Yesterday, I went to lunch with friends I've known for 14 years. It's amazing to think about the fact that I first met these women when I randomly walked into an animal shelter and asked if they needed volunteers. I was immediately put to work washing dog bowls. That led to many years of volunteering and friends that I still hang out out with years later.
Friendship is an often under-appreciated element of volunteering. Your rescue or humane group brings together more than just animals and people to adopt them. It also brings together people who love animals and want to help them. These volunteers may forge friendships that will last for years to come. Or the opposite can happen.
Do your volunteers work together well, or is there constant strife? If people aren't getting along, are there things you can do to foster camaraderie in your group? For example, you might organize an unofficial pot luck or party without any "business talk."
I've found that at informal get-togethers like this, almost inevitably "animal people" start talking about their pets and then you start remembering how much you all have in common.
Ideally, you want your volunteers to think of your group as just a bunch of friends having fun helping the animals. When divisiveness sets in and there is an "us versus them" thing going on, trouble is brewing and you need to take steps to clear the air.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR - Our next teleseminar is next Tuesday February 9 at 1 pm Pacific with Trey Burley who was the Director of Development at PAWS Atlanta for five years. Now he runs his own company, TB PR that helps small- to mid-size companies get noticed through public relations, social media and well-written Web sites. He'll explain how you can use the power of PR to make your rescue stand out from the pack.