The organization had existed since its formal charter in 1961 as "The American Association of Volunteer Services Coordinators" (AAVSC).
AVA members were engaged in the management of volunteers in nonprofit, governmental, school-based, and similar mission-based settings.
Recipients of the award are recognized for their support of AVA through leadership positions, special projects, research, publications, advocacy and other activities that have strengthened both the association and the profession of volunteer resources management."
On February 3 the board, staff, and pro bono attorneys met via teleconference to discuss options for the future of AVA, including bankruptcy and dissolution.
In her letter, she characterized the demise of AVA: Starting in June 2005 the board persistently asked about the financial status of the organization.
Our auditors informed the Executive Committee that too much money was spent on salaries and Executive Director travel and that ICVA expenses were unusually high.She continued: The board also learned that assets were mismanaged, and signatures on AVA's money market and checking accounts were changed without the board's knowledge.
Delving deeper, AVA found other signs of mismanagement, misappropriation of restricted funds and abusive, unauthorized spending.
[11] JOVA was given to R. Dale Safrit at North Carolina State University, specifically the Department of 4-H Youth Development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and renamed The International Journal of Volunteer Administration (IJOVA).
The calls provided an opportunity to discuss current and anticipated needs of volunteer resource managers and possible next steps to support AVA's former members.
A total of nearly 100 volunteer managers, representing local, state and national organizations, participated in one of the two calls.
By the end of 2007, all three initiatives were abandoned, and updates were no longer made to their web sites, according to records at the Internet Archive.
[21] As volunteerism expert Susan J. Ellis noted, "It has been 10 years since we had a national event designed exclusively for people whose work centers on engaging volunteers.