Since the previous thread on this topic wandered a bit astray, I started this new one.

In that thread (and many others over the last couple of years) posters have expressed concerns about decreasing Aux membership and the decline of American volunteerism in general.

The latest issue of Time Magazine has several articles dealing specifically with National Service -- but generally with volunteerism.

Much of the conclusions run counter to thoughts expressed here. To wit:

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. . . there is something else we are seeing in the land. Polls show that while confidence in our democracy and our government is near an all-time low, volunteerism and civic participation since the '70s are near all-time highs. Political scientists are perplexed about this. If confidence is so low, why would people bother volunteering? The explanation is pretty simple. People, especially young people, think the government and the public sphere are broken, but they feel they can personally make a difference through community service. After 9/11, Americans were hungry to be asked to do something, to make some kind of sacrifice, and what they mostly remember is being asked to go shopping. The reason private volunteerism is so high is precisely that confidence in our public institutions is so low. People see volunteering not as a form of public service but as an antidote for it.

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. . . In 2006 more than 61 million Americans dedicated 8.1 billion hours to volunteerism. The nation's volunteer rate has increased by more than 6 percentage points since 1989. Overall, 27% of Americans engage in civic life by volunteering. Dr. Franklin would be impressed. The service movement itself began to take off in the 1980s, and today there is a renaissance of dynamic altruistic organizations in the U.S., from Teach for America to City Year to Senior Corps, many of them under the umbrella of AmeriCorps. In a 2002 poll, 70% of Americans thought universal service was a good idea. And while it's easy to sit back and say this to a pollster, the next President can harness the spirit of volunteerism that already exists and make it a permanent part of American culture.

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Since 1994, 500,000 people have gone through AmeriCorps programs tutoring and teaching in urban schools; managing after-school programs; cleaning up playgrounds, schools and parks; and caring for the elderly. After Katrina, AmeriCorps participants descended on the Gulf Coast within 24 hours and have since contributed more than 3 million hours of service. AmeriCorps members earn a small stipend for their volunteering and receive education awards of up to $4,725 per year. Right now, says David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, "AmeriCorps is the best-kept secret in America." But under this national-service proposal, the program would more than triple in size, from 75,000 members each year to approximately 250,000. "We don't need to reinvent this nascent infrastructure," says Brown. "We need to take it to scale."

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The disarray and lack of a coordinated response to 9/11 and Katrina tell us there is a role volunteers can play in responding quickly to disasters and emergencies. The new Rapid-Response Reserve Corps would consist of retired military and National Guard personnel as well as national- and community-service program alumni to focus on disaster preparedness and immediate response to local and national disasters. The program would initially train 50,000 members, who could be deployed for two-week periods in response to emergencies and serve under the guidance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

These are just excerpts -- there are more articles linked at the end of the main article. There is also a talback section where young volunteers react to the article and the whole idea of volunteer service.

My question is: With volunteerism on the increase, shouldn't our membership rolls be filling up instead of declining? (Some will chalk it up to the security checks, but that's another story, and the requirements have been liberalized over the past year -- now being not much different than other volunteer activities.)

Personal observation #1: The Aux was not mentioned -- not even in passing -- in the articles. Why not?

Personal observation #2: The people (young and old) available for recruitment are not necessarily the military oriented or the "wannabes." Much of the work being done by other volunteer organizations is rather mundane and routine in nature. And people are participating!

Though this piece is not specifically about the CG Auxiliary, there are parts of it that relate to our recruitment of members. It's worth a read. . .

Any thoughts?

...gjd

I have looked over it and what I get from it is we as an organization do not ask people to join. I have 6 new members coming to my flotilla to get them I had to go on the internet to get them, just ask people to join. I volunteer and work for the Red Cross for 9 years and I have found that volunteers or anyone will help help someone if you ask.

The Auxiliary are halding on to the old ways and they are not working. There are more groups that people can go to to feel they are helping.

The Nonprofit Boon from Boomers

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Q: What are some ways that nonprofits can start reaching out to potential volunteers? What's different about motivating boomers to volunteer?

Nonprofits, then, could take advantage of this delayed retirement by reaching out to individuals while they are still working and recruit them for episodic volunteer opportunities. Such a strategy would allow boomers to get their feet wet, with the hope that they might be more likely to continue volunteering when they do retire.

With its PSI and long training cycles for just about everything - the Aux is not in a position to take advantage of episodic volunteers.

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In general, organizations need to make volunteering easy, and create a variety of volunteer opportunities (short-term as well as longer-term commitments) that will appeal to boomers, keeping in mind some of the motivations for volunteering: It makes people feel good about themselves, it offers the satisfaction associated with making a difference, it provides an outlet to give back to the community, it satisfies social aspects, and it offers an opportunity to learn something new.

See the bold above - what does the Aux not do!

