First published by Noble and Rogers in 1998, followed by a fully revised edition in 2002, this comprehensive guide has consistently been considered as the essential resource for colleagues in Australia. Now the authors have produced a fully-updated third edition (2010) and it is remarkable in its scope, clarity, and practicality. Truly an "essential guide," the book is filled with solid information for both starting and stengthening a volunteer program in any setting.

Section 1, "The Big Picture," lays out both the philosophy of volunteerism, facts about volunteers and their work, an introduction to the professional of volunteer management, and a discussion of trends affecting volunteering. Section 2, "Setting the Scene for Effective Volunteer Involvement," contains all the fundamentals for creating agency infrastructure, from policy-making to building a coalition of stakeholders. It quite rightly includes volunteer work design, recruitment, and screening here -- key elements in preparing for volunteers. Section 3, "Managing the Program," then provides the remaining how-to's for necessary success.

Throughout the book are case studies, chequelists, and other useful tools, and you'll find various appendices and resource lists at the end.

We're always interested in receiving readers' reviews.

(When you've completed the book, e-mail us at bookstore@ozvpm.com and share your review!)

Financial Support (from mp. 94)

An organisation needs to be an attractive place for volunteers to offer their services in
terms of its working environment and facilities, and in achieving satisfaction from a job
well done. Insufficient funding to enable volunteer programs to operate to their
potential is a common complaint of many volunteer program managers and volunteers.

Volunteer involvement is not free. Paternalistic back-patting of the volunteer workforce
by organisational management is no substitute for realistic levels of resourcing to enable
programs to adequately meet required standards. Genuine support for volunteer
involvement depends on appreciating the need for a well resourced infrastructure to
ensure the aims of the program are met. Recruiting volunteers without this
infrastructure benefits no one ­ service recipients, volunteers or the organisation.

Consideration needs to be given by organisational management to the costs involved
before volunteers are recruited. These will involve salary costs, overheads and operating
expenses (See section on managing finance, Chapter 15).

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