Making a Ruckus

Volunteering Is Not an Add-On: Inside the New US National Volunteer Strategy

I read a lot of volunteering strategy documents. Most of them don't make me stop. The new Points of Light US National Volunteer Strategy did. One line on page 13, Prin

The Hidden Impact of Volunteering

What if some of the most important work in volunteer engagement happens long before anyone ever signs up to volunteer? In this episode of Making a Ruckus, I explore the

People Don't Want to Volunteer. They Want to Belong: a conversation with Tom Gill

Tom Gill doesn't work in the volunteering sector. He's a cultural placemaking consultant and writer for The Guardian, who spends his career studying how cities and commun

Measuring What Matters in Volunteer Engagement

"What gets measured gets managed." It's one of the most repeated phrases in leadership and reporting. But what if it's led us to pay attention to all the wrong things?

Not Everything That Matters Can Be Counted: a conversation with Sue Carter Kahl

What if the most important impacts of volunteering can't be counted? In this episode of Making a Ruckus, Tracey is joined by volunteerism researcher, writer, and thought

The Real Work of Volunteer Engagement

Season 3 of Making a Ruckus opens with a question that came out mid-sentence in a workshop, surprised the room, and hasn't left Tracey since. What if the real work of vo

Volunteer Love Languages: Designing Belonging

Over the past couple of months on Making a Ruckus, I’ve been exploring volunteer engagement through the lens of Volunteer Love Languages.   Not to label people.   But

Physical Touch in Volunteer Engagement: When Care is Felt, Not Just Done

Physical touch is one of the most misunderstood — and often avoided — aspects of volunteer engagement. In professional settings, it raises important questions about boun

Receiving Gifts in Volunteer Engagement: When Appreciation Becomes Something You Can Hold Onto

Receiving Gifts is often the volunteer love language that makes organisations the most uncomfortable. Volunteering is frequently framed as altruistic — something people

Quality Time in Volunteer Engagement: When Presence Builds Belonging

When the Moments Between the Tasks Matter Most Some volunteers stay because of the moments between the tasks. For volunteers who value Quality Time, shared experience i

Words of Affirmation in Volunteer Engagement: When “Thank You” Isn’t Enough

When Being Seen Is More Than Being Thanked Leaders of volunteer engagement are often excellent at recognition.   We say thank you. We run awards nights. We celebra

Acts of Service in Volunteer Engagement

Rethinking "It's Always the Same People" In this episode of Making a Ruckus, we explore Acts of Service as a volunteer love language — and what it means for leaders of v

When Volunteering Ends

In the Season 1 finale of Making a Ruckus, Tracey O’Neill reflects on one of the most overlooked moments in volunteer engagement: what happens when volunteering ends. To

Rob Jackson: Three Decades In — Still Making a Ruckus

For our very first interview on Making a Ruckus, I’m joined by someone who has shaped the thinking of volunteer engagement professionals around the world for more than 30

Recognition Isn’t Enough: The Part We’re All Missing

This year’s International Volunteer Day launches the 2026 UN International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development — and there has never been a more important time

How Do We Define Volunteering? I’m Not Sure Anymore.

For most of my career, I thought I knew exactly what volunteering meant.   A clear definition. A neat set of boundaries. A shared understanding across our sector.  B

Elephant Paths: Why Volunteers are Choosing Their Own Way

What if volunteers aren’t walking away — they’re just choosing a path that feels right for them? In Episode 3 of Making a Ruckus, Tracey O’Neill explores the metaphor of

What if Volunteer Recruitment Wasn't the Problem?

What if people still want to volunteer — they just don’t want to do it the way our systems expect them to? In this episode of Making a Ruckus, Tracey O’Neill challenges o

Be Bold. Make Change.

In this episode, Tracey O’Neill launches Making a Ruckus on International Volunteer Managers Day (5 November) — a day that honours the leaders who don’t just manage volun

Making a Ruckus: Rethinking Volunteer Engagement

Volunteering is changing — and so are the people leading it. Welcome to Making a Ruckus: Rethinking Volunteer Engagement, the podcast shaking up how we think about volun