Deck 16: Attracting Human Resources: Staff, Volunteers, and Boards

Question 1

Describe the sources of conflict that can arise between paid employees and volunteers

Answer 1

. Volunteers may be short-term and don't have to bear the consequences of their mistakes
. Volunteers often pay less attention to their training and mishaps occur
. Many volunteers come from supervisory jobs and cannot, will not or have difficulty in taking directions
. Volunteers sometimes tend to consider themselves superior to professional staff

Question 2

Describe effective volunteer management

Answer 2

. Volunteers are treated like professional full-time workers, trained and held accountability
. The mission and priorities are framed in terms of the problem the organization is facing
.There is a clearly articulated positive vision of volunteers as valuable resources
.Leaders at all levels of the organization facilitate volunteer involvement and impact
. Paid employees are respected and participate in planning and managing volunteer activities
.Effort is made to reduce barriers and increase teamwork between paid and unpaid staff
. Openness exists to the possibility of changing and learning from volunteers' experiences
.Volunteers are sought from all segments of the community and from those being served

Question 3

Describe the functions of members of the Board of Directors of a nonprofit organization

Answer 3

. Fiduciary and ethical oversight of the organization' purpose, activities and outcomes
. Direct decision making, even to the extent of functioning as joint-CEO for start-ups
. Provision of legal, political, medical, marketing or other kinds of expertise
.Fundraising, whether as major donors or as marketers for the organization
.Helping the organization link to the environment to understand and even influence it

Question 4

Volunteerism is an "exchange" because

A) volunteers can come and go as they wish
B) the benefits of volunteering come at the cost of time and energy
C) volunteers participate in freely chosen activities
D) volunteers take a "vow of poverty" in order to work for a nonprofit
E) volunteers participate in decision making and planning

Question 5

Which of the following is FALSE statement about volunteers, from the survey taken in 2005 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics?

A) Women volunteer more often than men
B) Less than a quarter of the population of the U.S. volunteers
C) Volunters are more likely to be married
D) Volunteering is highest in age group 35-44
E) The largest number of volunteers volunteer for a religious organization

Question 6

According to the Independent Sector study on volunteerism cited in the text, most people are recruited as volunteers by

A) family members
B) nonprofit organization volunteer coordinators
C) co-workers
D) friends
E) Board members of nonprofits

Question 7

The country with the highest percentage of nonprofit volunteer workforce is:

A) The United States
B) Norway
C) France
D) Sweeden
E) Tanzania

Question 8

Which of the following is TRUE statement about volunteer motivation, from the survey taken by the Corporation for National and Community Service?

A) It fills time after retirement
B) Meet people from all walks of life
C) It could lead to a full time paid job
D) Teenagers think volunteering is "cool"
E) Some people volunteer because their religion requires it

Question 9

Widmer's research on recruiting nonprofit Board Members concluded that

A) most people join people not causes
B) lack of time for volunteering was not a problem
C) Young women who have children at home and are not working are readily recruited to be Board members because they want to get out of the house
D) Having unrealistic expectations of the organization was not a problem
E) learning new skills was not important to board members

Question 10

The main reason that people do NOT serve as volunteers is that they

A) have no control over their time
B) Are never asked
C) had negative volunteer experiences
D) don't work for an organization that pays them for volunteering
E) don't believe they can make a difference

Question 11

A Board decides that a lottery is an inappropriate fundraiser in low-income neighborhoods. The board is performing which of the following functions?

A) expertise
B) linking to the environment
C) volunteering
D) oversight
E) marketing

Question 12

A good way to recruit board members is to

A) ask present board members to suggest people like themselves
B) contact newcomers to the community
C) ask the CEO to make recommendations
D) Write a letter to the largest employer in the area and ask for a volunteer
E) advertise in a local publication