talk
about the value
of volunteers, your organization should also
consider creating a mission statement for your
organization's volunteer engagement, to guide
employees in how they think about volunteers, to guide
current volunteers in thinking about their role and
value at the organization, and to show potential
volunteers the kind of culture they can expect at your
organization regarding volunteers.
June 6, 2011
UPDATED:
Short-term tasks for tech volunteers
There are a variety of ways for nonprofits,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), schools,
government agencies and other mission-based
organizations to involve volunteers to help with
short-term projects relating to computers and the
Internet, and short-term assignments are what are
sought after most by potential "tech" volunteers.
But there is a disconnect: most organizations have
trouble identifying short-term tech-related
projects. This
list of one-time, short-term tech-related
volunteering assignments might takes a few
days, a couple of weeks or maybe a month to
complete. But each has a definite start date and end
date, shouldn't go on longer than a month (maybe
two) and does not require a volunteer to make an
ongoing commitment to the organization - once an
assignment is done, the volunteer can move on to
another assignment, or stop volunteering with the
organization altogether.
May 4, 2011
This summer, I'll be teaching one of the four Volunteerism
and Volunteer Management (PA592 CRN 82727 or
non-credit) classes for the Institute for
Nonprofit Management at Portland State
University. The classes are being organized by Erin
Barnhart, and will be held on June 22 and
29, and July 6 and 13. My portion will be on
using the Internet to support and engage with
volunteers, but please note that using the
Internet as a part of volunteer management will
permeate ALL of these classes, rather than being
segregated into just one section (which makes
this series of courses unique among volunteer
management classes and institutes!). More
information and details on registering here.
I can conduct classes,
workshops and training sessions on various
topics related to community outreach and
engagement. I can tailor workshops to a
variety of needs. Read
more here (including a list of my
trainings to date).
April 6,
2011
Webinar & Discussion: Using Social
Media with Volunteers
On Thursday, April 14 at 11 am Pacific
Time USA / 2 pm East Coast Time), TechSoup
is hosting a free, live webinar
to discuss ways to use social media to
find, communicate with and build
community among volunteers.
Happening during National Volunteer
Appreciation Week in the USA, this
webinar is for nonprofits, schools,
libraries, and any mission-based
organizations interested in exploring
how social media and other technologies
might be used to strengthen their
current volunteer program.
The presentation will be by Erin
Barnhart and me, Jayne
Cravens.
We will focus on examples of different
ways different organizations have used
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other
platforms to support current volunteers
and recruit new volunteers. We will talk
about ways to introduce or expand an
organization's use of such tools. And we
will also review some cautions about
using these tools with volunteers.
We want this to be a highly practical
workshop, and we want the learning to
continue long after the webinar is over.
So reply to this
message on the TechSoup community
forum with your questions,
concerns and examples regarding using
social media tools to find,
communication with and build community
among volunteers!
Feel free to publicize this
workshop and the TechSoup
discussion thread to your own
networks. And please
RSVP and attend on April 14!
March 22,
2011
March 8, 2011
- Creating
Group Volunteering Activities
Details on not just what groups of
volunteers can do in a two-hour,
half-day or all-day event, but
also just how much an organization
or program will need to do to
prepare a site for group
volunteering. It's an expensive,
time-consuming endeavor - are you
ready? Is it worth it?
January 25, 2011
December 2010 Blogs:
- Beware
those charity rating sites, Dec 30, 2010
- aid
worker arrested in Haiti, Dec 29, 2010
- capacities
of small NGOs to fundraise, Dec 28, 2010
- Germany
needs 90 thousand volunteers immediately, Dec 27, 2010
- Comment
on blogs by Afghan women, Dec 23, 2010
- Your
flow chart for volunteers, Dec 21, 2010
- In
Budapest soon & looking for more European gigs, Dec
20, 2010
- Volunteers
need to be talking online about volunteering, Dec 17,
2010
- Empower
women, empower a nation, Dec 16, 2010
- Incredibly
sad news re: Gary Chapman, Internet pioneer, Dec 15,
2010
- Volunteers
trying to help on their own, Dec 14, 2010
- Needed:
Online Volunteering Research, Dec 13, 2010
- Special
Issue on the Voluntary Work of Students in Higher Education,
Dec 10, 2010
- What
triggers humanitarian action? Dec 09, 2010
- Another
anti-volunteer union Dec 08, 2010
- Aid
workers in fiction - new ABC show in January, Dec 07,
2010
- Slackervism
on Facebook again, Dec 06, 2010
- Baby
Boomer Volunteers - don't believe all of the hype, Dec
06, 2010
- International
Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development, Dec
05, 2010
- Dec.
3, International Day of Persons With Disabilities<,
Dec 03, 2010
- International
Association of Fire Fighters is anti-volunteer, Dec 02,
2010
- Is
Jumo really necessary?, Dec 01, 2010
- Volunteerism
FAIL, Dec 01, 2010
December 29, 2010
- Screening Volunteers
for Attitude
When an organization involves volunteers in
high-responsibility, long-term roles, volunteer turnover can
be a program killer. Screening is vital to finding the right
people for high-responsibility, long-term volunteer roles,
particularly those where the volunteer will work with clients
and the general public, and to screen out people who may be
better in shorter-term assignments or assignments where they
would not work with clients or the general public, or who
would not be appropriate in any role at the organization.
- Make All
Volunteering as Accessible as Possible
Tips for creating an accommodating and welcoming environment
for volunteers with disabilities.