The article contains a warning for the Aux - and the Aux already committed this faux pax once with the amateur radio operators:

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It is particularly important when we're talking about recruiting volunteers, as you usually get one chance to entice someone to sign up—if they have a bad experience (e.g., no one calls back, no concrete opportunity was available, their time was not used efficiently, they had a bad match, or there was poor management), they won't come back—and they'll tell their friends the organization is not worthy of their efforts.

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Volunteering in the United States, 2006

quote:

Over the year ending September 2006, both the number of volunteers and the volunteer rate were lower than in the previous year ending September 2005.

That appears to contradict the opening post.

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Total Annual Hours Spent Volunteering

Volunteers spent a median of 52 hours on volunteer activities during the period from September 2005 to September 2006. Men reported spending about 52 hours volunteering and women reported about 50 hours. Median annual hours spent on volunteer activities ranged from a high of 104 hours for volunteers age 65 and over to a low of 36 hours for those 25 to 34 years old.

The next stat also addresses a poll question that was being asked here:

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Number and Type of Organizations

Most volunteers were involved with either one or two organizations--68.5 and 19.8 percent, respectively. Individuals with higher educational attainment were more likely to volunteer for multiple organizations than were those with less education. Parents also were somewhat more likely to volunteer for more than one organization than were persons without children under 18.

The following stat may answer your question as to why the Aux applicant rolls aren't full - the Aux isn't the type of organization that most people volunteer for. Although the Aux teaches youth courses and performs community service - it is not thought of (nor does it think of itself) that way

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In 2006, the main organization--the organization for which the volunteer worked the most hours during the year--was most frequently religious (35.0 percent of all volunteers), followed by educational/youth service related (26.4 percent). Another 12.7 percent of volunteers performed activities mainly for social or community service organizations.

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Main Volunteer Activity for Main Organization

When volunteers were asked the main activity they performed for their main organization, fundraising (10.9 percent) and tutoring or teaching (10.8 per cent) were the most frequently reported. Men and women tended to engage in different main activities. Men who volunteered were most likely to engage in general labor (11.5 percent) or to coach, referee, or supervise sports teams (10.2 percent), while women volunteers were most likely to fundraise (12.5 percent), or tutor or teach (12.5 percent).

Read the following and then forget the fancy ad campaigns, you can only ask them if you get 'face time' with them. And 'face time' comes from PE, VSCs and partially thru PVs - you know the programs that have been in decline for years (we have a thread running about that).

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How Volunteers Became Involved with Main Organization

About 43 percent of volunteers became involved with their main organization after being asked to volunteer, most often by someone in the oranization. A slightly smaller proportion, about 2 in 5 volunteers, became involved on their own initiative; that is, they approached the organization.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: FL51D7,

Two reasons as to why the Auxiliary may not be benefiting from this surge of volunteerism:

1. We make our new members jump through too many hoops and make them wait too long before they can volunteer. We are also making it more demanding for established members to get requalified.

2. I believe that there is a mixed message that many of our members receive from the Gold Side. Although we are often praised for our contributions and volunteer efforts in public, in private there is a significant resentment towards Auxiliarists coming from many Active Duty individuals and units. I suspect that this resentment is not the case in many other large volunteer organizations.

Although we are often praised for our contributions and volunteer efforts in public

Hmmmm - according to my sources, the recently concluded NACON was the first NACON in many moons that the Commandant did not attend. His back-up could not attend do to an injury. Her back-up attended and spoke at the banquet but not at the General Session.

You have the same feeling in large non profits

Most folks are volunteering at activities that require little or no training or specialized equipment while organizations like the Aux have very few roles that someone can just show up on a Saturday and perform.

Could we have a lot more people if we told boat owners to just show up at a meeting to get their ensign, give them a uniform order form, and tell them to get underway? Sure, but is that who we want representing the Coast Guard?

Hey GJD and the rest:

The stats and information provided by GJD about volunteerism and the huge pool of folks wanting to volunteer are not new information to the Auxiliary. I dealt with little else for three years using these stats and others to encourage and promote alternative and innovative ways to create an attractive Auxiliary to volunteers without sacrificing one iota of Auxiliary integrity and professionalism.

Your observations and comments are absolutely right-on and it is stunning that we still continue in shooting ourselves in the foot in this area. Frankly, it is painful to recollect the opportunities we squandered in recruiting and retention. Today, as we speak, we continue to remount the same old story and get the same poor results.

The essence of it is, the Auxiliary is stuck deep in the mud of lethargy and innefective management. You can probably guess how building an effective and attractive to potential members organization would require cooperation, action and coordination across the full spectrum of our departments. I discovered that this simply cannot happen. Too many oxes to gore, too many egos to surmount, too many personal agendas to appease, too many fiercly defensive managers.

