March 29, 2024
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Expert says volunteering vital to economy

ORONO – Volunteering should no longer be viewed as an occasional, “feel-good” activity, because committed volunteers are essential to the U.S. economy and social services sector, a national expert said Tuesday.

Nonprofit businesses rely heavily on volunteers and make up a major part of the economy, according to David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Eisner operates the federal agency that oversees domestic service and volunteer programs, including AmeriCorps, VISTA, Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America.

Eisner gave a breakfast talk titled “Fixing the Leaky Bucket of Volunteerism” at the Black Bear Inn. The talk, hosted by the Maine Commission for Community Service and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, opened this year’s annual Blaine House Conference on Volunteerism.

Volunteers have an overwhelmingly positive influence on the children and adults they mentor, increasing literacy rates and reducing the likelihood of violent behavior and illegal activities, Eisner said.

Eisner discussed the importance of volunteers in the U.S. and gave advice on how to recruit and retain volunteers to an audience of about 50 local community leaders and nonprofit representatives.

“Maine is way above average in terms of volunteering,” Eisner said. “You have a very high baby boomer volunteer rate not just because you have a lot of baby boomers but because a high percentage of them volunteer.”

In 2006, 32.9 percent of Maine residents volunteered in some capacity, which was above the national average of 26.7 percent. Maine was one of 17 states where providing professional services was one of the top four most popular volunteer activities.

The “leaky bucket” to which Eisner referred is the percentage of volunteers who leave placements each year. In Maine, organizations lose, on average, 33.5 percent of their volunteer work force, slightly higher than the national average of 32 percent. Most organizations are able to replace those volunteers, so volunteer rates have remained steady in the past five years, but a great deal of time and energy is spent on recruitment, Eisner said.

“Why do volunteers leave? They didn’t feel that the volunteering was meaningful,” Eisner said, explaining that volunteers often are given clerical tasks that are tedious or viewed as less important than responsibilities of paid staff. “Volunteers want to be treated as professionals. They want their time to be respected.”

Retaining volunteers by giving them meaningful, challenging duties is an important step for organizations to take, particularly in Maine, where so many volunteer-reliant nonprofits exist, Eisner said.

“It’s up to the board [of directors] to be highly assertive around convincing staff to recognize the value of volunteers,” Eisner said.

If volunteers are qualified, Eisner recommended involving them in strategic planning decisions or even management positions. And all volunteers can be motivated by awards and perks such as reimbursement for gas mileage.

Eisner advised volunteers to dabble in different organizations for a few months before committing to one. Finding the one that fits will allow a volunteer to commit more fully to the organization, Eisner said.


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