November 2010 Blogs
- A
war on nonprofits & NGOs?, Nov 30, 2010
- But
virtual volunteering means it takes no time, right?, Nov
29, 2010
- Shout
out to nonprofit efforts to refurbish computers, Nov 27,
2010
- the
Philanthrobabble Generator, Nov 26, 2010
- Too
late to volunteer for the holidays? , Nov 24, 2010
- Sad
news re: Volunteering England, Nov 23, 2010
- Online
volunteers essential to Wikimedia fundraising, Nov 22,
2010
November 15, 2010
- Starting a
Nonprofit or Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
The laws and procedures for starting a nonprofit organization,
a non-governmental organization (NGO), a charity or a
foundation vary from country to country. The laws and
procedures are never exactly the same. This page offers
general advice that is usually required in most countries, as
well as a list of web sites for various countries regarding
how to start a nonprofit organization, NGO, etc.
October 20, 2010
- Micro-Volunteering
and Crowd-Sourcing: Not-So-New Trends in Virtual
Volunteering/Online Volunteering
Back in the 1990s, I called it byte-sized
volunteering: online volunteering tasks that take just a few
hours or a few days to complete, like translating some text
into another language, gathering information on one topic,
tagging photos with certain keywords, etc. Now, the hot-new
term for this is micro-volunteering. It's no different
than offline, episodic volunteering; just as volunteers who
come to a beach cleanup or participate in a Habitat for
Humanity work day don't undergo a criminal background check,
don't receive a long pre-service orientation, don't fill out a
lengthy volunteer application form and may never volunteer
with the organization again, online volunteers that
participate in a micro-volunteering task may get started on
their assignment just a few minutes after expressing interest.
But just as offline episodic volunteering like beach cleanups
are more about building relationships, creating more awareness
and cultivating more supporters, micro-volunteering
needs to have the same goals in order to be worth doing,
and that takes having established, tried-and-true volunteer
management standards in place.
August 17, 2010
- Microblogging and Volunteers
Microblogging means sending text messages of less than
140 characters to several cell phones and/or via the Internet
to subscribers. This resource
is a no-nonsense, anti-fluff, anti-hype, practical list to
help nonprofits explore microblogging and use it effectively
with volunteers, event attendees and others they are trying to
reach.
July 26, 2010
July 12, 2010
July 1, 2010
- NEW:
Using Third Party Web
Sites Like VolunteerMatch to Recruit Volunteers
There are lots and lots of web sites out there to help your
organization recruit volunteers. You don't have to use them
all, but you do need to make sure you use them correctly
in order to get the maximum response to your posts.
- UPDATED:
Outreach Via the Internet
for Mission-Based Organizations
It's more than just putting up a Web site; it involves finding
and posting to appropriate Internet discussion groups, sending
emails to current and potential customers, using online social
networking, perhaps even starting your own online
community.... it's pro-active, interactive and ongoing. It
needs to be nurtured and fully supported, just as with all
your public interactions. Online outreach and online service
delivery should accurately reflect your agency's mission and
culture.
June 30, 2010
I've launched some new pages on my web site, designed for
those who aren't volunteer managers, and aren't
professional nonprofit staff -- rather, these new pages are
for individuals, particularly young people, who want to do
some good, or need community service hours, or want to fund a
volunteering trip abroad, but aren't sure where to or how to
get started:
You will notice two big differences about these pages from the
rest of my web site:
- Most of my web
site is focused on people who work with or for nonprofit
organizations and NGOs, particularly those who outreach to or
engage with the community (communications managers, PR and
marketing managers, volunteer managers, program managers,
etc.), and is focused on promoting my
areas of expertise. By contrast, these
new pages are focused on individuals, particularly young
people, who want to do some good, or need community service
hours, but aren't sure where to or how to get started. If the
Community
Service section of Yahoo had an FAQs section, this
is what it should say.
- The majority of my web site, which is focused on those who
are formally affiliated with nonprofits and NGOs, are ad-free.
This new section of my web site is not.
By clicking on any of the ads on these
pages, you help me raise funds to maintain my entire web
site (web hosting, domain name ownership and, ofcourse, my time).
Also, I'm not responsible for the advertising that appears on
these pages (ads are Google's
decision).
UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS
- April 29, 2010, 10:30 am - noon
Using
the Internet to Support and Involve Volunteers (Virtual
Volunteering)
HandsOn/United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley
Salem, Oregon, USA
- May 4, 2010
New Rules: Volunteer Engagement
What's changing in involving and supporting volunteers
Part of the Connections
Fair by the Nonprofit
Network Southwest Washington
Vancouver, Washington, USA
- July 15, 2010, noon - 1:30 p.m.
Introduction to Using the Internet to Supporting and
Involving Volunteers
Presentation for Northwest
Oregon Volunteer Administrators Association (NOVAA)
Portland, Oregon, USA
Further details TBA
Read
more about the training I can provide your organization.
Bookings taken up to one year in advance. My schedule fills up
quickly.
April 1, 2010
- No foolin': I had an amazing time in March
Australia, training as part of an advanced onsite retreat
for experienced volunteer managers in Australia, and training
at volunteer centers throughout Southern Australia (Volunteering
Tasmania (Hobart), Northern
Volunteering (Adelaide), Volunteering Western
Australia (Perth), Volunteer South West (Bunbury), Albany & Regional
Volunteer Service (Albany), Volunteering
Victoria (Melbourne).
A reminder: While I'm ready to lead a variety of workshops and
trainings regarding a variety of subjects on volunteer
management, community engagement, communications,
strategic planning, etc., I am also happy to make
references to other consultants/trainers/experts who may be
nearer to your geographic location (including international
sites) or have an expertise different from my own. Please contact me for a reference.
