Challenges and qualities

experiment with new forms of co-operation with municipalities and private foundations and companies, which challenge the traditional understanding of voluntary organisations.

In the last couple of years, URK has focused on growth and they have found a way to harvest from the success, however it can be argued that they spare no means in their attempt. No matter of the ways they reach their goals, the exposure is indisputable; URK manages to position them selves in society.

FDF is not in the same way a visible organisation in society. They rarely involve in the public debate and in this way, they never manage to position themselves as the valuable player they actually are in the voluntary sector. Their number of members has been steadily decreasing for many years and the image of FDF, as the traditional scout stereotype with activities such as tying knots and sitting around bonfires, is still prevailing. In this way, FDF has failed to explain what they can and want as an organisation. FDF has not managed to show the versatility in activities and the significance of their values. Being a scout and doing scout work is not in anymore and has not been that for many years. In this way, FDF has become an enclave in society; closed and self-sufficient and there has been created a gap between FDF and the rest of the voluntary sector and society in particular. Despite their almost 400 local units, they remain virtually invisible.

Organisational culture

FDF is an old organisation with a strong identity and sense of self. The community is the foundation for a powerful culture. However, FDF is also a resilient and rigid organisation difficult to implement change in. A ‘used-to’ culture makes it difficult for new members to enter. The strong culture is hence a weakness as well as a strength.

URK is the ‘teenager’ emancipating from Red Cross and can be seen as an ‘empty vessel’

which has adapted according to changes in the environment. In this way, the organisation is defined by progress and change, however it has been achieved at the expense of history and tradition. URK is very good at readjustments but may risk losing identity and self-understanding. However, new volunteers are easily integrated in the organisation.

Volunteer retention

Most voluntary leaders in FDF have been members since childhood. Developing as volunteers is a gradual transformation from child to assistant to voluntary leader as described in the analysis. The members in FDF develop an identity with FDF – it is not something you do, it is something you are. When the volunteers grow up and get children of their own, the children will become members as well and the circle continues. New members are primarily classmates and friends of existing members. Many new members

are lost within a couple of years but those who stay in FDF will, in many instances, become volunteers. By that, it can be argued that FDF recruits volunteers internally as they ‘raise’

their own future volunteers. FDF is thereby able to retain those members who manage to become socialised, but a quick socialisation is difficult and may be the reason for the great loss of new members.

URK attracts many volunteers while they are students, due to a promising enhancements of CV but also because the humanitarian aspect of the organisation seems to be a trend.

URK recruits strategically on media and educational institutions and in that way, it can be characterised as external recruitment. However when the volunteers reach their thirties or finish their studies they usually leave the organisation. In that way, URK does not retain the volunteers for a long time and constantly has to attract new volunteers.

Diversity

FDF is a very diverse organisation. Members in FDF have a variety of educational backgrounds, mostly within short and middle long further educations. Much of the diversity in FDF is owed to the fact that you can be in FDF your entire life – that means that active volunteers are not limited to a certain age or activity. Further FDF contains activities from outdoor life to music and performance to classic play and fantasy. You even have activities that do not include contact with children as for example with the kayak clubs. In FDF, there is “room for everybody’’ but this diversity may also be an obstacle if you try to include everything in one organisation.

URK has a low degree of diversity where most of the volunteers are studying at an upper secondary school (gymnasium) or at a long further education. This is reflected in the activities, which focus on learning activities e.g. mentor programs and homework cafes.

URK does not intend to exclude anyone from volunteering, however the activities as well as the organisational structure attract a certain target group and URK may end up as an elitist organisation as a result.

Volunteer awareness

By awareness, we refer to how the volunteer has reflected on his/her roles as a volunteer and if the volunteer considers what difference he/she makes for the users and what the organisation in general can accomplish in society. The most important thing regarding awareness though, is whether the volunteer can articulate it.

In URK, this awareness is awakened by several factors:

New volunteers are formally received at information evenings, where it is possible to shop around and choose from different activities. At these meetings the organisational structure, as well as the aim, is explained. In the daily work of the volunteers, strategies, action plans and evaluation methods are explicated and the volunteers are encouraged to work accordingly. Additionally, it is possible for new volunteers to read regular ‘job’

postings on the internet, stating what the ‘job’ entails and what is expected. Some activities invite potential candidates to an interview and other activities have an actual application process. In some instances, URK even makes use of a so-called volunteer contracts as well as FUS, voluntary development interviews (Frivillig Udviklingssamtale). All these initiatives are instruments aimed at enhancing the volunteers’ awareness of expectations, support personal development as well as reducing drop-outs. Further URK is very good at explicating the required skills when volunteering but especially at informing the volunteers of the competences gained from volunteering. This means that the volunteers can articulate exactly which competencies they have acquired and how they can use them further on – for instance when applying for a job. Lastly, URK is good at emphasising organisational achievements such as the explosive growth of members and great influence in society. They create a discourse or a certain way of describing URK that becomes self-enforcing. All these factors contribute to a culture where everything is articulated, and in that way the volunteers become very aware.

In FDF, awareness is not ‘bred’ in the same way as in URK. Due to the already described culture of seniority and inheritance of doxa, the volunteers are not used to articulating or expressing how the voluntary work is valuable or what difference they make as volunteers.

When action comes before words, you do not learn to explicate anything, you learn how to throw yourself into new things and succeed with it. The volunteers primarily emphasise practical skills and the community as something they have gained from FDF, but they fail to recognise the difference they make for the children and the advantages of the voluntary engagement such as leadership, social skills, and their view of humanity.

From the five focus areas described, we will now present our recommendations to each of the organisations.