Virginia has a law saying nonprofits cannot be sued over routine mistakes by employees or volunteers. The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that a nonprofit can be sued when there are serious errors based on extreme negligence. The ruling came from a lawsuit filed by the daughter of a Hospice patient who was injured in a residential facility. The patient was moved resulting in a broken bone, which became infected, leading to amputation, and subsequent death of the patient. Lower courts had dismissed the case based on Virginia's law prohibiting such suits. The Supreme Court disagreed and said, the case could go to trial, because the law was never intended to protect the nonprofit from acts of extreme negligence. Many states have similar legislation.

Is it time to check out the risk management plan for your volunteer program? Here is a checklist to see if you are headed in the right direction.

To learn more about your knowledge and risk management practices visit the Nonprofit Risk Management Center and take the free online assessment.

• Organizations should have training programs, handbooks, formal policies and procedures, and hire coordinators of volunteers to enhance satisfaction among volunteers.
• Use performance evaluations with volunteers to monitor progress, leading to expansion of responsibilities for the volunteer.
• Pay attention to the "fit" between the volunteer and the job they are doing.
• Health related organizations provide ample personal development activities for volunteers, but fewer social opportunities.
• Emotions are strong indicators of whether a volunteer will stay with an organization. Emotions that seem to impact a cross section of organizations are seated in values, understanding and career motivations.

The World Futurist Society magazine, The Futurist, has issued a compilation of trends outlined in its magazine over the past year. Here are trends that have the capacity to impact aspects of organizing and managing volunteer programs. Last month's issue of Volunteer Today carried a similar list but with different topics.

	One third of the world’s population will be online within ten years.
	Advertising will be harder to avoid in the future. Look for ads in restrooms, from cab drivers, and with people volunteering to promote commercial products.
	Homeowners and neighborhoods will gain more control over energy. New technologies could lead to better distributed power systems with a move away from centralized power grids.
	Tree farms might have impact on saving trees in wilderness areas. Trees can be grown in specialized orchards, depending on the end use of the product—paper, furniture, or building materials, to name a few.
	Greed may have its demise in Western culture. More people are disenchanted with owning "things" and are looking instead for the spiritual and caring sides of life. The proportion of people expressing such ideas grew from 5% in the 1960's to 26% in the United States in the 21st century. In Australia 23% of adults, aged 30-59 have downsized their lives in the last ten years.
	Older workers might expand the workday. Older workers are sharpest in the morning hours and might like to work from 6:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m., allowing younger workers to come in later in the morning.
	Workers will retire later—or not at all. Strains on pensions and insufficient savings will force more people to work longer than they had planned. This is also likely to bring more flexible schedules.
	Skills for future workers include the ability to work on a team, solve complex problems, and communicate clearly in print and in person.

From "The Futurist" November-December 2004

Washington State University offers a Volunteer Management Certification Program through the Internet. Individuals around the world can earn a certificate in managing or coordinating volunteers, without leaving home. For more information, visit Volunteer Today's Portal site, Internet Resources. Look for the Washington State University listing. There is a hot link to their Web site.