February 25, 2010
- I have written about my volunteering experiences with BPEACE (Busines Council
for Peace), a UNIFEM
partner and non-profit organization that mobilizes business
professionals as volunteers to help entrepreneurs in countries
emerging from war, like Rwanda and Afghanistan, to expand
local businesses and create employment (and thereby build a
peaceful, properpus future). I hope that this testimonial will
both recruit new volunteers for BPEACE, as well as to
illustrate yet another example of online
volunteering/virtual volunteering.
February 9, 2010
- Women's
Access to Public Internet Access in Transitional and
Developing Countries
Home and family obligations, lack of transportation,
low-literacy and perceived lack of value keep many women and
girls from accessing public Internet access points in
developing and transitional countries. But there's another
factor that is rarely talked about: in developing and
transitional countries in particular, many of these public
access points can be male-dominated, with mostly male users
and few -- or no -- female users, and for many women,
particularly women in developing countries, this makes the
public access point off-limits to them. This new web page
advocates for women-only Internet centers, or women-only hours
at such, and offers resources to support such efforts.
February 1, 2010
- Keeping Volunteer
Information Up-to-Date
Keeping track of volunteer information is a challenge. At
minimum, an organization has to keep track of volunteers'
up-to-date email address and phone number. Organizations also
need volunteers to report what they are doing as volunteers
and how many hours they are contributing -- each day, each
week or each month. Having this information for volunteers is
vital to the sustainability of volunteer involvement. This
page offers suggestions on how to keep volunteer information
up-to-date, with the goal of getting the information your
organization needs with minimal effort on your part.
- Recruiting
Local Volunteers To Increase Diversity Among the Ranks
Having plenty of volunteers usually isn't enough to say a
volunteering program is successful. Another indicator of
success is if your volunteers represent a variety of ages,
education-levels, economic levels and other demographics, or
are a reflection of your local community. Most organizations
don't want volunteers to be a homogeneous group; they want to
reach a variety of people as volunteers (and donors and other
supporters, for that matter). This resource will help you
think about how to recruit for diversity, or to reach a
specific demographic.
January 4, 2010
Happy New Year! Employ me!
Want to know when this site is updated? Whether you are a fan
of my work or a stalker, it's oh-so-easy to stay up-to-date with
me and my web site:
2012,
2011 & 2010 Blogs (index of titles, by date)
December 16, 2009:
In March 2010, I'll be making my first trip "down under", to lead an intense, onsite
retreat in Adelaide Hills, Australia for experienced
volunteer managers. The focus will be on how volunteer managers
can stay relevant "in a world where the challenges facing
volunteering are becoming more complex every day" and how "to
create volunteering environments in which volunteers can flourish
and be most effective." Read more about my
workshops/training/teaching, as well as my other consulting services.
November 24, 2009:
As I
blogged about earlier, the world's largest online
volunteering endeavor, otherwise known as Wikipedia, is engaging in a
year-long process to develop a strategic plan for the Wikimedia movement.
Specifically, Wikimedia is trying to understand where it is now,
where it wants to be in five years, and how Wikimedia could get
there from here.
(Wikipedia is the highest profile activity of Wikimedia, but
not the only one. Have a look at all the Wikimedia projects to
learn more.)
I am volunteering as part of the process; I started by adding
myself to the Wikimedia
expert database. I did this to allow task forces and
other volunteers to reach me with questions, which I can respond
to as I have time. However, I ended up instead being asked to join
a Wikimedia task force - specifically, the Community
Health Task Force. A larger time commitment than I was
looking for... but I've been able to contribute probably eight
hours total, over two days, and as a volunteer manager myself,
based on my own experience, I think that's a lot. I've
summarized my own recommendations here (note that one of
them is my
own proposal regarding volunteer recognition).
Participate! Comment on those proposals! Here
are my favorite proposals and from there, you can find and
read even more. If you don't know how to comment, contact me and I will walk you
through it.
What I like about the process:
- I'm always interested in seeing first hand what's happening
regarding online volunteering. Participating in this process
(as well as others) keeps me sharp in my abilities to provide
advice to others regarding online volunteering.
- Finally, people are calling Wikimedia contributors what
they are: VOLUNTEERS. It's so nice to see that many Wikimedia
contributors are embracing that word. I would like to see
Wikimedia do so in its own communications. The Wikipedia
entry for itself never mentions online volunteering and
doesn't link to the Wikipedia
entry for virtual volunteering, even though, as I
already said, Wikipedia is the world's largest online
volunteering endeavor anywhere. The page is protected so that,
unlike most other pages, anyone can't edit the page. So if you
have a Wikipedia account, please go to the
talk page for the Wikipedia entry and note that you
think there should be a link from the page to the Wikipedia
entry for virtual volunteering.
- Getting a notice via email that I need to go look at our
task force page or my own pages.
What I don't like about the process:
- I would have like a very clearly-defined task description
of what it is I'm supposed to be doing as a Wikipedia
contributor. I was so lost at first I avoided reading updates.
I'm one of those online volunteers that needs very specific
directions for some jobs: do this, then do this, then do this,
and finally do this.
- I think there should be a way for non-wiki-savvy users to
contribute. Something easier to use, ala YahooGroups or GoogleGroups.
But that's it, really. I love it when an organization invites
volunteers to contribute to strategic plans, and I love it when
they provide an online way to do so. It's always a good
thing to do. No matter what happens, Wikimedia can at least
say, "Wow, we have a LOT of community members/volunteers who
REALLY care about our future!" Can your nonprofit say that?
A year from now, I will be intensely interested to see which
of these recommendations are implemented, and how.
