THE INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL OF VOLUNTEER ADMINISTRATION
Volume XXIV, Number 1
FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome to The International Journal of Volunteer Administration! . . . link to pdf
In this Issue: “Trends and Transitions” . . . link to pdf
Dedication of Volume XXIV: On the Shoulders of a Giant: A Dedication to Mary Merrill . . . link to pdf
FEATURE ARTICLES
Global Trends and the Challenges for Volunteerism
Mary V. Merrill, LSW, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Individual countries have unique challenges and issues regarding volunteerism but there are also global trends and patterns that can be discerned. Exploring multinational patterns of civic engagement increases opportunities for identifying worldwide patterns and societal trends affecting volunteerism. Identifying and understanding these trends help government leaders and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) develop common approaches to global issues while creating models that strengthen volunteer efforts worldwide. . . . link to pdf
Key Words: challenges, global, trends, volunteerism
Involving International Online Volunteers: Factors for Success, Organizational Benefits, and New Views of Community
Jayne Cravens, Germany
In conjunction with the Institute for Volunteering Research’s November 2005 conference, “Volunteering Research: Frontiers and Horizons,” this research was undertaken to assess current common practices among organizations successfully involving international online volunteers; to explore the role online volunteering may play in building a more cohesive global community; and to assess the relationship between involving online volunteers and building organizational capacities. This paper offers a brief history and overview of online volunteering practice and details survey results regarding organizations that involved the Outstanding Online Volunteers of 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 at www.onlinevolunteer.org. . . . link to pdf
Key Words: online volunteers, virtual volunteerism, virtual volunteers
Declining Profit Margin: When Volunteers Cost More Than They Return
Linda L. Graff, Dundas, Ontario, Canada
The voluntary sector has approached the engagement of volunteer resources in a largely haphazard manner. Organization leaders, service planners, and funders have failed to fully understand, appreciate, and accurately assess the value of volunteer involvement. As a result, some volunteer positions are probably returning less or little more than they cost to sustain. More importantly, a plethora of new opportunities could be created by those who are open to new ways of engaging volunteer talents. The concept of profit margin is offered as a mechanism for beginning to conceptualize the relative costs and returns of volunteer positions. Organizations are urged to undertake a systematic review of where they engage volunteers and consider volunteer involvement as an important human resource asset early in organizational and service planning cycles. The cost-benefit analysis implied by the concept of a profit margin may reveal new volunteer opportunities that r return great value for reasonable input costs. . . . link to pdf
Key Words: cost-benefit analysis, impact assessment, profit margin, volunteers
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Book Review: The Manager’s Guide to Program Evaluation: Planning, Contracting, and Managing for Useful Results . . . link to pdf
Reviewed by Amy Schultz, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, USA
Key Words: evaluation, program evaluation
Book Review: The One Thing You Need to Know (About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success) . . . link to pdf
Reviewed by Harriett C. Edwards, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Key Words: leadership, management
COMMENTARY
Strengthening Civil Society Through Volunteerism
Dilfuza Bahrieva, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
As a participant in the Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program funded by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State, the author studied the activities of over 25 organizations in the United States to gain an understanding of the role of volunteerism for creating an active civil society. This paper contains a summary of the observations of formalized volunteering in the United States and recommendations for strengthening volunteerism in her native country, Uzbekistan. . . . link to pdf
Key Words: civil society, NGO, non-government organization, Uzbekistan, volunteerism
From Motivation to Action Through Volunteer-Friendly Organizations
Kenn Allen, Ed.D., Washington, DC, USA
In excerpted remarks to delegates to the 2005 Asia-Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference of IAVE, The International Association for Volunteer Efforts, in Hong Kong, the author suggests three “myths,” three “truths,” and six leadership “sins” about volunteering. He encourages managers of volunteers to move toward “Volunteer-Friendly Organizations” by embracing four basic concepts. . . . link to pdf
Key Words: global, volunteer-friendly organization, volunteering
Volunteerism: The Unfinished Miracle (Keynote Address to the 10th IAVE Asia Pacific Conference)
George Weber, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
In a keynote address to delegates to the 2005 Asia-Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference of IAVE, The International Association for Volunteer Efforts, in Hong Kong, the author advocates that volunteerism is an “unfinished miracle” embracing a social spirit “as old as human need and compassion” that is still “bringing new perspectives in community life and development worldwide.” . . . link to pdf
Key Words: challenges, United Nations, volunteerism Submission Guidelines The IJOVA Editorial Staff, Review Board, and Reviewers
UPCOMING ISSUES AND MANUSCRIPT DEADLINES
Volume XXIV, Number 2: Volunteerism and Health Care
To be published October 2006
Manuscript Deadline: August 18, 2006
Volume XXIV, Number 3: Volunteerism and the Other Sectors
To be published January 2007
Manuscript Deadline: October 2, 2006
Volume XXIV, Number 4: Volunteerism and Holistic Community Development
To be published April 2007
Manuscript Deadline: January 8, 2007
For complete journal as one pdf document . . . click here
