“The President cordially invites you to his Remarks on Volunteering, Monday, September 8, 2008. The White House, South Lawn.” So read the email invitation bearing the virtual Seal of the President of the United States.

My reaction, “You’ve got to be kidding.” I quickly dial the RSVP line provided. “The White House Volunteering Event. How can I help?”

I forget why I called. Nice to see how ten years of formal education at some of the best public universities in the United States had prepared me for every professional eventuality. “White House, Volunteering Event,” the receiver intones.

The word “volunteering” catches my attention. Volunteering, now I remember. “I am calling to RSVP to attend the President’s Remarks on Volunteering.” Three minutes later - - done. I’m registered.

I have to teach class Monday night September 8, 2008. A review of airline schedules reveals that I cannot return from Washington in time for class. I will need to cancel a class - - but students will certainly understand an invitation to the White House. They do. At our next class session, I explain, and they are as awed by the prospect as I am. 

Fast forward three weeks. I’m at the White House South Lawn reflecting on the President’s Remarks on Volunteering as the crowd of about 1,000 files through the exits. 

President Bush spoke for 25 minutes on volunteering. He reiterates the need to volunteer. He extols what he calls the “Armies of Compassion,” the thousands, even millions of Americans who volunteer their time to good causes of every kind and description - - 61 million of us.

President Bush echoes his call, first given in his 2002 State of the Union Address, for “all Americans to dedicate at least 4,000 hours in service to their communities, our country, and to the world.” Issued in the dark days following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the President reminds us that we do not need terrorism to activate the charitable impulse. Our better natures motivate us to help others every day. Still, 4,000 hours amount to two years of an individual’s life.

It is inspiring to hear the President recount how Americans are heeding the call to service through a variety of government, nonprofit, faith-based, corporate, and combined efforts and programs to volunteer. For the President to spend nearly one-half hour with us when so many national and international issues command his attention offers eloquent testimony of his commitment to the vision. We are not only impressed but also inspired.

I consider the relevance of the President’s Remarks on Volunteering for the administration of volunteers, the subject of the Levin Chair Seminar, which I teach every year.  First, it seems to me, volunteer recruitment remains an issue, but it is receding in importance to retention. Annual statistics supplied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggest that while the aggregate level of volunteer involvement remains roughly stable at about 27% of Americans, approximately one-in-three drop out of volunteering every year. Thus, it seems that we can bring people into volunteering to replace those lost, but retention - - keeping those volunteers on hand - - is more of a problem. Imagine if we could retain the full one-third of volunteers who, according to the BLS, drop out annually.

Second, if retention of volunteers is the priority, “more recruitment” is not the answer. Recruitment tends to be a “mass market” activity meant to attract as many potential volunteers as possible. Recruitment, by contrast, is a highly individual process to meet and excite the needs of highly diverse volunteers. Recruitment strategies are remarkably similar across potential volunteers, for example, promotion, marketing, messaging, and communication. Retention is highly variable, including listening, reacting, responding, re-energizing, and re-directing, to satisfy the program and the individual volunteer.

Third, no administrator of volunteers can (or should) do it all on their own. These people work in a highly rewarding, and equally demanding, field. To get more, give more. I will encourage students to "grow" volunteers to assist them in the job by training and entrusting them with important responsibilities, such as recruitment, screening, orientation, and management. Not only will building volunteer staff capacity help to retain volunteers looking for these types of opportunities but also it will allow administrators more time to devote to keeping other volunteers. Volunteer administrators can meet the retention challenge by working smarter, rather than harder.

If the President’s Remarks on Volunteering of September 8, 2008, offer any guide, the work of administrators of volunteers is valued and important. How many other professions does the President formally recognize? An invitation to the White House confirms that volunteer administrators help to realize a compelling vision. (Dr. Brudney is the Albert A. Levin Chair of Urban Studies and Public Service. He can be reached at: j.brudney@csuohio.edu)