November 20, 2009:
I'll be in Belgrade, Serbia to lead workshops for EducationUSA. From
their web site:
EducationUSA is a global network of more than 400
advising centers supported by the Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department
of State. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
(ECA) fosters mutual understanding between the United States and
other countries by promoting personal, professional, and
institutional ties between private citizens and organizations in
the United States and abroad, as well as by presenting U.S.
history, society, art and culture in all of its diversity to
overseas audiences. The foreign students of yesterday are
becoming the world leaders today.
I'll be doing intensive workshops
to get local staff from the area's Educational Centers up-to-speed
on demonstrating both financial and program credibility
and transparency: how to create and communicate a
realistic budget, writing a program proposal, and communications
activities to build credibility with current and potential
partners. It's an agenda I could easily spend a WEEK on, truly.
I'll arrive in Belgrade Dec. 6, and depart Dec. 12. If you are in
Belgrade in that time and would like to meet, please email me. Please tell me who you are,
the organization you represent, and why you would like to meet.
More about my training and consulting
services. Please note I am not taking any new consulting
jobs for the rest of 2009, through January 2010.
November 12, 2009:
- Preservation of Pioneering Effort Re: Volunteers &
ICT
The United Nations Information
Technology Service (UNITeS) was a global volunteer
initiative to help bridge the digital divide. UNITeS both
supported volunteers applying information and communications
technologies for development (ICT4D) and promoted volunteerism
as a fundamental element of successful ICT4D initiatives. UNITeS
was launched in 2000 by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan,
and was hosted by the United Nations Volunteers programme.
UNITeS was active until 2005. As of November 2009, all UNITeS
web site materials were taken down from the orignal site.
Because many UNITeS materials continue to be in demand, and to
continue both the spirit of the initiative as defined by Kofi
Annan and as realized by UNV's former head, Sharon
Capeling-Alakija, I am now hosting
some of them here on my own web site, including Handheld computer
technologies in community service/volunteering/advocacy.
October 8, 2009:
- Want Cell Phone Updates Re: My Online Activities?
Love updates on your cell phone? I now send out Tweets whenever
I send Tech4Impact, as
well as when I update my
primary blog, update a blog elsewhere, or am in the news.
Follow me on Twitter at @jcravens42.
August 22, 2009:
- Rumors & Myths Derailing Development and Relief
Efforts:
It's Doesn't Happen Only in Developing Countries!
How rumors and myth can derail government initiatives, interfere
with community development initiatives and even become a danger
to some people is something
I've been interested in for many years. I maintain a web
page of examples
of such, as well as suggestions
on how to counter rumors and myths that threaten public
initiatives. In line with that interest, I've blogged
about my horrified fascination to see the most outlandish myths
imaginable being promoted as fact regarding the efforts to
reform health care coverage in the USA, and the role social
media and so-called Web 2.0 technologies are playing in
promoting the myths.
August 13, 2009:
- Now based in the Portland, Oregon area
Had a fantastic road trip from Louisville, Kentucky to Portland,
Oregon, seeing Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota,
Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington state along the way. I
have two consulting gigs going on
and am pretty much booked solid through mid-September 2009.
Subscribe to My Blog,
subscribe to my email newsletter, Tech4Impact,
or view my calendarfor updates
on my availability.
- Thank you, 700-plus subscribers to Tech4Impact
Not sure why, but numbers for my email newsletter, Tech4Impact, are rising. Thank
you, new subscribers! I tried to get rid of it once and replace
it entirely with my blog,
and the outcry was swift and definitive: no way!. Tech4Impact
provides information to help nonprofits, non-governmental
organizations/NGOs, civil society organizations, public sector
agencies, and schools to use computer and Internet technology to
benefit individuals, communities and the environment. Tech4Impact
is less about techno-jargon and more about the human factors in
using tech successfully. To sign up to receive Tech4Impact
by email, send a BLANK e-mail to:
tech4impact-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or, visit:
the Tech4impact YahooGroup
July 12, 2009:
- Moving to Portland; Update on Consulting
Availability
It's been a fun time in Louisville and getting re-acquainted
with living in the USA since April, but it's time to head out to
a more permanent home: I'll hit the road the last week of July
to move to Portland, Oregon and spend most of August getting
settled there. As I already have two consulting
gigs going on, that means I'm booked solid through
mid-September 2009. Subscribe to My Blog
or subscribe to my email newsletter, Tech4Impact,
for updates on my location and availability.
July 7, 2009:
- Microblogging and
Volunteers
Microblogging means sending text messages of less than
140 characters to several cell phones and/or via the Internet to
subscribers. Users can receive microblogs as emails, as updates
in their RSS readers or as updates on a particular web page --
the same for regular, old-school blogging. But microblogging
works best for nonprofits when they think about such as short
messages going to subscribers via cell phones - that application
is what truly makes the phenomena unique, and truly
sets it apart from other tech tools. This resource will help
nonprofits explore microblogging and use it effectively with
volunteers.
- New Resources Added Almost DAILY at My Blog
New resources are added regularly to My Blog,
and all resources added to my web site are announced on My Blog.
You can stay up-to-date about these by either subscribing to my
blog, or, subscribing to my email newsletter, Tech4Impact.
May 27, 2009:
July 16: Presenting in Louisville re: Online Volunteering
On July 16, I will present onsite for the first time ever in my
home state in Kentucky! I'm living in Kentucky through most of
July (first time I've lived in my home state in more than 20
years!) and I'm so excited to get to help nonprofits in my home
state in-person during this brief stay. I will present a two-hour
workshop about online volunteering/virtual volunteering at
the Center for Nonprofit
Excellence (CNPE) on 323 West Broadway, Ste 501 in
Louisville. The presentation will begin promptly at 9 a.m. Visit
the online CNPE training
calendar or call 502 315-2673 to register for the class.
