volunteers

How to Build a Better, More Engaging Volunteer Program

Ann Green planning, volunteers ,

Your volunteers donate their time and effort to your nonprofit. Improve their experience with these essential tips to create an effective volunteer program.

Happy volunteer looking at donation box on a sunny day

By Karin Tracy

Volunteers provide unmatched value for your nonprofit, whether they’re helping with your fundraisers, programs, or other essential community services. However, continually recruiting new volunteers to replace former ones can be a time and resource-intensive task. Ensure your program retains the volunteers you have and gives them the opportunity to make a real difference by forging a better volunteer program.

A strong volunteer program is built on consistent communication, engaging opportunities, and organized management. Of course, envisioning your perfect volunteer program is just the first step in creating it. 

To help your nonprofit take the next step in bringing your volunteer program to life, this quick guide will explore five strategies to engage and retain your volunteers.

1. Make getting involved easy.

Your volunteers will devote a significant amount of their time and energy to helping your nonprofit. Ensure they don’t need to put in additional work finding opportunities to get involved. 

Make signing up to volunteer easy by considering your volunteers’ user experience on your website. Many nonprofits add large “Get Involved” buttons to their websites so volunteers can find and explore different opportunities without having to do any digging. 

Consider structuring your volunteer opportunities page like a series of job listings. Each opportunity should include the volunteers’ responsibilities, required skills, and expected time commitment.

Be sure to regularly change out and update these postings as your volunteer needs change. For example, you might have a set number of volunteers you need for each position. In this instance, a nonprofit might integrate with its website and Salesforce CRM to reflect how many volunteers have already signed up in real-time. This can be especially helpful for nonprofits that have seasonal or quickly changing needs. 

2. Create an onboarding process. 

An engaging volunteer program is an organized volunteer program. Ensure your new volunteers understand what their responsibilities are and what they can expect from your nonprofit by creating a standardized onboarding process. Doing so will reduce confusion and provide your program with a straightforward structure. 

Provide supporters all the information they’ll need to volunteer with your nonprofit by:

  • Creating a welcome packet. There will likely be a lot of information your volunteers will need to learn upfront about your nonprofit. You can avoid overwhelming them by providing a comprehensive welcome packet they can reference at any time. This welcome packet can include essential information, such as your nonprofit’s volunteer schedule for the coming months, as well as extra information that may be helpful but not necessary to review in an onboarding session, like background information on your nonprofit’s history. 
  • Holding an onboarding meeting. Along with offering documents and online videos, aim to hold an onboarding session with all volunteers before their first volunteer shift. This will give them an opportunity to ask questions, meet your staff, and otherwise get better acquainted with your nonprofit. 
  • Providing your contact information. Even after completing onboarding, volunteers may still have questions or need to reach out to your nonprofit later on. Designate a member of your staff to handle volunteer communications, and direct your volunteers to reach out to them for assistance. 

Keep track of every volunteer’s status in the onboarding process with your CRM. CRMs like Salesforce for Nonprofits can help you create profiles for each of your volunteers to take note of what training they’ve completed, hours they are available to work, their skills, and any other information that would be useful to document.  

3. Provide valuable opportunities. 

Many volunteers will want to participate in engaging opportunities that provide both them and your nonprofit with value. Talk to your volunteers to gain a stronger understanding of what they’re looking for in a volunteer program and determine what your nonprofit can do to meet those needs. 

Divide your volunteers based on their interests to assign them roles that will engage them. For example, you might encourage more social, outgoing volunteers to join your fundraising campaign and interact with donors. By contrast, your more introverted volunteers may prefer to work behind the scenes, creating marketing materials your other volunteers will share with potential donors. 

Creating these opportunities will likely be easier for nonprofits with a membership-based program. Fionta’s guide to membership management for nonprofits explains that these organizations “exist to serve their members–whether by providing resources, convening gatherings, or offering continuing education, products, or services of interest to members.”

