Imagine you had the ability to invite the leading thinkers in volunteer engagement, corporate engagement, philanthropy, nonprofit leadership – along with volunteers, too – to a dinner party to reflect on the challenges of the last few years and share their ideas and innovations to sustain impact even when it seemed that volunteerism was shut down. Whom would you invite? What do you think you’d talk about?
This concept was partly the inspiration for our latest book — a vital new collection of essays, Transforming Disruption to Impact: Rethinking Volunteer Engagement for a Rapidly Changing World. Along with co-editors Doug Bolton, Jerome Tennille, and Craig Young, Beth Steinhorn worked to bring this concept to fruition. The book combines stories from nonprofit CEOs, funders, corporate engagement leaders, volunteers, and volunteer engagement professionals to unlock the potential of the field.
Why did we create the book?
For generations, engaging volunteers has been a vital strategy for communities to solve problems, but the events of 2020 disrupted how people work and volunteer. Unlike previous disruptions, when Americans rolled up their sleeves and volunteered in record numbers, the COVID-19 pandemic restricted traditional volunteering. While many organizations put their engagement strategies on hold, others saw an opportunity. Instead of hibernating, these forward-thinkers actively adapted to engage community members despite the disruptions.
We sought to bring together a collection of exemplary stories from those who transformed their approach to community engagement and turned adversity into potential—and impact.
People are saying…
“Spotlighting organizations that had the courage to take novel approaches, Transforming Disruption to Impact offers inspiration for achieving a deeper, more meaningful impact and the impetus to keep evolving now and during any times of unsettling change,” says Karen Reid, leadership team member of The National Alliance for Volunteer Engagement.
Transforming Disruption to Impact chronicles the many methods used to engage people in volunteer service to address the world’s most critical issues, made even more critical in the past two years. The essays highlight practical, future-focused, innovative, and inspirational volunteer engagement strategies, practices, and tactics that were born out of necessity but will remain in place as the future of service.
Kirkus Reviews calls it “an important guidebook to rethinking volunteer work in the 21st century.”
Join the conversation
Transforming Disruption to Impact is a roadmap to the next chapter of volunteer engagement for nonprofit professionals, social impact team leaders, or any reader interested in the power of community service. It is available now via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Amplify Publishing, and other retailers. Learn more at www.disruptiontoimpact.com.