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Volunteer Nation
Nonprofit leadership author, coach, and expert Tobi Johnson shares weekly tips to help charities build, grow, and scale exceptional volunteer teams. Discover how your nonprofit can effectively coordinate volunteers who are reliable, equipped, and ready to help you bring about BIG change for the better. Rather than continuing to “do more with less,” achieve abundance for your organization by engaging community talent that helps you do more with more. Society is evolving and so, too, is volunteerism. With over 25 years of experience working in nonprofits, public sector agencies, and grassroots campaigns Tobi is known for her modern “big hat” thinking and straight talk about what it takes to achieve success in today’s world. You will learn how to coordinate volunteers, improve the volunteer experience, recruit volunteers, appreciate volunteers, and do it all more efficiently with the right volunteer management software and digital tools. It’s a mix of interviews and solo shows you’re not going to want to miss. So, if you’re ready to ditch the stress and harness the power of people to fuel your good work, you’re in exactly the right place. Hit subscribe and let’s DO this!
Episodes
169 episodes
169. How to Meet 3 Core Volunteer Needs Right from the Start
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, Tobi Johnson dives into the essential human needs that drive a meaningful and rewarding volunteer experience—safety, connection, and purpose. Tobi explores how creat...
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31:51
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168. Note to Nonprofit Execs - Supporting Volunteers is Everyone's Job
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, Tobi Johnson addresses a persistent and deeply rooted challenge in the nonprofit sector: the lack of buy-in and active support for volunteers across entire organizations—not just within volunteer de...
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27:45
167. Keeping Civic Engagement Alive Despite Funding Cuts with Sam Fankuchen
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, Tobi Johnson is joined by Sam Fankuchen, founder and CEO of Golden, about how nonprofit organizations can stay resilient and keep civic engagement alive amid uncertainty, disasters, and radical fund...
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1:03:10
166. Train Volunteers with This Simple 4-Step Framework
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, Tobi Johnson shares a simple yet powerful four-step framework to help you train volunteers more effectively. Drawing on decades of experience in instructional design and facilitation, Tobi breaks do...
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26:42
165. Let's Make Volunteering Accessible for All with Allyson Ferrari
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, Tobi Johnson is joined by Allyson Ferrari, Director of Connections at Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, to explore how organizations can make volunteering more inclusive and accessible...
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57:14
164. Moving from Volunteer Compliance to Building Your Nonprofit Community
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, Tobi Johnson unpacks a powerful mindset shift in the nonprofit world: moving beyond volunteer compliance and toward building a thriving volunteer community. Tobi explores the delicate ba...
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36:03
163. New Research from Points of Light with Jennifer Sirangelo
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, Tobi Johnson sits down with Jennifer Sirangelo, President & CEO of Points of Light, to explore why volunteerism is not just a “nice to have”, it’s a necessity. Jennifer shar...
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51:27
162. The #1 Secret to Deep Volunteer Participation
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, Tobi Johnson dives into one of the most powerful, yet often overlooked, tools for volunteer engagement: human connection. Tobi reminds us that it's not tech tools or training manuals that drive true...
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40:12
161. Leadership Principles for Sparking Change – Part 2 with Jenni Field
In this powerful follow-up episode of The Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson continues her insightful conversation with Jenni Field, diving deeper into the leadership principles that drive meaningful change, especially for those ma...
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41:13
160. Leadership Principles for Sparking Change – Part 1 with Jenni Field
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, Tobi Johnson sits down with leadership and communications expert Jenni Field for an insightful conversation about what it really takes to lead with credibility in the nonprofit world. Je...
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43:01
159. How to Hire a Future Proof Volunteer Coordinator
In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson breaks down exactly what it takes to hire a future proof volunteer coordinator who can lead with confidence and adaptability. Given how vital this role is in representing yo...
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45:32
158. Nonprofit Capacity Building with the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond
In this episode of The Volunteer Nation Podcast, host Tobi Johnson sits down with Diana Villarreal and Gail Cavallaro from the Community Foundation for greater Richmond to explore how strategic volunteer engagement is shaping the futur...
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1:06:31
157. A Fresh Take on Volunteer Position Descriptions
In this episode of The Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson challenges the status quo of traditional volunteer position descriptions. She explores why the standard, task-heavy approach often falls flat and shares how a simple shift i...
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27:53
156. People-first Leadership & Strengthening Teams with Dr. Rob Lion
In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson invites Dr. Rob Lion onto the show to discuss people-first leadership and fostering stronger collaboration between paid staff and volunteers. Dr. Rob Lion is a professor, co...
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1:10:38
155. Entitled or Exploited? Part 2 Volunteer Responsibilities AND Rights
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, host Tobi Johnson dives deep into the ethical and fair treatment of volunteers. She introduces the Volunteer Bill of Rights, outlining ten essential rights every volunteer should have, from...
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42:45
154. Entitled or Exploited? Part 1 - Volunteer Bias in Organizations
In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi discusses the concept of volunteer bias in organizations, focusing on the theme, Entitled or Exploited. Using data from the Volunteer Management Progress Report, Tobi highlights iss...
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26:27
153. Building Nonprofit Capacity at Hire Heroes with Michele Wiesner
In this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast, Tobi welcomes Michele Wiesner, Director of Capacity Building at Hire Heroes USA onto the show! Michele discusses her extensive experience in volunteer engagement and career development, particula...
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57:38
152. What Every Nonprofit Executive Should Know About Community Engagement
In this episode, Tobi draws insights from the Volunteer Management Progress Report and discusses the perennial challenges in engaging volunteers, particularly respect and buy-in from leadership. She highlights the importance of power sharing, d...
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42:19
151. Reimagining Nonprofit Membership & Volunteer Engagement with Alice Glenn
In this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast, Tobi Johnson is joined by Alice Glenn, President of the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI). Tobi and Alice delve into innovative approaches to nonprofit membership and volunteer e...
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59:56
150. Launch a Community-based Advocacy Program in Six Steps
In this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast, Tobi focuses on nonprofit advocacy, emphasizing the importance of advocacy in uncertain times. Tobi outlines a detailed six-step plan to launch a community-based advocacy program, tailored for or...
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52:52
149. Nonprofit Advocacy Strategies – A Checklist
In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, host Tobi Johnson provides an in-depth discussion on nonprofit advocacy strategies. Tobi talks about the immediate need for nonprofit advocacy and shares five key strategies to effectively engage...
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37:11
148. Nonprofit Advocacy 101 – Yes You Can!
In this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast, Tobi addresses the critical need for nonprofits to engage in advocacy, especially amidst current uncertainties like federal funding chaos. She explains how advocacy's role has diminished over the...
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42:56
147. Volunteer Recruitment Trends from Our New Report
In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi discusses the key volunteer recruitment trends from the 2025 Volunteer Management Progress Report. She explores the major challenges non-profit organizations face in recruiting and retaining...
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55:17
146. Expanding Volunteer Jobs to Be Done at Your Nonprofit
In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi dives into the art of expanding volunteer roles within nonprofits. Inspired by a recent workshop, she breaks down the essential steps to designing an effective volunteer program that truly m...
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29:41