Volunteer Management and Community Organizing

What is the difference between Volunteer Management and Community Organizing? Last week I had the privilege of presenting with Antonio Cardona and Katie Kohn from Public Allies at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Leadership Conference and this question really presented itself. We had set out to talk about creating accessible organizations that truly reflect the community an organization is serving. Taking a look at the intersection of  Volunteer Management and Community Organizing was just a bonus.

Many of our organizations have an origin story that goes something like this. A few passionate members of a community saw an injustice, a gap in support or services or a need in their community. This issue affected them and their families in a negative way and they decided to do something about it, they started a nonprofit. At the beginning this group of very passionate people took on all the legal, financial and strategic responsibility. There were no paid staff. If they were lucky after a few months maybe they were able to find a grant and hire on a part time paid staff person. As this nonprofit became more successful it increased its revenue and added more staff (these staff sometimes are from the community the nonprofit serves and sometimes they are not). This is a normal path of a nonprofit. At the same time this nonprofit is growing and adding paid leadership the community leadership decreases. The power, authority and influence of the community becomes diminished.

What I have seen happen when an organization no longer is accessible to the community, when there is not a space for the "served" to have a voice or influence, the organization creates programs that are bandaids and don't create sustainable solutions to social issues. The organization is not creating out of listening, truly listening.

What does this have to do with Volunteer Management and Community Organizing? It seems to me that at the beginning of an organization there is much more of a community organizing influence and as an organization evolves it adds a component of volunteer management. Community organizing and volunteer management aren't mutually exclusive but they are different. There are a few things that stick out to me from my experience being a Community Organizer and a Volunteer Manager.

1. Volunteer Managers and Community Organizers seem to be distinct groups of individuals. You may have both within an organization but they will probably be in different departments.

2. Community Organizers seem to be connected to advocacy, public policy or social justice causes. They seem to be more outwardly focused. They organize people within a community to take action on something that directly affects them and which they are passionate about. This may happen outside of the organization.

3. Volunteer Managers seem to be connected to efficiency, process and the organization. They seem to be more internally focused. They organize people within a community to do work for the organization which in turn will help others in the community.

4. Within community organizing there is value in just gathering people around a cause, to work in solidarity with others who are passionate about what is happening. In volunteer management the value is on a task being accomplished to meet a goal.

5. Within community organizing there is value in people organically gathering and doing to work on an issue even if it happens outside the organization. In volunteer management there is value in people working within the structure of the organization to accomplish something.

6. There is a difference in language. Community organizing: solidarity, justice and greater good. Volunteer management: support, serve mission.

I would love to hear from you out there. What has your experience been in either community organizing or volunteer management? Is there a difference? Where do they intersect?