How many of you love math? I am thrilled that my 9-year-old grandson is a whiz at math in school. I was a co-whiz in my West Virginia elementary school. Each week, I had to battle David Brown for honors in our weekly speed math contest on the chalk board. He and I had the problem noted on the board half solved before the grand "face-off" in the front of the class. My love of numbers fits well with our profession, which is all about numbers!
I have worked with many volunteers through the years. They come in all shapes and sizes. I also have recruited a large quantity of volunteers to provide a variety of needed services for various nonprofits. Unfortunately, the quantity and quality factors were never in sync. The quantity was always much greater. You never know if the quality comes through until after the recruiting process and evaluation over time.
I was with an executive recently for lunch. I have known him for many years. He served on a volunteer committee with me when I was with a previous employer. He asked me to lunch and said he decided to focus on a few new charities for volunteerism going forward, including my organization. He is focused, dedicated, passionate and results-oriented, and will be an excellent volunteer and eventual board member.
While this lunch provided a wonderful end result, we all know these endings are never the same. How often have you secured what you think is the perfect volunteer only to find him or her MIA? I call it the rule of thirds.
The statistics don't lie. In my career, I believe if I secure nine people for volunteer or volunteer board positions, for example, one third of them will be outstanding and exceed expectations, another third will ebb and flow, and the remaining third will be a complete bust. Your goal is to seek 100 percent outstanding performers, which is hard to do and never totally accomplished. But, one must strive to attain the gold standard. Also, be prepared for surprises and disappointment.
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Duke Haddad, Ed.D., CFRE, is currently associate director of development, director of capital campaigns and director of corporate development for The Salvation Army Indiana Division in Indianapolis. He also serves as president of Duke Haddad and Associates LLC and is a freelance instructor for Nonprofit Web Advisor.
He has been a contributing author to NonProfit PRO since 2008.
He received his doctorate degree from West Virginia University with an emphasis on education administration plus a dissertation on donor characteristics. He received a masterโs degree from Marshall University with an emphasis on public administration plus a thesis on annual fund analysis. He secured a bachelorโs degree (cum laude) with an emphasis on marketing/management. He has done post graduate work at the University of Louisville. ย ย ย ย ย ย
Duke has received the Fundraising Executive of the Year Award, from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Indiana Chapter. He also was given the Outstanding West Virginian Award, Kentucky Colonel Award and Sagamore of the Wabash Award from the governors of West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, for his many career contributions in the field of philanthropy. Heย has maintained a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation for three decades.





