Decline of volunteerism is a myth

Don't use the supposed (and largely anecdotal) excuse that there is a decline in volunteerism to defend a drop in your membership. Census studies show that while there is a small decline in adult volunteerism (as measured in percentage of population) over the past 5 years, if youth over 16 are included, actual number of volunteers has actually increased! Over 61 million people volunteered in 2006.

If you are experiencing a drop in your membership, you should begin studying why. One very valuable tool is to ask your members. Even more importantly, you should ask your ex-members. The one caution I would have for you is that you must take the data seriously. You cannot ask for opinions and then rationalize them away. You must be willing to use them as the basis for a thorough self-evaluation as an organization.

As a result of this research, you may find that some of the ways that you do things need to be "tweaked" or you may find that you need to totally rethink your organization's operation. One of the biggest (and most common) dangers that a long-established volunteer organization faces is the "we've always done it that way" syndrome. Once you've heard those words come from the mouths of your leadership, you are on the way to extinction.

Tomorrow, let's talk about wasting time.