Robert Grimm Jr. and Susannah Washburn

Director, Research and Policy Development and Senior Counselor to the CEO; Senior Advisor, Corporation for National and Community Service

Leading the New Volunteer Workforce
76 minutes, 35mb, recorded 2009-10-06
Robert Grimm Jr. and Susannah Washburn

Investing in volunteers should not only be a focus of an organization's volunteer manager but also a priority from the top levels in nonprofit management. Even in the troubled economy, it still remains that Americans are volunteering at a stable rate. This can be considered a growth area, with momentum from such recent trends such as professionals and retired baby boomers calling upon their skills, passion, and interest to better their communities, and business models emphasizing corporate social responsibility and the national attention from the White House's Serve America Act. In this talk from the 2009 Nonprofit Management Institute, sponsored by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Robert Grimm and Susannah Washburn, of the Corporation for National and Community Service, demonstrate how volunteering has evolved, discuss current trends, and offer new ways for organizations to not let this tremendous pool of talent slip away, but rather take full advantage of valuable volunteer resources.




Robert T. Grimm Jr.
is the director of research and policy development and senior counselor to the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Grimm holds a PhD in history and a MA degree in nonprofit management and philanthropy from Indiana University. He previously taught at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, where he continues to teach in the executive education program. His research has been featured on NPR, CNN, and Fox News, and in numerous national newspapers.

Susannah Washburn is the senior advisor at the Corporation for National and Community Service where she has held positions in program, policy, and management for 10 years. She was previously an executive policy fellow (specializing in community service) for California Governor Pete Wilson and a field specialist at Youth Service America.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) provides opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through three programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Together with the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation is working to build a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility in America.

Resources

This free podcast is from our Stanford Social Innovation Review series.

For The Conversations Network:

  • Post-production audio engineer: Robb Lepper
  • Website editor: Cindy Yee
  • Series producer: Ash Jafari