Getting The Most From Your Volunteer Program - FFEA 2016
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The document outlines how organizations can effectively manage their volunteer programs through three key concepts: recruiting, retaining, and recognizing volunteers. It emphasizes the need for clear role definitions, proper training, and community connection while providing various resources for volunteer management. Recognizing and valuing volunteers is essential for fostering a positive relationship and enhancing volunteer engagement.
Getting The Most From Your Volunteer Program - FFEA 2016
- 1. GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM CINDY BLACKBURN & JENNIFER BROWN
- 2. 2 The relationship between an organization and a volunteer is at times…best described as a love-hate relationship
- 4. 4 What a volunteer isn’t… • Free labor • Non-essential • Part of a barter • A mind reader • Held to lower professional standards
- 6. 6 Three important concepts RECRUIT RETAIN RECOGNIZE
- 7. RECRUIT
- 8. 8 Prepare « Evaluate, assess and prioritize needs « Develop position descriptions – Determine roles not suited for volunteers if expertise or time commitment is not a fit « Articulate benefits to volunteers « Identify skills, proficiencies required and training needs « Develop questions to gain insight into technology comfort and proficiency
- 9. 9 « Volunteer Match « Idealist.org « All for Good Utilize Volunteer Specific Sites
- 10. 10 Connect with the Community « College Career Centers « Similar Organizations « Other Events « High Schools « Word of Mouth
- 12. 12 Choosing Volunteers « It’s okay to be picky « Be specific about what you are looking « It’s okay to ask for short term volunteers « Goal is to match person with role
- 13. RETAIN
- 14. 14 Training « Be clear with information that can be shared « Allow legacy volunteers the opportunities to train (or mentor) new volunteers « Offer small ongoing training opportunities
- 15. 15 Steps for success « Clearly define roles and expectations « Create and maintain a searchable online Volunteer Handbook with time contribution, hours, dress code – provide the roadmap/GPS prompts « Make job descriptions and code of conduct available online
- 16. RECOGNIZE
- 17. 17 Do you know what #voluntinesday is?
- 18. 18 During your event « Volunteer Coordinator(s) – Dedicated person on site without five other jobs – Volunteers will care more with a role model « Identify Volunteers – Dress, name badge « Be aware of HALT – Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired
- 19. 19 Take care of basic needs and offer perks « Water and caffeinated beverages « Snacks - healthy and junk food « Venue Maps & Event Lineups (schedules) « Letters of reference and certificates - people use these on resumes « Incentivize volunteers to get other great volunteers - small things like a Starbucks card, slice of pizza, tickets for self or others, t-shirts
- 20. 20 Recognize volunteers in newsletters « Let your volunteers tell their story « Let their stories motivate others « Make them feel like part of the family
- 21. REMEMBER
- 22. 22 Penultimate thoughts « May need to offer a carrot to make volunteers become self-auditing « Having attendies provide feedback on experience with volunteers « With high demand events, reward volunteers who discover unethical activities « As needed providing transparency about operations and budget
- 23. RESOURCES
- 24. 24 Resources « Free volunteer management websites – www.signupgenius.com – www.volunteersignup.org – www.signmeup.com « Free scheduling tools – www.meetingwizard.com – www.needtomeet.com – www.calendly.com – www.doodle.com
- 25. 25 Resources « The Seven Deadly Sins of Recruiting Volunteers – By Thomas W. McKee – http://www.volunteerpower.com/articles/ 7sins.asp « The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer – http://www.volunteerpower.com « Session Slides – http://bit.ly/ffea-volunteers
- 26. 26
- 27. www.vendini.com