Making a Ruckus

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 idea of hidden impact – the conversations, connections and moments of belonging that rarely appear in our reports, but shape communities in profound ways. Drawing on a story from last week's conversation with Tom Gill and intr...

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 communities create connection. So, when he wanted to find community for himself, he didn't start with the research. He went looking for it in person, in his own neighbourhood. In this episode, Tom and I talk about what he fo...

"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? In this episode of Making a Ruckus: Rethinking Volunteer Engagement , Tracey explores what happens when volunteer engagement is reduced to numbers, headcounts and hours. Through two powerful stories from her own pr...

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 leader Sue Carter Kahl, whose work has challenged volunteer engagement professionals around the world to rethink how we understand and talk about impact. Sue shares insights from more than 30 years in the sector, including the...

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 volunteer engagement is the work we keep putting off? Drawing on two stories from her own career, Tracey reflects on what happens when relationship-building gets squeezed out by operational demands, why the most important impacts...

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 to notice something that doesn’t always get talked about.   That people don’t just volunteer in different ways — they experience volunteering differently.   And that shapes what keeps them there.   Some people stay because they can...

Physical touch is one of the most misunderstood — and often avoided — aspects of volunteer engagement. In professional settings, it raises important questions about boundaries, safety, and risk. So many organisations respond by removing it altogether. But what gets lost when we do that? In this episode, Tracey explores the love language of Physical Touch — not as something to apply, but as a way o...

Receiving Gifts is often the volunteer love language that makes organisations the most uncomfortable. Volunteering is frequently framed as altruistic — something people do without expecting anything in return. Because of this, tangible gestures of appreciation can feel unnecessary, or they become standardised tokens given to everyone. But what if gifts aren’t really about the object at all? In thi...

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 isn’t a bonus — it’s what gives volunteering meaning. Not every volunteer role naturally includes long conversations or team bonding. And this episode isn’t about adding hours to your already busy schedule as a leader of volunteers....

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 celebrate National Volunteer Week.   But for some volunteers, “thank you” isn’t the thing they’re listening for.   They’re listening for indicators that they belong. They want to understand the difference they make. They want to know where they...

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 volunteer engagement and volunteer management. If you've ever said, "It's always the same people who step up," this episode is for you. Some volunteers express care and commitment through actin. They...

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. Too often, the end of a volunteer role is treated as an administrative exit — rosters updated, keys returned, surveys sent, and relationships quietly closed. But what if this moment holds more possibility than we realise? In this ep...

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 years — Rob Jackson . In this wide-ranging and deeply energising conversation, we look back at three decades of volunteer engagement: what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what still desperately needs a rethink. Rob reflects on the b...

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 to rethink how we recognise and value volunteers. In this episode, Tracey O’Neill flips the script on traditional volunteer appreciation. Instead of asking “How do we thank volunteers for what they do?” , she asks the bigger ques...

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.  But the more I paid attention to how people actually show up for each other in community, the messier — and more interesting — the word became.  In this episode, I explore why volunteering has never had a single agreed definition — not...

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 Elephant Paths — those natural shortcuts peoplecarve when the “official path” just doesn’t make sense for them. And what these paths tell us about volunteer behaviour today. Instead of seeing low recruitment conversion or disenga...

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 one of the biggest myths in volunteer engagement: the “recruitment problem.” We keep hearing it: “No one wants to volunteer anymore.” But what if that’s not true? Tracey explores how outdated processes, rigid roles, and under-reso...

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 volunteers but mobilise communities, challenge systems, and create change that truly matters. The 2025 IVM Day theme, “Be Bold. Make Change.” , isn’t just a slogan — it’s a call to action. Tracey explores what boldness really means in...

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 volunteering, leadership, and community. This is your space — and ours — for the disruptors, dreamers, and doers daring to rethink what volunteering can be, challenge old systems, and create change that truly matters. Because making a...