Can’t volunteers replace employees if it’s a challenge to find or pay employees?
While Albertans continue to volunteer their time, skills and perspectives at high rates, an aging population, increased demands from employers and families and complexity in the operations of nonprofit/voluntary organizations all contribute to changing patterns of volunteerism. As in the public and private sectors, diverse skills are required to effectively provide programs, facilities and services. Volunteers are the exclusive human resources that sustain the 58% of Alberta’s non-profit organizations that have no paid staff. However, the commitment and specialized skills required to operate other organizations, could not realistically be sustained by a solely volunteer workforce. Core services which depend upon sustainable long term workers require a compliment of volunteer and employee contributions to excel.