If this applies to your nonprofit, get creative with how you can have volunteers interact with these various opportunities. For instance, many individuals also volunteer to try and improve their skills and gain experience that can translate to a future career. Review your offerings for members, and consider how they might also provide value for your volunteers. 

Outside of volunteering, nonprofits can even provide volunteers with access to some member benefits as thanks for their hard work. This might include giving them free access to paid blog content, gifting them free merchandise, or providing access to a members-only course. 

4. Promote volunteer grants. 

You can earn more from your volunteer program and give your volunteers an opportunity to make an even greater impact with volunteer grants. Volunteer grants are donations employers make when their employees volunteer for a certain number of hours at a charitable organization like yours. 

Double the Donations’ guide to volunteer grants walks through the three steps of how these grants work:

  1. An individual volunteers at your nonprofit. Keep diligent records of your volunteers’ hours. Some employers will provide grants on a per-hour basis, while many others require employees to work a minimum number of hours before they will qualify for a grant. 
  1. The individual checks their volunteer grant eligibility. Help your volunteers look up their employers’ volunteer grant program to see if they qualify. This can involve using a matching gifts database or simply exploring their employers’ website depending on the company.
  1. The individual submits a volunteer grant application. Volunteers that are eligible will fill out their employer’s grant application. These applications will vary by employer but usually require information such as how many hours were spent volunteering and their volunteer supervisor’s contact information. 

Once a volunteer has completed their application, be sure to thank them for going the extra mile and furthering their impact. From there, if the application is approved, your nonprofit will receive a check from your volunteers’ employers. 

5. Show appreciation.

Your donors aren’t the only ones who appreciate being thanked for their support. Showing appreciation for all your volunteers do for your nonprofit not only reinforces the positive difference they’re making, but it also helps you build relationships and boost retention rates. 

There are a variety of ways you can thank your volunteers. A few proven strategies are:

  • Thank you letters. A handwritten letter or card feels special and far more personal than an automatic thank you email. At the end of a campaign, event, initiative, or other program, send volunteers a thank you card in the mail signed by your volunteer manager, their supervisor, or another member of your nonprofit’s leadership who your volunteers interacted with. 
  • Appreciation events. After putting in their time and effort, celebrate a job well done with your volunteers by hosting an event. This can be a small celebration, such as taking your volunteers out to lunch after completing work for the day or an entirely separate event, like hosting a virtual trivia event for volunteers to have fun and get to know each other better. 
  • Public recognition. Having their work appreciated by a larger audience can be especially meaningful for some volunteers. Ask your volunteers for permission before doing so to make sure they’re okay with being spotlighted. Then, put together a social media post, a section in your newsletter, or a blurb on your website that shares and celebrates the work they’ve done for your cause. 

As you get to know your volunteers, you’ll likely discover more personal ways to thank them. For example, one volunteer might appreciate being able to take home extra unsold merchandise after an event, while another may be happy just to receive an occasional card in the mail honoring their hard work. 

Volunteers are the backbone of your nonprofit’s programs, fundraisers, and even day-to-day operations. Retain more volunteers and make working with your nonprofit a memorable, positive experience by creating an engaging volunteer program. Listen to your volunteers’ feedback and have the systems in place to keep their data organized, allowing you to offer unique, valuable experiences that will keep them coming back. 

Karin Tracy, VP of Marketing at Fíonta, is a seasoned designer and marketer with a passion for serving nonprofit organizations and being a small part of bettering the world. She is a certified Pardot Consultant and Marketing Cloud Email Specialist, a fan of automation and reporting, a lover of animals, and devourer of popcorn.

At Fíonta, Karin drives marketing efforts for all internal and external projects. Her direct service work is focused primarily on marketing strategy and automation for Fíonta’s MCAE (Pardot) clients.

