Volunteer Management: Mobilizing All the Resources of the Community

by Steve McCurley, Rick Lynch

Book by McCurley, Steve, Lynch, Rick

236 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[CTEP]

This is not your traditional book club book. Yet, I sat down with a nice cup of tea on a cozy rainy day and read “Volunteer Management: Mobilizing all the Resources of the Community.” It definitely falls into the genre of “textbook reading,” but as our program at Wilder grows, I have found myself in the position of managing new volunteers. I was unprepared for this task and have no prior experience, so for the sake of professional development and giving a new opportunity my best shot, I sat and read 236 pages on volunteer management. Because our program is run mainly by volunteer support, I thought it a good investment to our program.


I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who isn’t interested in volunteer management, as it doesn't carry an interesting plot nor character development. I would recommend this book for a good overview of how to work with volunteers from planning/recruiting, interviewing, supervising, recognition, etc. divided into 17 chapters. Whichever topic you are interested in, there is a few pages that you could skim through. It helped answer and solve some of my specific questions, such as, “What do I do when a volunteer isn’t meeting program expectations?” or “How do I keep volunteers engaged in between volunteer opportunities?” It will serve as a great reference guide to volunteer management.

[Russ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember this being helpful and informative. Easy to read for a textbook. Good lessons on the importance of applying basic management principles to the supervision and engagement of volunteers.

[Cara Lynn]

Read for class

[Island Connect Consulting · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Third Edition (2011; ISBN 978-1-895271-63-8) may be difficult to find in print, but is worth tracking down (or ordering the e-book version from Energize, Inc.) as expands upon this Second Edition significantly.