The Challenge for Nonprofits and Volunteers
Managing employees and volunteers with different skills, backgrounds, and lifestyles is a special challenge in nonprofit organizations. As the public service workforce is diversifying, so are the type of agency and mode of organization. The scope and functions of the nonprofit or independent sector have grown remarkably over the past several decades and are today both broad and pioneering. The nonprofit umbrella covers many different career paths and opportunities in diverse fields. Non- profits vary by size, revenues and financing modes, and mission. Some are local, some are national, and many speak for budgets and staffs that dwarf local governments. Some operate with a board of directors and function like a business, but without share- holders or owners.
Many nonprofits rely heavily on volunteers, who are often treated as unpaid staff. Many of them, retirees and others, are new to public service, its demands, and its ethical standards. Misguided compassion, however well meaning, can bring an agency to its knees and a community service to a standstill.
