Providing formal training to staff and volunteers has obvious benefits for an organization, individual staff members and volunteers. For the organization, it is a means of ensuring staff and volunteers are knowledgeable, making them exceptional ambassadors for the organization in and outside of work.

In addition, training is an essential part of risk management – failing to properly train individuals, providing services to clients, or even representing the organization to the public can have serious consequences. For staff members and volunteers, training is a means of professional development many are eager to receive. In addition to it being an essential part of effective volunteer management, many volunteers find personal value in the training provided to them by organizations about which they care deeply.

Regardless of whether or not your organization has a formal training program, there are things nonprofit leaders can do to ensure staff and volunteers are appropriately oriented to the organization and able to continue to learn and develop professionally.

Before committing to a training plan:

• Be strategic – have an understanding of what staff and volunteers need to know and when they need to know it. Providing training is an investment, so be sure to develop a way to measure whether your…

Very recently I made a bit of a mistake and by bit I mean that I made a speaking gaffe in front of a crowd of 100 plus people while representing an organization at arguably their biggest event to date. Luckily it hasn’t appeared to do any real damage, but still is something I need to learn from. This is an event that most young and even experienced professionals have to deal with at some point. So here is what I have picked up from my all too regular experience in this area.

I find that the first step in overcoming a mistake is to own it. My first reaction and the wrong one, was to down play it. While this is natural, it does you no good and makes you appear more unprofessional then the original event. So don’t make excuse or point fingers compounding the mistake. Even if others contributed to the mistake you can’t control their behaviors, you can only affect your own. Most professionals will be willing to give you a second chance, but not if you can’t admit it.

My second reaction, being overly critical of myself was just as useless. Luckily, I have learned to go through this phase quickly learning to funnel that energy into something useful, but in years past I often got stuck. Guilt can be a good wake up call, but it also can prevent you from making amends and lead to further mistakes due to a lack of focus. A couple realizations have helped me to move on from this reaction. First, mistakes happen and very few are so bad you can’t recover. I…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing weekly series, each Friday we invite a nonprofit expert to highlight a research report or study and discuss how it can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice. We welcome your comments and feedback.

Nonprofit organizations are often dependent on volunteers, and among adults 65 and older volunteering rates have increased from 14.3% in 1974 to 23.5% in 2005. Some of this increase can be attributed to earlier retirement, leading senior citizens to be more active. For nonprofits, understanding the dynamics of senior volunteerism can help organizations utilize seniors in a way that furthers their mission while offering a positive volunteering experience.

Several challenges can be unique to senior volunteers. First, some volunteers may have physical limitations such as health, sight, or hearing problems. Some seniors may be unfamiliar with or resistant to newer technology. An additional problem can occur with volunteers who “age in place,” which means they joined the organization at a younger age and have lost some abilities. When the organization feels loyal to the volunteer it can be difficult to confront this issue. All of these concerns should be taken into account.

However, the benefits senior volunteers bring to an organization are also important to consider. Seniors can often apply skills from their former jobs to a nonprofit.…

The most frequent question posed on the ASU Lodestar Center's "Ask the Nonprofit Specialists" service is about how to start a nonprofit organization. Recent research by Civic Ventures suggests that there is strong interest and intention among "boomers" (individuals in their 40s, 50s, and 60s) to create jobs for themselves and others as entrepreneurs, making a positive social impact.

More than 12 million aspiring entrepreneurs want to be "encore entrepreneurs," by starting a nonprofit or socially oriented business. There is also a growing trend of new nonprofits run by college students. According to Crain's New York Business, "The flood of 'postmillennials' creating their own nonprofits stems from two trends, experts say: a generational desire to do something meaningful and the quest for individualism."

"In a sea of bad economic news, it's heartening that millions of people with experience want to take matters in their own hands and launch their own ventures to meet social needs in their communities," said Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Civic Ventures.

Mark Rosenman, in a blog post titled, "Calling All Boomers: Don't Start More Nonprofits," disagrees with the idea of creating new nonprofits…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing weekly series, each Friday we invite a nonprofit expert to highlight a research report or study and discuss how it can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice. We welcome your comments and feedback.

You serve on a nonprofit board of directors. Or, you are a member of management for a nonprofit organization. You are expected to understand the organization's finances. And your role (board or staff) determines how you contribute to the overall security of the nonprofit with which you are affiliated.

When those who are responsible for an organization's overall fiscal management responded to a study by The Moody Foundation, it was found that nonprofits need to "fortify their financial skills to better forecast future needs, navigate economic instability, and manage risk."1 This study, Financial Literacy and Knowledge in the Nonprofit Sector (PDF), "engaged a random sample of primarily human service nonprofits, as well as health, civic, environmental, arts, and education nonprofits."2 Again, the study surveyed nonprofit financial managers such as CEOs and CFOs.

The report is…