Glossary: S

Why is it important for volunteers to be given regular opportunities to offer and receive feedback? Feedback is a “direct response, positive or negative, to an activity performed in the interest of the organization.”¹ Providing feedback to volunteers is most effective if it is immediate, ongoing, and if it comes from the volunteer’s most direct staff contact in the organization.¹ Providing feedback to volunteers is an integral part of volunteer recognition, and can be an important strategy for helping volunteers to achieve their goals, especially if volunteers are seeking to build skills to enhance their employment opportunities.¹

It is also essential to provide frequent opportunities for volunteers to share their experiences in their roles with other members of your organization. Collecting feedback from volunteers related to their assignments as well as to broader organizational issues can help you improve your volunteer program as well as other aspects of your organization’s operations.²

Why is it important for volunteers to receive supervision appropriate to their role? Supervision helps ensure that volunteers are accomplishing their roles in an appropriate and professional manner.¹ Supervision arrangements should be determined according to the level of complexity and risk associated with a role.³ Effective supervision can improve the motivation and sense of belonging of your organization’s volunteers.³ It also increases the likelihood that they will perform their roles well and contribute to achieving your organization’s mission.³

In addition, supervision of volunteers builds relationships, supports them in their assignments, and creates a steady flow of communication between volunteers and supervisors.² If supervision uncovers a poor fit between a volunteer and a volunteer assignment, this provides an opportunity to adjust the job description or reassign the volunteer to a different role.²

From "Accreditation Preparation Workbook Section E: Volunteer Involvement,"  Katharine Zywert, Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo at the University of Waterloo, 2013.

1. “A Matter of Design: Job Design Theory and Application to the Voluntary Sector,” Volunteer Canada, 2001.
2. “Best Practice 8: Providing Supervision,” in Best Practices in Volunteer Management: An Action Planning Guide for Small and Rural Nonprofits, Jennifer Ellis, Volunteer Canada, 2005.
3. “The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement: Values, Guiding Principles, and Standards of Practice,” Volunteer Canada, 2012.

Why is it important to acknowledge the contributions of volunteers? Recognizing the efforts of volunteers is one of the most important ways for your organization to retain current volunteers and attract new ones.¹ Recognition demonstrates your organization’s gratitude for the work of its volunteers, helping volunteers to feel that they are an integral part of your organization and that their contributions are valued.² In turn, this increases volunteer morale and productivity.² Recognition should occur formally and informally, internally and publicly, and should be meaningful to the individual volunteer.³

How can your organization effectively recognize the contributions of its volunteers? Volunteer Canada suggests that organizations implement the following best practices in volunteer recognition:¹

• Prioritize volunteer recognition – make volunteer recognition an official part of someone’s role in your organization
• Recognize volunteers often – say thank-you frequently and ensure that the contributions of volunteers are acknowledged consistently
• Recognize volunteers in a variety of ways – recognition should be both formal and informal, ranging from informal thank-you’s and treats to formal awards presentations, dinners, guest speakers, and sharing organizational milestones including how volunteers have contributed to achieving organizational goals
• When recognizing volunteers, be sincere – meaningfully reflect on and acknowledge the contributions of volunteers to your organization
• Focus on the individual, not the end result of their work – phrase recognition to emphasize the individual’s contribution, for instance “you did a great job” as opposed to “this is great work”
• The form of recognition should be appropriate to the volunteer’s contribution – an informal thank-you might be appropriate for a month of service, whereas 10 years of service might be honoured with a dinner or plaque
• Be consistent – establish standards for volunteer recognition and understand that the ways in which volunteers are recognized establishes expectations in other volunteers 
• Be timely – recognize volunteers when they have made a significant achievement. Delaying acknowledgement can diminish its meaningfulness
• Be unique – get to know your volunteers in order to understand what kinds of recognition would be most meaningful for them as individuals

From "Accreditation Preparation Workbook Section E: Volunteer Involvement,"  Katharine Zywert, Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo at the University of Waterloo, 2013.

1. “Best Practices in Volunteer Recognition,” Volunteer Canada.
2. “Volunteer Recognition: Matching Motivation to Rewards,” Cheryl Humphrey-Pratt, RCVO @ Volunteer Alberta, 2006.
3. “The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement: Values, Guiding Principles, and Standards of Practice,” Volunteer Canada, 2012.

Why is it important to evaluate the impact and contributions of your organization’s volunteers and volunteer program? Evaluating your organization’s volunteer program allows you to measure the impact of volunteers within your organization and to determine whether you are meeting the program’s goals.¹ It also helps you to track the quality of volunteers’ experiences and to uncover aspects of your volunteer program that may need improvement.¹ Evaluating your volunteer program provides for informed decision making and facilitates the growth and development of your program.¹

Evaluations of volunteer programs should review the program’s goals and objectives, collect feedback from volunteers and clients, and use qualitative and quantitative data to review the impact of volunteer involvement in your organization.²

From "Accreditation Preparation Workbook Section E: Volunteer Involvement,"  Katharine Zywert, Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo at the University of Waterloo, 2013.

1. 62 “Evaluating Your Volunteer Programme,” Volunteering Good Practice Guide, Volunteer Center, Brighton and Hove, 2009.
2. 65 “The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement: Values, Guiding Principles, and Standards of Practice,” Volunteer Canada, 2012.

Charities and nonprofits are community trusts and as such should not be seen as “owned” or “operated” by any individual or group of individuals other than the members / community stakeholders who are passionate about the mission of the organization. As such, volunteer board directors should not view their role as permanent, although their interest in the wellbeing of the organization should be long-term in nature.

Experience has shown that organizations that do not have term limits imposed on board members may have long-serving directors who are no longer contributing effectively and may in fact be a negative influence on the board culture and organizational decision-making. Although term limits may prevent an effective director from continuing to serve, the larger risk facing organizations is when a lack of term limits results in the continued tenure of long-serving, influential directors who are no longer contributing positively to the organization or board. In fact, recent research shows that after 8 to 9 years on a board, a director is no longer adding value, and has likely become a detriment to the board.1

The standard allows for a certain number of board members to exceed the 9-year term limit. The rationale behind this flexibility in the standard is the recognition that some organizations face contextual constraints such as only having access to a small volunteer pool, the need to fill officer positions, and/or the need for particular skills.

1. “The relationship between director tenure and director quality” in the International Journal of Disclosure and Governance

Vice-President, Strategic Communications & Business Development, Imagine Canada

Prior to Imagine Canada, Stephen served as the Executive Director of Second Harvest, an organization which collects fresh, perishable food and distributes it to more than 200 social services agencies throughout Toronto. He also worked in management capacities with Operation Eyesight; Scarborough Community Care Access Centre; Schizophrenia Society of Canada, and a number of other nonprofit organizations.

Stephen holds a certificate in marketing for nonprofit organizations from Carlton University and a diploma from Centennial College in radio and television journalism.

Activities are subordinate if they that are subservient to a charity's charitable purpose or are a minor focus of the charity in relation to its entire program of activities.

The Canada Revenue Agency generally considers “substantially all” to mean 90% or more.