LeadForward Vol.1 No. 1

Volunteers

Purpose Purpose is the why. It’s the soul of service. I’ve seen volunteers join because they believed in the cause—be it homelessness, education, the arts, or faith-based outreach. But if we don’t make it crystal clear how their actions move the needle on the mission, we lose them. People want to know that their time means something. I’ve learned to connect the dots, show impact in real time, and never assume that passion alone is enough to keep someone around.

Ownership This was a hard-earned lesson for me. Early on, my organization operated like a military unit—rigid, hierarchical, and centralized. We were effective, but not inclusive. Over time, I realized we needed a cultural shift. We started treating volunteers not as assistants, but as leaders-in-the-making. We renamed our chapters as teams, gave them freedom to run their initiatives, and watched our network blossom into 10,000 committed volunteers across the country. When people feel ownership, they don’t just show up—they innovate, stay longer, and bring others with them. Mastery

Finally, we must offer growth. Volunteering should be more than just filling a role—it should be a runway for personal development. I now make it a point to offer mentorship, training, and leadership pathways. Volunteers want to improve their skills and expand their horizons. When we give them opportunities to do that, we’re not just helping them—we’re building the future of our organizations. I’ve heard it said that volunteers don’t expect to be paid. That’s only half true. They may not need money—but they absolutely need meaning. And if we don’t give them that, they’ll go somewhere that will. That’s why I’ve stopped seeing volunteer engagement as a program and started seeing it as a pillar of organizational health. It’s a cultural decision. It's leadership. It’s about building communities, not just committees. In this new nonprofit era, where passion alone is no longer enough, we must lead with clarity, compassion, and conviction. We must honor our volunteers not just with thank-yous, but with responsibility, recognition, and room to rise. Let’s stop talking about "managing" volunteers and start talking about empowering them. Let’s build organizations where purpose is felt, ownership is granted, and growth is inevitable. Because when volunteers thrive, so does everything else.

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