We simply cannot change a program or mount an meaningful incentive because eveyone is pulling in opposite directions.

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The essence of it is, the Auxiliary is stuck deep in the mud of lethargy and innefective management. You can probably guess how building an effective and attractive to potential members organization would require cooperation, action and coordination across the full spectrum of our departments. I discovered that this simply cannot happen. Too many oxes to gore, too many egos to surmount, too many personal agendas to appease, too many fiercly defensive managers.

We simply cannot change a program or mount an meaningful incentive because eveyone is pulling in opposite directions.

Ding ding ding...we have a winner!

--M

1. Get rid of the PSIs.

2. Stop making prospective members jump through hoops to join.

3. Stop making new members jump through hoops to begin participating (marathon crew training, etc)

4. Stop charging people money to donate their time.

5. Hire a professional PR agency to do an Auxiliary awareness campaign.

Just a reminder that despite all these issues, the Aux is increasing in membership despite the PSI and ICS changes, so its not doom and gloom.

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Originally posted by RiverAux:
Just a reminder that despite all these issues, the Aux is increasing in membership despite the PSI and ICS changes, so its not doom and gloom.

In relation to when?

...gjd

In relation to where we have been recently. Yes, we've lost a ton of members, but those were due in large part to specific policy changes that drove current members out.

This recent lapse doesn't say much about the long-term prospects of the Aux or what we face in recruiting new volunteers. For example, the PSI did drive a lot of people out of the Aux, but it doesn't appear to be significantly impacting recruiting now.

And regarding hoops for members to jump through, they are only really that significant in some of the ops programs. A new member who wants to come in and do safety checks, marine dealer visits, or teach boating safety, or do a lot of public affairs type programs can get up and running almost immediately with very little trouble.

River...

I don't disagree. I just think we do a lousy job at recruitment -- especially considering the availability of candidates willing and able to volunteer in traditional (if there is such a thing) non-military, non-LE Auxiliary missions.

...gjd

This message has been edited. Last edited by: geejaydee,

This recent lapse doesn't say much about the long-term prospects of the Aux or what we face in recruiting new volunteers.

Whistling past the graveyard?

Tilley spoke volumes about the long-term prospects of the Aux in his book. He notes in concluding the chapter on the 1990s (1999 was the 60th anniversary of the Aux) that the Aux's membership had stagnated and remained basically flat for over a decade (he was being charitable). He also didn't see the Aux doing much to change that.

There would be a slight uptick in membership starting in 1999 - that was primarily driven by 3 districts, with the lead taken by the 7th. The remaining districts either remained flat or actually declined in membership. That comment is based on research I did years ago and shared with Nat Aux.

9/11/01 caused the big jump in membership. Even without the subsequent multiple Aux fiascos, missteps and what-not - the Aux probably could not have kept all of those new members. However, as noted before there is a big drop off starting in year 5 and running thru year 7 of membership. And this year is year 5 of the 2001/2002 cohort.

To put things in perspective, the Aux's current membership is on par with where it was in the late '60s to early '70s. And history would indicate that it will take more then a decade for the Aux to begin to approach its prior peak of 37,000.

I found some interesting reading related to this topic. Even better, since the material was written by an employee of a state (CA) agency it isn't copyrighted. You could even cut and paste this stuff into unit (or department) publications.

The articles or bulletins were written from 1985-2003 by several members of the Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

The best way to search them is to first go to the ALPHABETIC INDEX BY TITLE OF ALL EMCOMM BULLETINS. Search the index with whatever keyword you desire. Try using "volunteer" and see what you come up with.

When you find one you are interested in the go to the Index of /EMCOMM and select the directory and then the article of interest.

You can also just go to the home page the CA ACS and select "EMCOMM Bulletins" from the left-side menu. The first page that displays will give you more background about the bulletins then I have given you here.

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Tilley spoke volumes about the long-term prospects of the Aux in his book.

FL- Ive seen you reference this book before. How could I get a copy?

Go to the US Government Bookstore and type Coast Guard Auxiliary in the Search box. The first result should be "United States Coast Guard Auxiliary: A History, 1939-1999" at $14.00 That is the book. It was published in 2003 but the narrative ends in 1999, which was the Aux's 60th anniversary.

What I like about Tilley's book is that it is more a factual history then the other Aux books on the market. The other books tend to be more hagiography then history. Also while the book generally takes a "View from Bridge", Tilley doesn't forget the Bilge Mice who are heard from throughout the book.

For a taste of Tilley's writing, see his on-line History of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. My understanding is the on-line document was an early layout or working document for the book. It was posted in time for the anniversary and several years before the book.

You can contact time and ask them why they left out the auxiliary. http://time-blog.com/talkback/comservice.php We may get some new members.

In the scheme of nationwide volunteer organizations, the Aux isn't really a big fish and I'm not surprised that we weren't mentioned.