Maybe you saw those commercials on TV lately, the ones with Miss Piggy and Taye Diggs building a house. It was about the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” campaign, a partnership between Disney and the Hands On Network.
According to the Hands On Network,
The innovative nature of this program exponentially increased organizations’ capacity to both invite and excite people about volunteerism. Many volunteers served for the first time, beginning what we hope will be a life-long service journey. We look forward to organizations carrying on the momentum of this program, reconnecting with volunteers, and accomplishing even more in your communities this year.
My first instinct (as I tweeted a few days ago) was that this effort to bribe people into volunteering by rewarding them with a day at a Disney theme park seemed inherently wrong-headed. Shouldn’t people volunteer because it’s about helping others, not helping themselves? Doesn’t providing an explicit, promised reward for good behavior miss the point, and turn volunteering into a selfish act instead of an act of altruism? It just seems off to me.
But I seem to be the only one with this reaction. Joanne Fritz at about.com applauds Disney’s efforts, which they are saying recruited 1 million volunteers. Fundraising expert Ted Hart used his radio show to point out my skepticism but said he didn’t agree.
So I’m really curious–what do you think? Am I being too hard on Disney? Does a campaign like this provide the little push toward volunteering that people need, and do you think it will be “a life-long service journey”?
March 17, 2010 at 9:00 am |
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March 18, 2010 at 8:27 am |
I think the concept of the program is fine and is a three-win approach benefiting individuals/communities, nonprofits, and corporate branding.
I like the idea of creating an appealing and fun entry point for new volunteers, though if they don’t stay engaged, they could be even more of a strain on already strapped volunteer training and management resources. Would be great to have retention data available on this after the campaign is over to figure out it’s effectiveness and impact.
Where I think the campaign could really be better is in the way it is messaged– saying things like “the sooner we get to work, the sooner we get free passes to Disney” could give an empty impression like the volunteer experience isn’t meaningful, engaging, or helpful to communities or organizations, much less creating emotional value or connection for the volunteers.
March 18, 2010 at 4:35 pm |
Thanks for your comment, Kristen. I agree that it would be great to see if the people stay involved even after there is no Disney ticket on the line.
I would love to see data suggestion that Disney brought in a bunch of new families who fell in love with volunteering and kept at it. I hope it wasn’t a bunch of one-time quid-pro-quo’ers. Think Disney would follow up with the families in 6 months to see if they volunteered again?
I think the problem you point out with the messaging–that we’re doing this mostly to get our free passes to Disney–is exactly the part that troubles me.
March 18, 2010 at 9:58 am |
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by joannefritz: Sharon wants ur feedback on Disney Volunteer Vacation Day: Needed Encouragement or Wrong-Headed Bribe? http://bit.ly/czdKsk gd question!…
March 19, 2010 at 7:31 am |
Hi Sharon, I found the messaging troubling, too. Makes sense they’d want people to be volunteering for a group like Habitat even if they didn’t consider themselves “qualified builders”, but a bunch of what’s-in-it-for-me volunteers bumbling around a construction site didn’t give the impression it was a win for the nonprofit… Showing those same volunteers having a “wow, I’m learning something new” moment, or “great to meet the family that’ll live in this house, hey, this is about more than just me” moment would have been welcome.
Thx for this post AND the “almost give” post of a few days ago. It’s so much fun to learn with you!
Christine
March 19, 2010 at 9:38 am |
Thanks for your comment, Christine. I like your suggestions of how this messaging might have been done to leave less of an icky, greedy aftertaste.
April 7, 2010 at 6:41 pm |
Man I wish I was on vacation. After a few nice days it is supposed to snow again!!! Arrgghhh, when will it end
July 21, 2010 at 11:26 pm |
I love going to disney with my family on vacation..