Costs are $55.00 for members of CNPE and $75.00 for non-members
(however, please note that this money goes to CNPE, not me -- I'm
doing this pro bono). Space is limited. I
hope people as far away as Evansville, Indiana, Cincinnati, Ohio,
Nashville, Tennessee, and Bowling Green, Lexington, Frankfort and
Henderson, Kentucky, will make the drive for this workshop - it
will be worth it! This is not a technology workshop; this is a
workshop about working with humans! More information about
my training and consulting. Note that I'm also
available for online presentations
as well. And view my availability.
My schedule is filling up quickly.
I'm Looking for a Full-Time, Permanent Position!
Consulting on and off for the last
15 years, and full time for the last four years, has been
interesting and fun, and I have two consulting jobs to keep me
busy all summer. However, I'm ready to give up consulting for a
full-time job.
April 17, 2009:
Free live online event: working with tech volunteers
On Thursday, April 23, I will present a free, live webinar
for TechSoup on how to
effectively involve volunteers in computer and Internet related
tasks at your organization. The webinar will focus on ways
nonprofit organizations can identify such tech-related
assignments, ways support volunteers in these assignments, and,
ofcourse, methods to recruit and screen such volunteers. Nonprofit
staff members can feel a sense of both awe and fear about tech
volunteers, and this can lead to misunderstandings and
frustrations on the part of both parties. This webinar will help
nonprofit staff stay in control of tech volunteering tasks so that
the finished assignment meets the nonprofits' needs and the tech
volunteer has a satisfying experience. You will hear my voice live
via your computer and see a slide presentation, then you can text
your questions via webinar platform, and listen to my answers. The
webinar is at 11 a.m. Pacific USA time, 2 p.m. East Coast USA
time, and 8 p.m. Central Europe time. See times around the
globe (specifically the meeting planner) for other times
worldwide. See the See
the archived presentation here.
Back Livin' in America
After more than eight years as a broad abroad, I'm now back in
the USA, living temporarily in Louisville, Kentucky. I'm
available for consulting,
including teaching and presentations,
onsite or online (view my public calendar to see when I
am booked and when I am available), but my goal is to find a
full-time position at a nonprofit, government agency or
university setting by the end of 2009. More about me.
February 17, 2008
February 6, 2008
- For the last four years or so, in my spare time or through my
work, I've been collecting examples
of how folklore, rumors and urban myths interfere with
development and aid/relief efforts, as well as collecting
recommendations for preventing
folklore, rumors and urban myths from interfering with
development and aid/relief efforts. I've just greatly
expanded both the examples
and the recommendations
for prevention pages. Further examples, recommendations
and resources are always welcomed.
- I don't just advocate that people should volunteer; I'm also
a volunteer
myself. One of my many activities is as a volunteer with
the Aid
Workers Network, an all-volunteer online community for
people working in aid, relief & development.
The people who help maintain AWN are professional aid workers
who donate their time and expertise, often while they are
working in a developing country under contract with an aid
agency, to help keep AWN operating (I was able to volunteer for
AWN while in Afghanistan).
For AWN, I recruit and support volunteers who maintain the AWN
site and its operations. I'm using the
network itself, as well as the UN's
Online Volunteering service to recruit additional online
volunteers to support AWN. I've got five opportunities posted
there right now (as of February 2008). You can go
directly to the AWN account to view the opportunities. If
you are interested, just to see how one all-virtual organization
recruits its online volunteers or if you want to join in as a
volunteer, please check out those aforementioned links.
January 23, 2008
- I'm updating my
Blog regularly, with notices about when my web site
is updated, as well resources or announcements I want to pass on
to others and my availability for
consulting. The blog provides a way for readers to post
comments as well.
- I finally got my Nabaztag working. Her name is juanabunny.
If you have a Nabaztag, drop me a line on the network. If you
don't, then you have no idea what I'm talking about and, truly,
it's just a geek toy -- no worries.
January 6, 2008
Happy New Year! I am in the middle of transitioning from my beloved
lime clamshell iBook running OS
9.2.2, to a MacBook running OS X. Part of that transition is
figuring out what the software on my MacBook isn't just a demo and
what such is actually for. I have a page that lists everything I used my iBook for,
all of the software I was using on the iBook, and what I have
upgraded to or switched to for the MacBook, if anything yet.
Please note that in several cases I am still looking for
suggestions, and yours would be welcomed. And if, after looking at the list, you think
there's a better choice for a particular function, please let me
know.
December 19, 2007
- Me in the USA, May 2008
Looks like I'll be speaking at a private conference in Chicago
May 15. Around May 18, I'll fly down to Austin, Texas for
several days. I'm available for leading
other workshops and consulting
in the USA during that time, so if you are interested, please contact me (my schedule fills up quickly
.
October 24, 2007
- Simplifying Life with RSS
RSS... another hip tech acronym to learn. What is it and why
should your nonprofit / NGO / government office care? This
latest resource describes RSS in very simple terms, to show how
it can make media monitoring easier and reduce clutter in your
email inbox.
September 23, 2007
- See You in November:
I'll be presenting at the Institute
for Advanced Volunteer Management (IAVM) 2007 Residential
program, November 14 - 16 at the Paramount Imperial Hotel,
North Promenade Blackpool, England. This three-day retreat
presents 45 workshops by a variety of trainers; mine will focus
on online
volunteering and using the Internet to support volunteers.
SEATING IS LIMITED. More
information about the IAVM Residential.