5 Training Tips for Multi-Functional Nonprofit Teams

Ann Green planning, training, volunteers ,

Nonprofit training is the key to running a successful organization. Learn how to incorporate these tips into your training to make the most of your resources.

By Matt Hugg

Training your nonprofit team is more important than ever. Methods and operations are changing daily, whether that’s for accounting and tax-filing, fundraising, program delivery, or any of the dozens of other functions in your organization. 

Then there’s the issue of liability. What if you make a mistake because you or your team members weren’t fully trained? Not to mention, learning the latest in whatever you do can be a lot cheaper than continuing on in the old, inefficient way. 

So, yes, you have no choice. You, your staff, and volunteers need to keep up. 

What are some great ways to keep multi-functional teams up to speed? Here are five powerful tips from experienced nonprofit training professionals:

1. Implement cross-training.

Cross-training isn’t new. You learn someone else’s job, and they learn yours. Then, if something happens, you’re both covered.

The problem is that a lot of people feel threatened by cross-training. They interpret it as the first step to replacing them—or at least making them more vulnerable to layoffs. “After all,”the rationale goes,“if someone else can do my job, why do they need me?”

The way someone takes to cross-training speaks more to the culture of the workplace than the value of the practice. There’s no doubt that understanding someone else’s job is valuable. 

Just imagine—and unfortunately, this is more than theoretical these days—your colleague comes down with an unexpected illness. They could be out for weeks. You can’t just stop providing your services because one person isn’t there. Given the state of today’s world, we’re probably in the best position to make a non-threatening case for cross-training. 

So how do you begin? Effective cross-training doesn’t start when you show up at someone’s desk and say, “show me how.” Instead, it starts with something everyone should be doing: documenting their work processes. 

Creating a “how-to” manual for your job may seem like busywork, but it’s an effective way to learn your job in the best way possible while reflecting the brand and values of your nonprofit. It can also be valuable for performance evaluations and if someone needs to step into your role in an emergency.

With your manual in hand (or more likely, on a screen or tablet), you’re ready to start cross-training. 

First, pair off your staff. It might seem logical to match people with similar or equivalent positions, especially when specific skills or licensures are involved. For example, matching a social worker who cares for children with one who cares for the elderly. However, you can reap even greater benefits (and provide greater insights) by connecting people with entirely different roles, like a manager with a coordinator or a person from one department with someone from another. 

To get the job done faster and with some measure of enthusiasm, institute an incentive system. Consider rewarding the team (with money, a day off, a gift card, etc.) when the trainee can successfully show competence in the work they’re learning.

2. Incorporate multi-channel learning.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that humans are wired in a variety of ways in how they best receive information. Some of us learn best by reading. Others love video. Others still get the most out of podcasts. And let’s not forget the ones who need a live classroom, whether online or in-person. Everyone has their favorite.

When it comes to training your staff, there’s good news and bad news in this. The good news is that if you pick the right one, your team’s ability to receive and process information will skyrocket, and you’ll have a more effective staff as a result. The bad news is that producing training in so many ways is time-consuming and costly. Plus, the same person who can write a training manual may be the wrong person to present that information in a video or podcast and vice versa. 

It would be disingenuous to suggest that you can take a middle ground on this. No matter what method you select, if you stick with a single channel, you’ll get mixed results at best. Some will suck up the information, and others will check out in the first few minutes. So, it’s a good idea to go with two or more channels to better accommodate your learners and ensure that they do the best learning they can.

3. Incentivize education.

What’s disappointing as an educator is knowing that at some time in nearly everyone’s life, they had a bad learning experience—and that’s usually the experience they remember the most. Perhaps they were bored, they had test anxiety, or they even associate education with the physical and emotional pain that was inflicted by bullies or terrible teachers. So, when you say “we’re having a training session on that,” you can almost see the flashbacks on their faces as they return to whatever bad experience they recall.

Since you can’t guarantee that someone will joyfully, or at least with an open mind, show up at your training, your best bet is to incentivize them. 

