Volunteering - its place in community capacity building

This paper was delivered by Diane Morgan, Chief Executive Officer, Volunteering Queensland at the MAQ State Conference, 15-16 September 2001, Cairns

VOLUNTEER MANAGERS SKILLS

The position of Volunteer Manager within not-for-profit organisations, if it exists at all, is often under-resourced and a fair way down in the organisation’s management structure.

Members of the Volunteer Managers Association, which is a professional network of volunteer mangers facilitated by Volunteering Queensland, often report the lack of recognition within their organisations, both of the position of volunteer manager and of volunteers themselves. There is no professional or academic recognition of the role of volunteer manager contrary to the practice in other countries such as the UK, USA and Canada where there has been for many years now, career pathways and education to the level of doctorates in volunteer administration and management. Ten years ago, Volunteering Queensland’s member organisations recorded less than 5% of their 800 members as having a paid volunteer manager. That figure has since increased to approximately 20%. Improvements to the status of volunteer manager within community organisations in Australia have included accredited training for the management of volunteers and national standards for involving volunteers in not-for-profit organisations. However, there is a long way to go. There are still no national competencies for the management of volunteers or for community management.

Volunteer managers may not have formal training in the area of volunteer management and often generic management does not pay specific attention to volunteering or community development in voluntary organisations. However, managing volunteers does not end with management skills. It is about community leadership. It is about being able to identify and recognise the potential and human resources that exists within the community and in particular in volunteers and match those to the requirements and needs of the community organisation providing a particular service to the community.