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Energize Blog | Visit the Energize Blog to get the latest news in the volunteer field.
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Linda Graff, Canadian expert in volunteerism, is retiring this year. We wish Linda all the best as she starts the process toward the next chapter of her life (which we hear will include a lot of fishing!). Linda is well-known for her practical, straight-from-the-hip advice about managing risk when volunteers are involved. Her books have consistently been some of Energize's top sellers, signifying their value and usefulness to the field. While we will continue to sell all her titles as e-books, we are pleased again to offer her titles in print, available only until they are sold out.
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Featured Books
| Better Safe: Risk Management in Volunteer Programs & Community Service by Linda L. Graff | A broad overview of all the components of good risk management, including information on negligence, the elusive "standard of care," vicarious liability, and statutory obligations. The book shares real-life case study examples and covers many of the special situations unique to volunteer involvement. |
Read an excerpt from this book below. This book is available in paperback (US$35 + shipping) and e-book (US$20). Order Better Safe . . . | Beyond Police Checks: The Definitive Volunteer & Employee Screening Guidebook by Linda L. Graff | In a clear, practical, and compelling way, Linda provides the reader with the rationale for initial screening and ongoing credential checks, models for developing screening processes, and a variety of screening tools--everything to raise your comfort level in dealing with applicants. |
This book is available in paperback (US$35 + shipping) and e-book (US$20). Order Beyond Police Checks . . . | Best of All: The Quick Reference Guide To Effective Volunteer Involvement by Linda L. Graff | This resource collects into a single volume all the latest techniques which produce effective volunteer involvement. It's written specifically for volunteer volunteer coordinators in organizations such as sports associations, churches, and local chapter/branch organizers - volunteer leaders who typically do not call what they do "volunteer management" but who are engaged in the management of volunteer efforts nonetheless. |
This book is available in paperback (US$35 + shipping) and e-book (US$20). Order Best of All . . . | By Definition: Policies for Volunteer Programs by Linda L. Graff | Looks at why policy making regarding volunteers has become critical; definitions and explanations of different types of policies; general and specific policies for a volunteer program. Includes seven easy-to-follow steps to help readers define their own policies. |
This book is available in paperback (US$25 + shipping) and e-book (US$10). Order By Definition . . . |
Other Resources | "It's Never Over: Ongoing Screening of Volunteers and Paid Staff" e-Volunteerism: The Electronic Journal of the Volunteer Community In this article, Linda discusses the increase in responsibility and liability on organizations when paid and unpaid staff perform more sophisticated duties or work more directly with vulnerable populations. e-Volunteerism subscribers can log in here.
"Questions of Public Policy" e-Volunteerism: The Electronic Journal of the Volunteer Community In this "Points of View" article, Linda, Susan Ellis and Steve McCurley talk about public policy arenas that relate to volunteering. They pose some philosophic and practical questions designed to provoke deeper thought. e-Volunteerism subscribers can log in here.
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Book Excerpt
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Help! I'm Feeling Overwhelmed [with Risk Management]!
Excerpted from chapter 8, "Final Thoughts" in Better Safe: Risk Management in Volunteer Programs & Community Service by Linda L. Graff, published by Linda Graff & Associates, Inc., 2003. ...[Many] managers of volunteers will find the material in this resource too much to handle all at one time. If that is how you are feeling right now, take a deep breath. Take relief from this lighthearted but nonetheless fitting analogy from Steve McCurley about tackling risk management for the first time:
Risk management is just like spring cleaning: the first time you do it after twenty years of neglect, it can be depressing, embarrassing, and overwhelming, and a lot of dirty stuff emerges. Do not let your feelings of being overwhelmed bring you to a halt. Doing nothing is the worst possible course of action. It gets easier each time you go through the process, so take heart! If you are just beginning, the cycle will become easier and take less time as you go forward.
Remember that you do not have to do everything suggested here, and you most certainly do not have to do it all immediately. Try this simplified plan: - Use the risk identification and prioritizing tools to focus your attention on those risks that hold the greatest potential for harm or liability.
- List risks in order of priority and begin to work through them one at a time.
- Practice the "eating an elephant" strategy: one bite at a time; that's all you can do anyway, right?
- Get yourself some help; no individual can, or should, take on the full job of risk management on her or his own; gather some support; recruit some volunteers to assist - remember you know how to do that! Delegate some of the work.
- Even though you cannot "fix" everything immediately, take some comfort in the knowledge that a) you are doing something and b) that "something" is the most urgent at any given time.
- Make sure you keep your supervisor and board in touch with your work; if you haven't figured it out by now, here is a tip: by sending reports and memos about risks, the need for risk management, and updates on your control strategies to your supervisor, you transfer a good deal of your own liability up the organizational ladder.
- Use the rest of the material in this book as a resource; consult it when you need to but do not try to hold it all in your head or do it all at one time.
- Remember there are many other risk management resources readily available in hard copy and on-line so don't let your learning about risk management stop here; check the References, Suggested Readings & Additional Resources section for more information.
Permission is granted for organizations to reprint this excerpt. Reprints must provide full acknowledgment of the source, as cited here:
Excerpted from chapter 8, "Final Thoughts" in Better Safe: Risk Management in Volunteer Programs & Community Service by Linda L. Graff, published by Linda Graff & Associates, Inc., 2003. Found in the Energize, Inc. Online Bookstore at http://www.energizeinc.com/store/1-211-E-1.
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Energize, Inc. 5450 Wissahickon Ave., C-13 Philadelphia, PA 19144 [email protected] www.energizeinc.com
Energize empowers and inspires leaders of volunteers worldwide. Our specialty is creating and selecting the most relevant, innovative resources in volunteer management. We're advocates for the power of volunteers and for the recognition of the leaders who unleash it. About Us |
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