Engage

"There is a danger with any international volunteering programme that it can drift into worthy tourism, or sell transformation too neatly to young people looking for experience. The more useful version is harder, less flattering and more reciprocal: arrive with something to offer, then realise how much you do not know."
🌏

Can volunteering abroad build the next generation of global citizens? Overseas volunteering can offer a practical route into global citizenship – one built through classrooms, communities and cross-cultural exchange

What do you see happening at the Points of Light conference this week?
🌎 New volunteerism ideas and strategies?
🌍 More public awareness about the power of volunteering?
🌏 An elevated respect for volunteer engagement?
Something else?

"Here’s the thing about Catalyst that her rivals consistently underestimate: her superpowers don’t look like powers. They look like good people skills, solid admin, and an uncanny ability to keep numerous plates spinning. Leadership sees the plates and misses the physics."
🌍

Catalyst — The Volunteer Engagement Superhero From that Tuesday forward, those who knew her best noticed something had shifted.

The latest from >> Ahead of the Curve

"The Impact of AI on Volunteering Workflows and User Experience"

When it comes to the user experience and digital volunteering workflows in Volunteer Engagement, what is needed and what has changed with the introduction of AI? Ahead of the Curve’s Sam Fankuchen dives into these dilemmas and more in this issue, and delivers a surprise or two.

https://engagejournal.org/article/april-2026/impact-ai-volunteering-workflows-and-user-experience
* this article is for Engage members, low cost monthly memberships are available

"Points of Light developed its National Volunteer Strategy after a yearlong “listening tour” that included two national surveys, 23 roundtables with leaders from corporate, cultural, faith and governmental groups, and input from a 40-member advisory council."
🌎

Points of Light to unveil new strategy that it hopes will ignite a volunteerism boom Points of Light plans to unveil a strategy to boost volunteerism in the U.S. next week at its annual conference.

"As an alternative to individual self-care, collective care focuses on reciprocal support that is relationship-focused and builds on existing community strengths and assets. Collective care also focuses on inclusive organizational structures that allow for active participation, co-leadership, and meaningful engagement of employees when making decisions that affect their well-being and work."
🌎 Can the 4 care-based practices be applied to volunteers as well?

Building solidarity over survival: Four collective care practices for a stretched nonprofit sector - Check out this article: Building solidarity over survival: Four collective care practices for a stretched nonprofit sector.

"Are there more consequences of allowing this practice?" asks.
🌎 Share your thoughts regarding 3 points on the CoyoteBroad Blog:

What are the consequences of allowing court-ordered volunteers to make a donation instead of actually doing service? I’ve drafted an article about how some nonprofits and probation officers are allowing people who are court-ordered to do community service to pay a fee or make a donation as a substitute for …

"the infrastructure that once supported Volunteer Engagement professionals is fragmenting, leaving open questions about how the field will sustain professional development, peer networks and advocacy in the future. Yet even in this fragmentation, there are signals of renewal and reinvention."
🌎 Read our FREE Engage Gem.
How has your local association fared?

When Associations Fade: Navigating Changes for Leaders of Volunteers In September 2024, TAVA’s Leadership Committee made the difficult decision to shut down the unincorporated Toronto Association for Volunteer Administration (TAVA). The committee members quickly discovered that this wasn’t an isolated incident but one in a series of closures that affected Volunte...

" Volunteer engagement is not a series of independent activities or one-time actions. It is a quilt, woven from all the interactions volunteers have with us, with the people we serve, with staff, with our communities, and with administration. It is stitched together with threads made from meaning; meaningful work, meaningful connections, meaningful time spent, and meaningful take-aways."
🌎

It’s not what we say, or do exactly, it’s how we make volunteers feel Thank you to Maya Angelou and/or Carl W. Buehner for this sentiment, especially during this season of volunteer appreciation weeks. While on a morning walk yesterday, I encountered a dog walker goi…

You're Invited!

The Coaching Advantage: Turning Volunteer Energy Into Impact
featuring Beth Steinhorn, CVA, President of VQ Volunteer Strategies
Wednesday, July 22nd
at 1:00 - 2:00 pm EST

More than ever, volunteers want to make a difference, whether for a cause they care about, their communities, or their own growth.

To ensure contributions are meaningful, productive, and efficient, organizations can move beyond occasional, issue-driven feedback to ongoing coaching and development of these volunteers.

Yet, staff and volunteer leaders are often unsure or reluctant to provide guidance.

This session explores how a structured coaching approach can transform volunteer engagement, strengthen relationships, and enhance mission impact.

In this free LIVE webinar, you will:

✔️ Differentiate between reactive feedback and proactive coaching and understand why both are important
✔️ Equip yourself and colleagues with a practical coaching framework to enhance volunteer performance and engagement
✔️ Understand how coaching can benefit you as a leader of volunteers

Through case studies and a customizable coaching template, we’ll show how coaching can be seamlessly integrated into your current systems + give you practical tools to to support growth, build trust, and retain volunteers longer.

All registrants will receive a recording of the presentation AND bonus resources.

Join in on the Volunteer Leadership conversation - Register at the link below! ⬇️