Engaging millennial volunteers
View All TagsUpdated: Feb 26, 2020
Hello. I'm Florence May. I own a software company that helps organizations manage their volunteers. The company was founded in the early 2000s to support large events – the 500 Festival, NCAA Final Four, the Super Bowl, National League of Cities, American Association of Museums, National FFA and Special Olympics.
Growing Volunteers is the theme for this month’s column and, yes a shameless plug, for the 2019 National TRS Volunteer Management Workshop series. You can participate in person or online throughout the year …. All the way until the wrap up in November with the Growing Volunteers IFEA Webinar!
Updated: Feb 26, 2020
My passion is helping event managers find and finesse great volunteer solutions for their specific needs. You likely know that my company, TRS, helps events discover the right combination of technical solutions – online volunteer management, background check, online training, databases, surveys and communications tools. What you might not realize is that most of my time is not spent on technology. Most of my time is spent one-on-one, in webinars and leading workshops with a focus on problem solving. No, not technical problem solving. That comes last.
Updated: Feb 26, 2020
Over the past few years we've seen major shifts in the volunteer world, including more competition for volunteers and a huge growth in the number of events held. There are a plethora of festivals, endurance events, school sports, charitable fundraisers and much more competing for the time of potential volunteers.
By Florence May with Ben Reno-Weber
Updated: Feb 26, 2020
At a recent volunteer management conference, I noticed a common theme in every session: The volunteer world is shifting. Several speakers were discussing a shift in the perceived role of volunteers. According to Rick Lynch, principal consultant at Lynch Associates, the volunteer management era “grew up”when many people volunteered as an alternative to professional work, whereas today’s volunteers do so as an alternative to other leisure activities.