>>What if:
>>

>>IF NOT EXISTS(SELECT column_name
>>                     FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
>>              WHERE TABLE_NAME = N'Volunteers' and COLUMN_NAME = N'IsActive')
>>   BEGIN
>>        alter table Volunteers
>>              add IsActive bit NOT NULL CONSTRAINT [DF_Volunteers_IsActive]  DEFAULT (1)
>>   END
>>

>
>Didn't try that, though it doesn't address the original problem. I can drop the field and re-try this syntax, though.

I tried it and it added a field named IsActive and made it equal to 1 for all records. So no additional UPDATE needed.
I now tried the original suggestion.