Welcome to the Volunteer Nation Podcast!
Weekly interviews, big hat thinking, quick wins, and smart strategy to help you
engage your community and make a bigger impact.
Welcome to the Volunteer Nation Podcast!
Weekly interviews, big hat thinking, quick wins, and smart strategy to help you
engage your community and make a bigger impact.
The Volunteer Nation Podcast
Join Tobi and her special guests each week to learn how charities, causes, campaigns, congregations, and companies leverage the power of volunteerism to create a better world.
About the Show
Nonprofit leadership author, coach, and expert Tobi Johnson shares weekly tips to help charities build, grow, and scale exceptional volunteer teams. Discover how your nonprofit can effectively coordinate volunteers who are reliable, equipped, and ready to help you bring about BIG change for the better.
Rather than continuing to “do more with less,” achieve abundance for your organization by engaging community talent that helps you do more with more.
Society is evolving and so, too, is volunteerism. With over 25 years of experience working in nonprofits, public sector agencies, and grassroots campaigns Tobi is known for her modern “big hat” thinking and straight talk about what it takes to achieve success in today’s world.
You will learn how to coordinate volunteers, improve the volunteer experience, recruit volunteers, appreciate volunteers, and do it all more efficiently with the right volunteer management software and digital tools. It’s a mix of interviews and solo shows you’re not going to want to miss.
So, if you’re ready to ditch the stress and harness the power of people to fuel your good work, you’re in exactly the right place. Hit subscribe and let’s DO this!
Your Host
Tobi Johnson, MA, CVA is an internationally sought-after expert, consultant, advisor, and master trainer in volunteer engagement. She is known for her modern thought leadership, highly practical evidence-based strategies, and innovative, “big hat” thinking around engaging, supporting, and acknowledging the work of volunteers. She is the President of Tobi Johnson & Associates, a consulting firm whose mission is to help nonprofit organizations make connections with remarkable volunteers. In 2015, she founded VolunteerPro, an online training and networking community for leaders of volunteers. She is also co-host of the Time + Talent Podcast with Jennifer Bennett of VolunteerMatch.
Tobi has over 30 years direct experience in nonprofit management, program development, program coordination, training delivery and learning design across a wide range of charities and government agencies. She wrote Chapter 1 of Volunteer Engagement 2.0: Ideas and Insights for Transforming Volunteer Programs in a Changing World. Each year, her firm also conducts the Volunteer Management Progress Report, a global state-of-the-industry survey. In 2022, over 1,300 professionals from 28 countries participated.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Tobi is a graduate of the University of Washington and has a master’s degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She now lives in East Tennessee with her husband and feline office assistant, Bailey.
Latest Episodes
187 – Bold Leadership – Celebrating IVMDay with Nicole Smith
November 6, 2025 Episode #187: Bold Leadership – Celebrating IVMDay with Nicole Smith In this inspiring episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson celebrates International Volunteer Managers Day with special guest Nicole Smith, Executive Director of Alive. Together, they dive into this year’s powerful theme — “Be Bold [...]
186 – Strategy vs Tactics – How to Include Both in Your Volunteer Planning
October 30, 2025 Episode #186: Strategy vs Tactics - How to Include Both in Your Volunteer Planning In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson breaks down one of the biggest pitfalls in volunteer planning: confusing strategy with tactics. She explains why a plan that’s just a [...]
185 – To Burnout & Back – My Secret Struggle with Long COVID
October 23, 2025 Episode #185: To Burnout & Back - My Secret Struggle with Long COVID In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson steps away from her usual format to share her journey through Long COVID, from the first onset [...]
184 – The Experience Economy – Are Nonprofits Keeping Up?
October 16, 2025 Episode #184: The Experience Economy – Are Nonprofits Keeping Up? In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson unpacks how the experience economy is reshaping the way nonprofits engage and retain volunteers. Building on last week’s discussion about the evolving volunteer marketplace, [...]
183 – The New Reality – Volunteers Don’t Need You
October 9, 2025 Episode #183: The New Reality - Volunteers Don't Need You In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson tackles a bold question: has the volunteer–nonprofit relationship changed for good? As societal expectations and volunteer trends evolve, Tobi explains [...]
182 – The 8 Game-Changing Policies That Make Volunteers Say WOW!
October 2, 2025 Episode #182: The 8 Game-Changing Policies That Make Volunteers Say WOW! In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson builds on her previous conversation about harmful volunteer policies by introducing eight transformative strategies to attract and retain passionate volunteers. From creating a welcoming [...]
181 – The 8 Volunteer Policies That Are Killing Your Mission
September 30, 2025 Episode #181: The 8 Volunteer Policies That Are Killing Your Mission In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson uncovers eight common volunteer policies that could be hurting your mission. From poor first impressions and slow communication to overly [...]
180 – 3 Smart Ways to Design Volunteer Service Awards
September 18, 2025 Episode #180: 3 Smart Ways to Design Volunteer Service Awards In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson explores smart, research-backed frameworks for designing meaningful volunteer service awards. Instead of relying on traditional recognition tactics, she [...]
179 – Transformative Service Experiences with Frederick J. Riley and Jackie Wolven
September 11, 2025 Episode #179: Transformative Service Experiences with Frederick J. Riley and Jackie Wolven In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson dives into the topic of transformative service experiences with guests Frederick J. Riley, Executive Director of [...]
178 – 6 Ways to Help Program Volunteers Avoid Compassion Fatigue
September 4, 2025 Episode #178: 6 Ways to Help Program Volunteers Avoid Compassion Fatigue In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson dives deep into the critical issue of compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress among program volunteers. These [...]
177 – Manage Volunteers Like a Pro: 7 Rookie Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
August 28, 2025 Episode #177: Manage Volunteers Like a Pro: 7 Rookie Mistakes and How to Avoid Them In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson dives into the 7 common rookie mistakes non-profits make when managing volunteers and [...]
176 – Beyond Pizza Parties: Innovative Appreciation Ideas for Volunteers
August 21, 2025 Episode #176: Beyond Pizza Parties: Innovative Appreciation Ideas for Volunteers In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson discusses the importance of strategic volunteer appreciation. Moving beyond traditional gifts and certificates, she explores how to recognize [...]