703. People Power: Turn Volunteers Into Core Capacity

Innovation
Written By Jon McCoy

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About This Episode

We are living in the loneliest moment in modern history, and at the same time, people have never been more hungry for hope, for joy, for meaningful community. That tension is exactly where this conversation lives. Recorded live at the We Are For Good Summit, this panel brings together four leaders at the forefront of volunteer engagement, giving circles, CSR, and community connection to make a case that should be obvious but often isn't: your volunteers are not support systems. They are core capacity. And the organizations that treat them that way are seeing 80% more volunteers, 60% higher engagement, and donors who are twice as likely to give.

Meet the Panelists

Susan McPherson is the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, a communications consulting firm at the intersection of business and social impact, and the author of The Lost Art of Connecting. She is a nationally recognized expert on corporate social responsibility, purpose-driven leadership, and skills-based volunteering.

Nicole Stewart is the Executive Director of Boston CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), leading a heart-powered volunteer mission model that trains and supports advocates for children in foster care. Under her leadership, Boston CASA has built rigorous standards for scaling: exceptional training, strong supervision, and a mission-anchored culture that keeps volunteers engaged for the long haul.

Nicole R. Smith is the Executive Director of ALIVE, the National Professional Association for Leaders in Volunteer Engagement. ALIVE brings research, standards, and infrastructure to the volunteer sector and runs an accreditation program that takes organizations from ad hoc volunteering to fully strategic people power.

Sara Lomelin is the CEO of Philanthropy Together, building a people-powered movement through giving circles and collective generosity across age groups, backgrounds, ethnicities, and political spectrums.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

  • Why volunteer expectations have shifted dramatically since Covid: people treat their time like financial capital and want to know it's being invested in something meaningful

  • What ALIVE's accreditation data shows: organizations that invest in strategic volunteer engagement see 80% more volunteers, 60% higher engagement, and volunteers who are twice as likely to become donors

  • Boston CASA's three non-negotiables for scaling without burnout: mission-anchored training, strong and consistent supervision, and a culture built on clarity about who you are and what you stand for

  • Why the shift from "ask and thank" to "invite, belong, and live" is how organizations turn one-time supporters into lifelong co-owners of the mission

  • What's actually happening in the corporate volunteering space in 2026: companies are doing the work but going quiet, and skills-based volunteering is where the real opportunity lives for nonprofits

  • How to start operationalizing people power this year: launch a giving circle, give volunteers clear role descriptions, build a culture of storytelling, and start asking for video

Powerful Quotes

"Volunteers don't want to be another transaction. They want community. They want belonging." -Sara

"Developing people power doesn't simply happen because people care. You have to be intentional. It's done by design." -Nicole Stewart

"When you treat your volunteers well, they are the best marketing money can't buy." -Nicole R. Smith

"Give your volunteers a role, not a receipt. After every gift of money, time, or skills, offer next steps right. Join us in this decision. Bring a friend. Vet a project." -Sara

"Learning to meaningfully connect is not a soft skill. It is an operating system." -Susan

"We are in an era where people are looking for hope. They are looking for joy. They are looking for meaningful connection. You are the one they've been waiting for." -Becky

Episode Chapters

  • Welcome + setting the scene (0:00)

  • Meet the panelists (0:57)

  • How volunteer expectations have shifted post-Covid (3:00)

  • People want belonging, not transactions (4:09)

  • Volunteers as your best marketing money can't buy (8:21)

  • Volunteers as ambassadors, donors, and storytellers (10:42)

  • Boston CASA's non-negotiables for scaling without burnout (16:37)

  • CSR in 2026: skills-based volunteering and what companies are doing quietly (22:58)

  • Operationalizing people power: giving circles, storytelling, clarity (24:11)

  • One good things (31:50)

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Susan McPherson

LinkedIn

Connect with Nicole R. Smith, CVA

LinkedIn

Connect with Nicole Stewart

LinkedIn

Connect with Sara Lomelin

LinkedIn

Connect with Jon McCoy

LinkedIn

Connect with Becky Endicott

LinkedIn

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Jon McCoy

Founder + CEO, We Are For Good

http://www.weareforgood.com
Next

702. Working Session: Your 30-Day Planned Giving Starter Plan - Pedro J. Rivera