From an earlier post:

"On the subject of volunteerism, many of the pundits, wonks and think tank folks seem to agree that the American existence has passed the apogee of its orbit and is slowly spiraling toward the ground. My point: only a wealthy society can afford to indulge themselves so deeply in such semi-cultural activities as railway preservation."

Is volunteerism down at your railroad museum? How are you trying to address it, or, keep them?

Nope! We have the same handful of volunteers doing everything from manning (womanning?) the store to doing restoration work to spiking rail. We could always use more volunteers and funding but until then, we make due with what we have.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Us boomers are rapidly approaching retirement in better physical condition than previous generations. While economic conditions could cause many of us to forestall retirement, those with the resources to do so will swell the ranks of potential volunteers. Making our projects sexy and attracting them ought to be a priority.

dave

Oh man, I sure that is true.

I'm the new volunteer recruiter for a state-funded transportation museum/operation. In my very short tenure on the job, we seem to be getting more volunteers than losing them.

Where I'm facing a challenge initially is in corporate recruiting, i.e. recruiting a team of folks to come in on some kind of "special projects blitz". Here are the reasons why such recruiting is a challenge thus far:
(1) the possibility of potential insurance issues;
(2) finite amount of tools to pass out to said blitz team;
(3) no apparent "wish list" of things needing done, with the appropriate supervision to ensure the job gets done right by people with no skills in this area (I am one of those unskilled types);
(4) apparent corporate reluctance to give the museum the same amount of "face time" as other, presumably more altruistic entities seeking volunteer help (think Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, etc.).

I think items 1 and 2 can be dealt with. Item 3 will take a lot of effort on the "front end" before a blitz team can be successfully recruited and complete their task. Item 4 requires more thought-and currently it's my full-time employer that I'm referring to (and to be fair, my employer has a fantastic record of supporting volunteer activities).

Hell no! At the New Jersey Museum of Transportation we are ALL volunteers! The whole operation has been run by volunteers for the past 53 years and is still running strong.

Interesting replies so far, and as in most things, there is not a simple one word answer. Getting someone to 'volunteer' for that one first day may not be as much of an issue as keeping them long term.

I think that it is important to treat the volunteer with dignity and respect no matter their interest or skill level. And then more importantly entice them to return again and again. That involves both the social aspect and commaraderie of the 'team concept' and a way to give them a continuing education. They will find self satisfaction and a willingness to continue their committment if you feed them new projects, new skills and good mentoring.

Besides the resource of a volunteer labor pool, is it not as important to pass on what are in many cases the lost arts of building, maintaining, and restoring? As well as the operating and business aspects of keeping a museum open to the public?

Motivate them, instill an entreprenurial sense of ownership, and some leadership roles and they will not get bored counting the quarters every night or sorting screws and scraping rust. The hard part is 'reading' such persons and not going too far too fast.

Bob Kutella

Good points Bob. I've always said running an all volunteer corporation is harder than a volunteer one.

Knowing when to push and when to back off, what works good for some and not .. well, those are true in all walks of life.

In one year, we had a volunteer come in, start working hard, be become elected to the Board. Hard work shows in his friends with the Museum.

This is all true. I myself know from five years experience that if you don't treat the volunteers right they will walk and not come back. I went for almost a year were I only visited NJMT twice because I got tired of hearing about certain things that were going on. They have since past and I have started to put time in again. Another thing that motivates and encourages volunteers to come out and keep coming out is the amount of work that gets done. If you go to a museum to volunteer your time to get things done and little or nothing gets done that makes the volunteer feel like he is wasting his/her time. Now in this case I mean that this is a volunteer (or group) that wants to work and will work HOWEVER the people in charge dick around and stall and waist opportunities and just plan hold up the works. That is what makes volunteers stop volunteering.

Just my 2cents

Volunteer retention is the greatest issue I think organizations such as ours face. I became the Volunteer Coordinator for our museum last fall, and it’s a somewhat daunting task. I’m one of the “old” hands at OERM, being here 25+ years, which has given me a lot of insight to our organization. This insight allow me to better help a new member and I hope some older non participating ones.

