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All-Volunteer Organization Resources
All-Volunteer Organizations (AVO) are some of the most invisible — and most powerful — nonprofit organizations around. Supporting them is a priority for us at Blue Avocado; here is a list of the articles of particular relevance to AVOs: Boards of All …
Treasurers of All-Volunteer Organizations: Eight Key Responsibilities
More than half of the nonprofits in the United States are estimated to be all-volunteer organizations. Here is a wonderful, succinct guide for the 600,000 + treasurers of such organizations: My time as treasurer of a faith-based nonprofit was a …
Criminal Records Checks for Prospective Staff and Volunteers
Dear Ask Rita: I keep being told we should do criminal record checks on prospective employees and even volunteers and board members. But how? Is there a simple and cheap way to do this? And do we need their permission to do it? — Reluctant to get into …
Alcoholics Anonymous vs. Best Practices
This article about Alcoholics Anonymous is not about how they help alcoholics, but reviews their unusual management and organizational practices, which fly in the face of much conventional wisdom about what good nonprofit management looks like. As part …
What Are the Board’s Responsibilities for Volunteers?
Susan Ellis has one of the smartest voices in volunteerism, and she talks here about a neglected topic on boards: strategic support at the board level for the critical volunteer workforce in our organizations. Does your organization involve volu …
The Volunteer Who Couldn’t
Martin Gorfinkel retired from the technology company he started and ran for 30 years. He is the legendary "retired and willing volunteer" but has run into roadblock after roadblock. We seldom hear from the would-be volunteer who never ended u …
Volunteer Time Financial Statement Illustrations
These financial statement excerpts illustrate the article, "Tracking Volunteer Time to Improve Your Bottom Line: A Complete Accounting Guide," by Dennis Walsh, CPA. See the full article here.By reporting donated nursing and medical social wor …
Tracking Volunteer Time to Boost Your Bottom Line: A Complete Accounting Guide
This article was updated on November 3, 2011. Tracking volunteer time: sounds like another chore? Actually it can help you meet match requirements, improve your financial statement presentations, and reduce liability. In this article, CPA De …
New Thinking and Talking About Volunteers
“Men don’t volunteer as much as women do,” or so says conventional wisdom. But Susan Ellis counters: “Men volunteer a lot; they’re just not called volunteers. They’re called coaches and firemen!” With new waves of stimulus package volu …
George W. Bush’s Legacy: A Dramatic Increase in Volunteer Spirit
While Torie Osborn makes a case in this issue of Blue Avocado for the fresh start she thinks nonprofits can and should make in the wake of the Obama campaign, Carol Stone argues that we would be well served to appreciate nonprofit strides made since 20 …