- Volunteer Management Software Index - UPDATED
Some of the most frequently-asked questions to me are about
volunteer management software: what's available, how different
packages compare with each other, the cost of each, the features
of each, and on and on. I do not have the resources to create a
comparison of the different volunteer management software out
there. But I do provide a list
of all of the volunteer management software geared towards
nonprofit organizations (as opposed to corporate volunteering
programs) that I know about, or nonprofit-related
software/community relationship management software that has substantial
volunteer management functions. There are more than 30
software options available. I believe my
list is the most comprehensive list available anywhere.
September 1, 2007
- Advice
for Taking Photos in the Developing World
While working in Kabul, Afghanistan for most of this year, I
developed a MS Powerpoint for staff on taking photos in the
field. I relied heavily on all staff, particular Afghan staff,
no matter what their job titles, to take photos whenever
possible at events and workshops and during project site visits.
This is because many staff are prohibited from traveling to
certain parts of Afghanistan; international staff are sometimes
prohibited from leaving Kabul altogether. This
presentation/training touches on both the kinds of photos needed
and how to take photos in a culturally-sensitive manner. This
presentation is focused on a specific program and a specific
country (Afghanistan), but maybe by changing the photos and a
bit of text, it could work for you?
- Questions
to Ask for a Major Report from the Developing World
Most people who write reports about their projects in the
developing world rely heavily on field staff to provide
information. Often, however, field staff aren't expert report
writers (that includes native English speakers), and struggle to
provide meaningful, timely information in a coherent written
form. Many report writers get around this by interviewing field
staff about their work, so that needed information is provided
through answers to questions. This method can also build the
capacity of field staff to provide written information
themselves. This is a
list of questions I used to interview staff at an
initiative in Afghanistan that was focused on rural projects. I
based these questions on previous monthly and quarterly reports,
suggestions from donors, the initiatives stated objectives, and
my own need for information that could lead to stories in which
the press might be interested.
- UPDATED: Basic
Fund-Raising for Small NGOs serving the developing world
This free document provides very basic guidelines for small
NGOs in the developing world regarding fund-raising, and points
to other online resources. By small NGOs, I mean organizations
that may have only one paid staff member, or are run entirely by
volunteers; and may not have official recognition by the
government. When I began offering this more than a year ago,
this document was 15 pages long; now, it's 23 pages long.
August 22, 2007
Back from Afghanistan for Good
I returned last night. Quite an adventure. So much to say... more
soon.
As of February 20, 2007
- Electronic Waste is EVERYONE'S
Responsibility
When computers, stereos, VCRs, iPods, walkmans, video games,
software, and cell phones are put into land fills, they leak
poisons and heavy metals into the ground, endangering our lives
and the health of our planet. With 48.5 million computers
discarded each year, the USA is a particularly poor recycler and
global citizen, exporting its hazardous electronic waste to
developing countries, often illegally, and with horrific impacts
on human health and the environment in these countries. This
page will help your organization dispose of its electronic waste
in an environmentally-friendly manner.
As of February 6, 2007
- Me in Afghanistan, late Feb.-Aug. 2007
Yes, you read that right. I'm off to Afghanistan, to serve as
Communication and Reporting Advisor for the United Nation's
National Area-Based Development Programme (NABDP), part of UNDP.
And, yes, this changes significantly my availability for consulting assignments.
- In both 2005 and 2006, every Tech4Impact
issue included a brand new topic, never-before presented in a
previous issue. In 2007, even more brand new topics and
resources will be presented! To subscribe, send a blank email
to:
tech4impact-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or, visit:
tech4impact yahoogroup
As of January 16, 2007
- Listing of Volunteer
Management Software
Some of the most frequently-asked questions to me are about
volunteer management software: what's available, how different
packages compare with each other, the cost of each, the features
of each, and on and on. I do not have the resources to create a
comparison of the different volunteer management software out
there. But I do provide a list of all of such software, or
nonprofit-related software/community relationship management
software that has substantial volunteer management
functions, that I know about. I believe it is the most comprehensive list available
anywhere. I also offer criteria to help organizations choose
volunteer management software, and to help someone who might
want to create a comparison of such software.
As of January 11, 2007
Volunteering, Civic Engagement & MySpace
For a few months now, I've been fiddlin' with MySpace to see how young
people were using the site for activities relating to volunteerism
/ civic engagement -- if at all. There is, indeed, information
here and there from individual users, some of it quite inspiring,
but there's no overall guidance or encouragement for users on this
subject. So, I decided to use my blog on MySpace
(every user gets one) to focus specifically on volunteerism /
civic engagement for MySpace users -- most of whom are in their
teens and 20s. Please note that this MySpace blog does NOT replace
my main
blog.
Also see Nonprofit Organizations
and Online Social Networking (OSN): Advice and Commentary,
which offers a realistic set of possibilities and considerations
for nonprofits regarding OSN platforms like LinkedIn,
Friendster, MySpace and Care2.
As of January 3, 2007
Real-Time Communications With
Volunteers
A growing number of nonprofit/civil society organizations are
using real-time communications tools -- including video
conferencing, online phone calls, chats and instant messaging --
to hold online meetings with volunteers, to allow volunteers to
interact with staff, clients, or each other, or to involve
volunteers in a live, online, real-time event. "Using Real-Time Communications With
Volunteers" provides more information on using these
real-time computer, audio and video tools with volunteers -- what
the various tools are, how agencies are using them to interact
with volunteers, and tips to encourage and maintain participation
in synchronous communications.
As of November 20, 2006
As of November 2, 2006
- Community Relations, With
& Without Technology
This section of the Coyote Communications web site has been
greatly updated. It offers a range of advice and examples
regarding community (public media, volunteer, donor, government,
etc.) relations, both with and without technology. The advice is
focused on nonprofit staff (paid and volunteer) who aren't
the most tech-savvy people in the world, and who don't have
intensive training in media relations or using tech-related
tools, but are expected to master these activities as part of
their jobs. It's also focused on those who need to think about
and explore emerging technologies as part of their outreach
efforts, but who need advice written in very human, accessible,
non-technical language.
