Re: Volunteer TW Services (was: Ethical Questions)

[Jill Burgchardt <jburgcha -at- PESTILENCE -dot- ITC -dot- NRCS -dot- USDA -dot- GOV>]

I've only run into a problem doing volunteer work once.  I've done
church newsletters, grants for schools, brochures, programs, 4-H
materials, and various organization histories.  In general, it's
worked really well for me (portfolio and satisfaction).

I had one bad experience working with another volunteer who
couldn't delegate.  I never did get any source materials from her
and we never got a grant written.  At a group meeting someone
asked her about the grant-writing.  Her response was that "we" had
decided not to pursue it, because none of the organizations we
planned to contact provided grants for the purpose we wanted.  I
don't know if that's true or not, since I never got to see the
guidelines.  I do know there was no "we" involved in the decision.
I also suspect that she was privately telling people who pushed
for more explanation that I didn't get the work done.

At the time, she was a board member and I was a fairly new
volunteer so I didn't say anything.  But, I did worry about how
far-reaching the impact of her non-action/comments might be.  At
least after 5 years of working with the organization, I know that
my credibility is high with the people still involved.

Jill Burgchardt
jburgcha -at- pestilence -dot- itc -dot- nrcs -dot- usda -dot- gov