Reviews of The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook:

5.0 out of 5 stars
Winner of CausePlanet's Choice Award--one of the top nonprofit books from 2015
The CausePlanet (www.causeplanet.org) team chose The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook as one of its top 2015 books. It is original, inspirational and applicable. Cravens and Ellis do a wonderful job of addressing how volunteering has changed so dramatically over the years that calling out the notion of virtual volunteering is no longer necessary because this form of giving has meshed with traditional volunteering. This thorough guidebook is the resource for anyone managing volunteers.

Volunteers are critical to the success of many nonprofits, but all too often organizations don’t have a strategy in place for volunteer management. We believe that meaningful volunteer engagement can become a strategic advantage…We were heartened to see [this] guidebook with up-to-date insights and advice on integrating online activities into volunteer management, especially considering the rapid change and innovation of the last decade. If you seek a easy-to-use and forward-thinking guide to integrated volunteer involvement, look no further!
—Taylor Chamberlin, Blue Garnet, 2015

Ellis and Cravens reunite to revise a classic. The LAST Virtual Volunteering Guidebook shows how online service has evolved into an essential element of all volunteer involvement. It takes a look back at more than a decade of change and brings you up to date on the latest insights and advice on navigating the ever-changing world of technology to successfully engage volunteers, online and off. VolunteerMatch doesn’t just recommend this guide; we use it.
—Greg Baldwin, President, VolunteerMatch, 2015

What a great resource! This book can be accessed for specific content or as a complete learning experience. I chose to read it from start to finish, and am glad I did. Even after forty years of working in this field, the authors provided me with new ways to think about leadership challenges in the online world. We can all use more suggestions on how to use online resources to communicate with today’s volunteers, whether they are beside us or halfway around the world. This one definitely belongs on every volunteer management bookshelf.
 — Kathleen Joy, Executive Director, Oregon Volunteers (Commission for Voluntary Action & Service), 2015

If your project or organization relies on volunteers, go get this book! Its guidance is straightforward, practical, and applicable to the broadest range of volunteer challenges. The book goes beyond online interactions and provides winning strategies for working with all volunteers. I especially love the way questions of diversity and disability, often separated into “silos,” are fully integrated, creating vibrant volunteer involvement that will help your organization in ways you may not anticipate. This is a resource you will not want to be without! 
— Sharron Rush, Executive Director, Knowbility, 2015


5.0 out of 5 stars
Just as the smart phone has brought technology into the hands of volunteers

Finally, someone has put together a comprehensive guide to virtual volunteering—and actually much more.

Just as the smart phone has brought technology into the hands of volunteers, agencies hold in their hands a powerful tool for accomplishing their mission—IF, and this is a huge “IF”—they know how to mobilize the power of the virtual volunteer. The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook (referred to as Guidebook in this review) is our manual to escort us through the changing milieu of 21st century volunteer engagement.

Since most books on technology are outdated by the time the ink dries on the printed version, I teased Susan Ellis about using the word “LAST” in the title of a book about virtual volunteering. She assured me, however, that the word “LAST” was carefully chosen for a very specific purpose. After reading the book, I now understand the wisely chosen word “LAST." The authors do acknowledge that the technology tools we use today will change, but the principles outlined will always apply to future virtual volunteering because Guidebook is not just another book on technology. It is a book on the integration of technology into all aspects of volunteer engagement so that organizations avoid the silo compartmentalization of virtual vs. traditional volunteers.

Reading Guidebook is like sitting at a table with two entrepreneurial and innovative leaders and listening to them discuss their combined experience and expertise—Jayne Cravens of Coyote Communications, is a pioneer and respected resource on virtual volunteering and Susan Ellis, president of Energize Inc., is a world recognized leader in volunteerism.

After dispelling the myths about virtual volunteering, Ellis and Cravens lead us through a step-by-step process of designing assignments, recruiting, screening, training, and coaching on-line and onsite virtual volunteers. In addition they answer the following virtual volunteering questions:

What about confidentiality? This seems to be a hot issue right now with online interactions.
What on earth is micro-volunteering and crowdsourcing, and how can I tap into the power of these virtual realities?
What about online coaching and risk management practices?
And what about the social media? How can I use the social media in my organization?

Each chapter provides valuable management tools and very specific examples that we can use. For example, online mentoring is a valuable volunteer service, but it faces some challenges that scare some directors. After tackling this hot topic, the authors print a useful chart to help define the expectations and accountability for the online mentoring site managers (usually teachers). This is just one of many practical helps that make the book worth the price for these resources alone. I personally benefited by reading about how volunteer administrators are using tweets with each other to commiserate, encourage and update...
-- Thomas W. McKee, 2015

I am so thrilled with The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook! I love this book! As soon as I started reading I was so enthused to introduce virtual volunteering to my organization. It is so well written that you can pretty much just randomly pick a random page and the information is there and leads you into other subjects. It's educational without being dry. Thanks for writing something clear and concise and easy to understand!
-- Cosgrove Norstadt, 2020

   
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must have for volunteer coordinators and non profits!
This book has been my go-to resource to help expand our volunteer opportunities of our education non-profit! Not only has this been incredibly helpful the last several years, but is even more vital in our current global situation.
Misti F, 2020

5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Resource
I am so thankful for this resource. As a newbie to a not for profit, this has been my go to for ideas for volunteerism. So many ideas and so well laid out. I have gone back to it numerous time. It is my volunteerism "bible". Thanks Jayne and Susan for this great resource! I highly recommend it.
Thanks
~S (Brynhildr), 2020

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