Deirdre Reid, CAE is an association consultant, speaker and trainer focusing on member engagement and social media at Deirdre Reid LLC and Leadership Outfitters. Connect with her @DeirdreReid.

Just when I thought I would take a break from writing about volunteers, Robert Egger, founder and president of the DC Central Kitchen, wrote about their new Volunteer Bill of Rights. Some highlights are:

• Be engaged in meaningful work and be actively included.
• Be told what impact your work made in the community.
• Ask any staff member questions about our work.
• Provide feedback about your experience.
• Receive our financial information or annual report upon request.

Nothing too earth-shaking here, right? But do we do this for our members? We have program evaluations and satisfaction surveys, but what about feedback on their volunteer experience? Imagine if your association was listed on the GreatNonprofits website, how would your reviews look?

“We are an open source organization,” writes Eggers. Why not create a place on your website to not only publicize your volunteer opportunities, from committee work to ad-hoc volunteering, but to also have your members review their experience and share how they think it made a difference. Are you ready for that much transparency?

How would your organizational culture and governance have to change to be more open source — more open to the feedback, criticism, questions and ideas from all your members? Does it seem unlikely, impossible or preposterous to do such a thing? Does it mean more turnover on your committees and board? Lessening the financial, time and/or geographic barriers that prevent members from stepping into leadership positions? Being more nimble and responsive to needs for education or networking? Creating opportunities for all members to easily participate in setting the direction of their association?

Eggers writes, “(we) will push our own organizational envelope.” What would push your envelope? What prevents your leadership from pushing it? Maybe they don’t even know the envelope needs to be pushed. This is the time for gentle but intentional education.

Perhaps you’re limited in what you can do because of limited staff or financial resources. What other organizations can you collaborate with? Be creative with bartering or sponsorships. What can others do for you and what can you do for them in return?

One last quote: “It’s about spurring innovation and setting the stage for interaction and purposeful experience.” Isn’t this our goal for the membership experience? Create spaces for your members to share their ideas on how to create a more interactive and purposeful experience. It may take some experimentation to figure out the best ways to do this and some time for members to get used to doing it. But it’s work that deserves to be done.