Other Resources related to the Profession

Who are managers of volunteers? What types of organizations employ them? What is the scope and nature of their work? What are their challenges? What training have they had and what training do they need? Do they feel supported by the organizations that employ them? To answer these and other questions, Imagine Canada commissioned Environics Research Group to conduct a national survey of managers of volunteers. In this report, data from this survey is used to present a profile of the volunteer management profession in Canada.

The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement 

Volunteer Canada collaborated with VMPC to produce this document, which outlines the values, principles, and standards for effective volunteer practices within organizations. It also includes the Organization Standards Checklist, which will assist organizations to evaluate and improve their volunteer programs.

Volunteer Management Audit: The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement

It is not necessary to have adopted the Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement in order to use the companion audit tool. It is a stand-alone resource.

National Occupational Standards for the Manager of Volunteer Resources

The National Occupational Standards were developped by the HR Council for the Voluntary & Non-profit Sector (HR Council). Their mandate is to work with organizations, educators, labour and government to identify and address issues related to paid employment in the voluntary and non-profit sector.

Their priorities are to:

• Build and share knowledge
• Promote good HR practices
• Foster training and learning opportunities
• Provide leadership on HR issues
• Engage voluntary and non-profit organizations in our work

The RABQ (Réseau de l’action bénévole du Québec) – The Québec Volunteer Action Network - which is an initiative of the Provincial Government that connects all different sectors together, has  recently published two research papers of interest to the profession of Volunteer Management.

“The Profession of Volunteer Management: Highlights from the Analysis of the Profession and From the Professional Requirements for its Practice” analyzes the general context in which the profession is carried out, the tasks and duties of the role and the knowledge and skills required by professionals in the field. There are many parallels with the “National Occupational Standards”, published by the HR Council for the Non-profit Sector, in partnership with VMPC (formerly CAVR) in 2012 . The English summary of the RABQ document is available here.

Also of interest is the study “New Volunteers, New Approaches: Highlights from the Study on Volunteering in Québec” which outlines current changes in the nature of volunteering and volunteer management.