As of October 1, 2006
- Recognizing Online
Volunteers & Using the Internet to Honor ALL Volunteers
Recognition helps volunteers stay committed to your
organization, and gets the attention of potential volunteers --
and donors -- as well. Organizations need to fully recognize the
efforts of remote, online volunteers, as well as those onsite,
and not differentiate the value of these two forms of service.
Organizations should also incorporate use of the Internet to
recognize the efforts of ALL volunteers, both online and onsite.
With cyberspace, it's never been easier to show volunteers --
and the world -- that volunteers are a key part of your
organization's successes. This new resource provides a long list
of suggestions for both honoring online volunteers and using the
Internet to recognize ALL volunteers that contribute to your
organization.
As of August 1, 2006
As of June 7, 2006
- Stages of Maturity in
Nonprofit Orgs Using Online Services
What does a networking technology-savvy nonprofit organization
look like? To help nonprofits think about networking tech
standards they should pursue, and possible goals for the future,
I've created this assessment of the states of maturity for a
nonprofit organization's use of networking/online technologies.
- Handling Online Criticism
Online criticism of a nonprofit organization, even by its own
supporters, is inevitable. It may be about an organization's new
logo or new mission statement, the lack of parking, or that the
volunteer orientation being too long. It may be substantial
questions regarding an organization's business practices and
perceived lack of transparency. How a nonprofit organization
handles online criticism speaks volumes about that organization,
for weeks, months, and maybe even years to come. There's no way
to avoid it, but there are ways to address criticism that can
help an organization to be perceived as even more trustworthy
and worth supporting.
- NetSquared and the New
Wave of Online Volunteering
Tiny nonprofit organizations with very little staff are doing
extraordinary things with volunteers, and making their
volunteers feel included and energized, not with pins and
t-shirts but through greater and more-meaningful involvement.
This conference provided endless examples of such, and I
summarize them here.
As of May 9, 2006
- Nonprofit Organizations and
Online Social Networking (OSN): Advice and Commentary
OSN is buzz phrase used to describe special web-based online
communities that are accessible only for community members, like
LinkedIn, Friendster, MySpace and Care2. Is there a value for
nonprofit organizations to engage in OSN platforms? This resource offers a realistic
set of possibilities and considerations.
- Volunteering To
Help After Major Disasters
Whenever a disaster strikes, hundreds -- even thousands -- of
citizens in the USA start contacting various organizations in an
effort to try to volunteer onsite at the disaster site. But what
many of these people don't realize is that spontaneous
volunteers with no training and no affiliation can actually
cause more problems than they alleviate in a disaster situation,
particularly regarding disaster locations far from their home.
If you want to be a part of the mobilization for a future
disaster, here are tips to help you get into "the system," get
training, and be in a position to make a real difference.
- Reality Check:
Volunteering Abroad (especially for citizens of the USA)
Times have changed drastically in the last 30 years regarding
Americans and other "westerners" volunteering in other
countries. The emphasis in local relief and development efforts
is to empower local people, and to hire local people, whenever
possible, to address their own issues, build their own
capacities, and give them employment. This strategy is much more
beneficial to local communities than to bring in an outside
volunteer. That said -- the days of international volunteers are
NOT numbered: there will always be a need for international
volunteers, either to fill gaps in knowledge and service in a
local situation, or because a more neutral observer/contributor
is required. This new page provides tips on gaining the skills
and experience that are critically needed to volunteer overseas.
- My Upcoming Travel Schedule
I'll be in San Francisco, California, May 29 - June 4
(leaving on June 5), for the NetSquared Conference, and then
I'll be in Washington, DC: July 7 - 17 to present at the
UICC
World Cancer Congress regarding emerging trends and
innovations in volunteer management. If you would like to meet
with me while I'm in either city, or arrange a workshop at your
site regarding one of my areas of
expertise, please contact me
with your ideas. And please note that my schedule on USA trips
fills up very quickly!
As of April 12, 2006
As of April 2, 2006
- Essential/Favorite
Resources Regarding Volunteer Management and Volunteerism
There is a plethora of resources promoting volunteerism, and at
long last, the number of volunteer management resources has
grown significantly. But which are "the best"? This is a list of
my favorite resources relating to volunteerism and
volunteer management -- books and online resources from trusted,
established people and organizations that I believe should be
required reading of anyone who recruits and supports volunteers.
As of March 15, 2006
- Does Your
Organization's Practices Reflect Its Own Mission?
Being successful in today's business and media climate means an
organization must reflect in practice the values it promotes
publicly. This latest article offers examples of organizations
who aren't "walking their talk" regarding their mission, and the
consequences such organizations face in not doing so.
- Mistake
With an iPod:
Why Tech Is So Hard to Use Even For "Techies"
My own account of trying to buy a "new" technology and, despite
my attempts to do all the necessary research, making a costly
error. This is also an example of how software and hardware
companies make finding information difficult to find, and very
difficult to understand -- even for people who are supposedly
tech literate.
As of March 1, 2006
As of February 1, 2006
- Choosing Specialized
Software
(Or Using What You Already Have)
Label-making software, volunteer management software, project
management software, presentation software, art work software,
client-management software, fund raising software, etc. -- the
"Buy v. Build" database debate, what to look for in a particular
software package, etc.
As of January 25, 2006
- Why
Should the Poor Volunteer? It's Time To Re-Think the Answer
Editorial: When volunteering is so often presented just
one way -- as a state-sanctioned free labor activity --
reluctance and even hostility by the unemployed, the
cash-strapped and the disenfranchised are completely justified.
