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
197 – Behind the Scenes of 10 Years of Industry Research with Allison Russell – Part 2
January 15, 2026 Episode #197: Behind the Scenes of 10 Years of Industry Research with Allison Russell – Part 2 In part 2 of our behind-the-scenes series on the Volunteer Management Progress Report, Tobi Johnson returns with Allison Russell, Assistant Professor of [...]
196 – Behind the Scenes of 10 Years of Industry Research with Pam Kappelides & Allison Russell – Part 1
January 8, 2026 Episode #196: Behind the Scenes of 10 Years of Industry Research with Pam Kappelides & Allison Russell – Part 1 To mark 10 years of the Volunteer Management Progress Report (VMPR), Tobi Johnson hands the mic to nonprofit scholar Allison [...]
195 – The Top 10 Volunteer Nation Podcast Episodes for 2025 – Our Countdown
January 1, 2026 Episode #195: The Top 10 Volunteer Nation Podcast for 2025 - Our Countdown As we step into a brand-new year, Tobi takes listeners on a reflective walk through the most popular Volunteer Nation Podcast episodes of 2025, sharing [...]
194 – Beyond the Performative – The Price of Nice with Amira Barger
December 24, 2025 Episode #194: Beyond the Performative - The Price of Nice with Amira Barger In this episode of Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson welcomes back Amira Barger, award-winning communications executive, educator, and author of The Price of Nice: Why Comfort [...]
193 – Building Influence with Impact with Chris Wade and Matthew Cobble
December 18, 2025 Episode #193: Building Influence with Impact with Chris Wade and Matthew Cobble How do volunteer leaders move from being seen as “extra hands” to strategic drivers of mission success? In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson is joined [...]
192 – Respect the Work: How to Protect Copyright in the Age of Sharing
December 11, 2025 Episode #192: Respect the Work: How to Protect Copyright in the Age of Sharing In this episode of The Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson tackles a topic that’s becoming increasingly urgent in the nonprofit and volunteer engagement world: copyright, intellectual property, and [...]
191 – Who is Ultimately Responsible for Your Org’s Volunteer Culture?
December 4, 2025 Episode #191: Who is Ultimately Responsible for Your Org's Volunteer Culture? In this episode of Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson breaks down a common misconception in the nonprofit world: Who is ultimately responsible for shaping your organization’s volunteer [...]
190 – 5 Principles for an Unforgettable Volunteer User Experience
November 27, 2025 Episode #190: 5 Principles for an Unforgettable Volunteer User Experience In this episode of Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi dives deep into what makes a truly exceptional volunteer user experience — from the very first moment someone encounters your organization, through [...]
189 – How to Use a Communications Audit to Recruit More Volunteers
November 20, 2025 Episode #189: How to Use a Communications Audit to Recruit More Volunteers In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson breaks down why it’s one of the smartest, most powerful tools nonprofits can use to attract more aligned, motivated volunteers. Often, [...]
188 – Let’s Talk Volunteering with Weave: the Social Fabric Project
November 13, 2025 Episode #188: Let's Talk Volunteering with Weave: the Social Fabric Project In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson shares a webinar featuring Jennifer Bennett of Idealist and Travis Sternhagen, Volunteer Manager at Kinship Community Food Center. The episode delves into the [...]
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 [...]