What are you entitled to in return for your volunteer service? Most people will reply that they don't expect anything other than the satisfaction of giving back, that working for a worthwhile cause makes them feel good, and that's all they need.
While those replies are typically offered sincerely, there are unspoken expectations, and those unspoken expectations are legitimate and important. There are the things that you have a right to expect as a volunteer:
1. You have a right to be recognized. Whether it's a listing on a letterhead, or in an annual report, or at a Volunteer Appreciation Night, your good works should not be kept a secret -- and you shouldn't have to be the one who tells the world about the good things you do.
2. You have the right to be appreciated, and to be thanked. The thank you can be spoken, written, public or private, or all of the above. You are entitled to know that your work is not being taken for granted.
3. You have the right to retire. No one should put you on a guilt trip when you decide you've had enough. Sometimes the retirement date is almost automatic -- you become Benefit Chair, and you're done when the benefit is over. You accept a two-year term on the board, knowing that term limits will require you to step down after x number of terms.
4. You have the right to know why you specifically are being asked to serve, and you have the right not to be taken by surprise with obligations you weren't told about up front. Some people are pleased to serve on boards and to volunteer their services in the area of their professional expertise. That's why accountants so often end up as treasurer or budget committee chair. Personally, I like to be paid for my professional public relations skills, and want to volunteer at tasks other than what I confront on a day-to-day basis. So don't ask me to write your brochure -- but if you want me to serve as education chair, that's fine.
5. As the corollary, you have the right to personal growth -- to be given assignments that allow you to stretch yourself, to learn new things, to gain new experiences, to emerge as a fuller person than when you started. But you also have the right to stay within your comfort zone, and to do the things you are confident you can do well.
It's been said that the three things organizations look for from their volunteers are the three T-words -- time, talent, and treasure. And in return, volunteers are entitled to look for three T-words -- thanks, thanks, thanks.
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Sandy Tankoos
Jenine Tankoos
Michael Berlin
David Schwartz
Deanna Morton
May 1, 2010 - 10:34am
Rhona S
I'm not sure I agree with everything you've said. I have worked for organizations in the past where things have gone smoothly. I've enjoyed what I was doing, feeling good about it, feeling appreciated, etc., when all of a sudden there was a change in leadership, perhaps a new president is elected or a new director takes over, and then, suddenly, things change. I'm no longer feeling appreciated, people don't agree with the way I've been doing things and so I quit. That has happened to me twice over the many years that I have been a volunteer. It's a shame when that happens because everyone loses out. The organization loses a good volunteer and I felt pretty unappreciated for all the work I had done. I know from talking to other people that I'm not the only person who has experienced a situation like this.
In general, when I volunteer, I have to feel good about what I'm doing. At the present time I'm working with under privileged children who need help in reading. I'm a retired reading teacher and this has been very rewarding for me. Seeing the children improve their reading skills is about as good as it gets in this kind of a situation. I don't need anyone else to thank me.
May 15, 2010 - 8:47am
Larry Kaufman
Rhona begins her comment saying she's not sure she agrees with me, but then goes on to demonstrate the validity of my message -- her own encounters with situations where new leadership does not validate the importance of what she has been bringing.
Turn my remarks around, and recognize that every reasonable expectation of what a volunteer is entitled to creates an obligation for those who "supervise" the volunteer to meet that expectation.
But note that I said "every reasonable expectation." Because you've been a loyal and effective volunteer is not ipso facto a guarantee that your every idea will coincide with the vision of others as to what is best for the organization you're working in. One of the reasonable expectations that organizations may hold is that their volunteers will feel bound to the mission even when their point of view on a particular matter is not upheld.
I have learned to recognize the difference between situations where a given opinion of mine is not valued vs. situations where I as the opinionator am not valued. It's only in the latter case that I walk away -- and I have enough self-confidence (someone else might call it ego) to interpret the rejection as a sign of insecurity on the part of the chair or exec who is not valuing me.
Of course, there is a distinction between the kind of volunteer work I typically do (behind the scenes, committee work etc.) and the hands-on service that Rhona offers, where she can see first-hand the fruits of her labors, and feel the appreciation from the people she is helping, whether or not that appreciation is forthcoming from the organization she is helping. But, Rhona, just because you don't need anyone else to thank you doesn't mean that they shouldn't!
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