If governments and donors want volunteerism campaigns in poor
communities to lead to more volunteering, they must radically
update their message.
- In 2005, every Tech4Impact issue included a brand new topic,
never-before been presented in the almost five years I've been
publishing this monthly email newsletter. In 2006, even more
brand new topics and resources will be presented! By
subscribing, you can read
all of the 2005 issues of Tech4Impact. To subscribe, send
a blank email to:
tech4impact-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or, visit: tech4impact
yahoogroup
Tech4Impact will continue its focus on helping mission-based
organizations to use computer and Internet technologies to
benefit people, communities and the environment. Resources for
those using lower-end computers and older versions of software
will get particular emphasis, acknowledging that mission-based
organizations often do not have access to the latest and
greatest tech. And Tech4Impact will continue to be presented
in as much non-"techie" language as possible.
As of January 2, 2006
- Vetting
Organizations in Other Countries
One of the frequently asked questions I receive is: "how do I
know if a mission-based organization in another country is 'for
real'? I want to volunteer/donate to such, but first, I want to
make sure it's a credible organization, that it's not some sort
of scam, or an 'organization' of just one person." I'm also
seeing more and more organizations in developing countries
posting their requests for volunteers directly to public online
forums. This list of suggestions for anyone who is interested in
such organizations.
- Hosting
International Volunteers
More and more local organizations in developing countries are
turning to local expertise, rather than international
volunteers, to support their efforts. However, the need for
international volunteers remains, and will for many, many years
to come. This resource provides tips for local organization in a
developing countries interested in gaining access to
international volunteers.
As of October 12, 2005
- Mission-Based
Groups Need Use the Web to Show Accountability
The number and tone of media stories regarding mission-based
organizations/civil society and how they spent contributions in
the wake of various disasters have done little to help such
organizations better serve people in need. Rather, by
concentrating on a few bad cases, or by misrepresenting
administrative expenses as somehow unnecessary, they have made
potential supporters suspicious of all charities, and those
these organization's serve pay the ultimate price. There has
never been a better time for mission-based organizations to use
technology to show their transparency and credibility, and to
teach the media and general public about the resources needed to
address critical human and environmental needs.
- Theater
as a Tool For Development
For my Master's Degree in Development Studies (as in human,
institutional and community development), I conducted an
investigation of what elements need to be in place for an
organization engages to successfully use live, in-person
performance as a development tool, excluding performer
training and theater techniques. Research focused on the
experiences of people and organizations who have used live,
in-person performance as a development tool. I have now posted
descriptions of and, if possible, links to, all of the resources
that I used for this research project, which will be turned in
later this month. I hope others find these resources helpful,
and that the initiatives who shared information can get some
positive exposure for their efforts as a result.
As of September 6, 2005
What
are good blog topics for mission-based organizations?
The word "blog" is short for "web log", and means keeping a
journal or diary online. Blogging is NOT a new concept -- people
have been doing it long before it had a snazzy media label. The
appeal of blogging for an online audience is that it's more
personal and less formal than other information on a web site.
Readers who want to connect with an organization on a more
personal level, or who are more intensely interested in an
organization than the perhaps general public as a whole, love
blogs. Blogs can come from your Executive Director, other staff
members, volunteers, and even those you serve. Content options are
many, and this list
reviews some of your options
As of August 12, 2005
- Short-term
assignments for tech volunteers
There are a variety of ways for mission-based organizations to
involve volunteers to help with short-term projects
relating to computers and the Internet, and short-term
assignments are what are sought after most by potential "tech"
volunteers. But there is a disconnect: most organizations have
trouble identifying such short-term projects. This is a list of
short-term projects for "tech" volunteers -- assignments that
might takes days, weeks or just a couple of months to complete.
As of July 12, 2005
- The
Pitfalls of Having a Program Sponsor
(and suggestions for mission-based organizations on how to avoid
them)
For-profit companies, particularly large corporations, often
sponsor specific programs at mission-based organizations
(non-profit organizations, non-governmental organizations/NGOs,
civil society, school, etc.), providing funding, donated staff
time, and in-kind equipment and services to help launch and
maintain a program. In most ways, this is a blessing for the
mission-based organization. But there are often hidden costs
that lead to frustrations for everyone involved. This is a
list of some of those hidden costs, and ways they can be
avoided.
As of July 5, 2005
- Is
Your Staff "Walking the Talk" Re: Your Organization's Online
Activities?
Mission-based organizations use the Internet in all sorts of
ways to interact with the public, or with staff and volunteers
abroad: for instance, online discussion groups, an intranet
where staff and volunteers can share profiles about themselves
and updates about their work with each other, or an online
service that is promoted as central to the organization's
mission and identity. But is your staff showing leadership in
using these online tools? If your organization is to use
technology successfully, all staff must embrace it. Here are
tips on how to encourage that.
As of June 13, 2005
- 10
Myths About Online Volunteering (Virtual Volunteering)
Online volunteering means unpaid service that is given via the
Internet. It's also known as virtual volunteering, online
mentoring, ementoring, evolunteering, cyber volunteering, cyber
service, telementoring, and on and on. Here is a list of 10
common myths about online volunteering, and my attempt to
counter them.
- Please,
No More Volunteer-Matching Web Sites
Please, no more volunteer matching sites for North America.
There are plenty. In fact, in my opinion, there are too many. If
you insist on launching such a site, I offer this advice.
As of June 01, 2005
A new look
After almost 10 years, a new logo and a new color scheme. But the
same easy-to-download/easy-to-print pages and, I hope, worthwhile
content.
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