Including and Excluding Volunteers: Challenges of Managing Groups That Depend on Donated Talent

Abstract

Community movements and local organizations often begin with talented and committed people who believe enough in some cause or change that they push for action. Everyone has a story about how founders and initiators seized opportunities to make something happen. If these efforts survive in the form of a program or organization, chances are that their founding stories become legends passed on to others. Just as people have unique stories, so do the local groups and organizations that were spawned by persons committed to creating something new and different. These persons often begin as volunteers who rise to the occasion. And in order to pursue their cause, they often have to mobilize other volunteers in order to move forward.