Engaging Multi-Generational Volunteers in Main Street Programs

"Volunteers just aren't the same today as they used to be!" Of course they aren't! We're all products of our own environment. The world is very different for today's generation than it was for previous generations. Successful Main Street managers must understand how people see and respond to the world based on their generational perceptions, influences, biases, and beliefs. This session will identify and compare techniques for marketing to, recruiting, engaging, supervising, retaining, and communicating with Civics, Mediators, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials. Finally, we will share the types of activities that interest youth and the kinds of volunteer roles each generation is most interested in serving.

Learning Objectives:

  • Effectively market service opportunities to multi-generational volunteers
  • Identify the types of service roles that different generations find most appealing
  • Articulate specific attitudes, perceptions and biases that impact engaging volunteers from different generations

Presenter:

Ken Culp, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension, Lexington, Ky.

Tracks:

Inclusion, Organization

Date/Time:

Wednesday, May 5 8:30-9:45 a.m.