Tom Dawkins, National Coordinator, Vibewire Inc

What organisation do you work for?

Vibewire Inc, the organisation behind www.vibewire.net, Reelife Short Film Festival, sQuareOne media and arts space, Interface Anthology and more.

What is your title?

National Coordinator

What does your job entail?

Overseeing our various projects, capacity building, recruitment and reporting.

Why and how did you become a volunteer manager?

I've been setting up and running projects of various sorts since I was 16, always working with large crews of volunteers. Most of the time I was a volunteer myself but, as this latest project (Vibewire) has grown, it's turned into a job.

Please share some of the rewarding experiences you have had working with volunteers?

There's nothing like the passion and commitment of good volunteers. Without any financial reward, they turn up and make things happen. With only a tiny paid staff, Vibewire is totally dependent on our volunteers – so the whole journey which Vibewire has been over five years has been a hugely rewarding example of working with volunteers and of the amazing things that volunteers can achieve.

Do you have any examples of innovative programs and ideas for working with your volunteers?

We are still working to improve in this area. As a small organisation without core funding, it can be hard sometimes to reward volunteers the way you want to, especially when they're spread all over the country, as ours are. The most valuable thing we do is bring them all together to our national conference each year, which allows us to honour their contribution and involve them more in project planning.

Do you network with other volunteer managers? If yes, how and what have you gained from that?

Only in our specific sector – youth media and arts. We've picked up some good ideas and practices.