I have recently started to have regular member (new and old) orientations to limited success. I have felt I have had some better success with a more personal orientation of new members. It gives me a chance to get to know them and their interests, and put them in contact with the right people for their interests. It also give me a chance to explain the “facts of life” for organization such as ours. Explaining the museum philosophy, social aspect, and to give them the expectations of the organization “Rome wasn’t build in a day.” I probably have scared off a couple of people, however lately I have been having some interesting success.

The success has come from motivated individuals, but also giving them the Facts of Life give them a head start in being successful at the museum. I have seen many people that show up and want to help, but don’t know where to go or what to do, and I think we only have really one chance of hook them. But giving them a since of ownership make thing like sorting bolts a little more interesting sometimes. “Sure is fun whitewashing this fence.” People understand the little successes make up a bigger one in the long run is what most of them want. We will see in the long run.

As with most postings focusing on the nature of volunteers, I have followed this one closely. At the same time I recently received my copy of Live Steam magazine and it brought up ideas that I have talked about in the past.

I'd have to ask one question first though. Why is it the live steam hobby can support, and has supported for decades, a fine magazine that covers such items as making valve gear, boilers, and basic machine work while the Rwy preservation community could not support the fine magazine that lead us to this site?

Anyway, that is not the real purpose here of this message. Mr. Oermsam mentioned a sense of ownership. This is something I have felt was key for some time and I have hit on before. Today's volunteers, and I would include the new guys (retirees) coming on board in the coming years, will need this sense of ownership to hold their interest. Yes, a small "core" crew will generally always be available, but as we see with just about any organization, it is never enough.

Again, I'd look at the live steam hobby which is volunteer based at most tracks as far as I can tell. I'm sure they have their ups and downs, but what they have with much of their membership is a vested interest in the facility since many active members will have their own locomotives which need a place to operate. Disagreements I am sure come up and they can be big ones, but in the end, there are locomotives that need a place to operate.

With that in mind, its far too easy for a volunteer to walk away from a full sized railroad museum. I know way too many people who have taken that route and try as I might I was not really able to reverse that. Generally they have walked away and gone on to do great things on their own, or with help of friends, on equipment (ranging from trains to tractors). A huge talent pool lost.

There's that pesky sense of ownership once again.

Volunteers need some sense of control as well. They need to know that their work is appreciated but all too often this is not the case. The only way to have such control is via ownership.

Of course with ownership and some control comes some potential funding from the "owner."

Granted live steam tracks and equipment are small compared to the big stuff this site focuses on. But the man hours and talents are often very similar.

So, with all that said, I'd still say someone needs to come up with good ideas on the ownership issue. I've never really figured it out, but it’s the only option I keep coming up with. Membership dinners and awards can help, but its not enough.

Keep in mind, too, that a magazine with technical articles as found in Live Steam, but focusing on full sized issues could help volunteers feel a bit more comfortable around the equipment they are working on. Most new volunteers have no clue how to rebuild a wood passenger car or turn bearings in a lathe. They need the "tools" to learn how to do it on their own. Live Steam magazine provides that, at least on a smaller scale.

I think I could summarize the above as:

1) Sense of ownership is key. With it comes volunteers who will not simply walk away. It can also bring some funding.

2) Good technical data needs to be available for the average volunteer, or equipment owner in my mind, to study and become more knowledgeable when on site.

3) Membership recognition of some sort. Make sure people feel appreciated.

Hope this helps,
J.R.
Former chairman of a volunteer organization

The issue of retention of technical information and encouraging volunteers seem to me to be two different things. Certainly, good information is a valuable part of volunteers gaining skills, but there is a wealth of information available out there, now more accessable than ever.

Libraries within preservation organizations, reprints of old technical manuals, face to face teaching, trade school classes all have their part. Professional and trade groups ought to be not only repositories, but devote considerable time and effort to member education. Magazines can't thrive in very narrowly limited markets, so maybe that medium isn't appropriate for us?

The best information exchange I know is schmoozing at conventions, and making contacts I can call on for good advice when I need it.

dave