Incentivizing isn’t just a reward at the end of successful completion of your training—although it can be. It starts before the training begins, with a promise that what you’re presenting will be engaging—and yes, even fun. Creating expectations is critical to successful training. You need to market the benefits of attendance, even if it’s required. Training is more effective, and easier to carry out, if the trainees want to be there.

Then, of course, you need to carry out that promise. If you do, recruiting attendees for your next training will be much easier. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be surprised when there are a lot of empty seats in front of you next time.

4. Prioritize ongoing learning.

“Show me your budget and I’ll show you your priorities.” More than likely, you’ve heard this saying before.

So, what’s your budget for staff and volunteer education and training? What does it tell us?

You’re going to pay for education one way or another. If it’s not in your budget, many of your staff and volunteers won’t take the initiative and expense on themselves. You’ll “pay” in using outdated processes, high staff and volunteer turnover, and maybe even a lawsuit that hits when someone makes a costly mistake because they’re not properly trained for their function. That means organizational training is actually one of the smartest investments you can make!

But paying for education may not mean paying for someone to take a class or go to a conference. There are a lot of free resources out there. For a low-cost training initiative, you could equip someone to organize a certification program that takes staff or volunteers through specific videos, documents, or podcasts with a test you devise at the end. 

Or, you could set up your own training programs using in-house staff. It’s shown that if you need to teach someone else, you learn that subject better yourself, as well. Assigning someone on your staff to teach fellow team members can be a growth experience for them and an excellent learning experience for others.

5. Keep it short and focused. 

The human brain is a funny thing. It’s much more powerful than the fastest computer we can build, but it works best when data is input in short, measured flows. 

Think of a funnel and a hose. If you turn the hose on full blast, it’s easy to overwhelm the funnel and spill water all over the ground. If you regulate the flow, you get full value from the water when it all goes down the tube. It’s the same with the human brain.

In professional development, this means keep your subject matter focused, and present it in short bursts of time—like 20 minutes or less. 

This doesn’t mean you have to schedule 60 minutes of training over three days. It means to schedule strategic breaks and processing time into your training. For example, watch a short video (less than 20 minutes), then complete a review questionnaire, interact with other learners about the subject, or take a coffee break. Just make sure you’re giving time for your material to sink in before pushing more down the funnel.

Education and training are too valuable to your nonprofit to leave them to chance. You can’t waste your organization’s resources on ineffective training, and you can’t afford not to train, either. Your staff, volunteers, and most importantly, those you serve, deserve it. Good luck!

Matt Hugg is an author and instructor in nonprofit management in the US and abroad. He is president and founder of Nonprofit.Courses, an on-demand, eLearning educational resource for nonprofit leaders, staff, board members, and volunteers, with thousands of courses in nearly every aspect of nonprofit work.  

He’s the author of The Guide to Nonprofit Consulting, and Philanders Family Values, Fun Scenarios for Practical Fundraising Education for Boards, Staff, and Volunteers, and a contributing author to The Healthcare Nonprofit: Keys to Effective Management.

Matt teaches fundraising, philanthropy, and marketing in graduate programs at Eastern University, the University of Pennsylvania, Juniata College, and Thomas Edison State University via the web, and in-person in the United States, Africa, Asia, and Europe. He is also a popular conference speaker. 

How To Ensure Effective and Engaged Volunteers – Part Two – Keeping Volunteers Motivated and Supported

Ann Green volunteers

How To Ensure Effective and Engaged Volunteers – Part One – Finding Good Volunteers

In Part One of this series, I wrote about how to find good volunteers. Finding good volunteers is half the battle. You want them to stay, and in order for that to happen, volunteers need to be motivated and supported. Some of the biggest problem areas for volunteers are not having enough work to do, doing work they don’t want to do, and not feeling appreciated.

I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating – Don’t take on volunteers if you can’t support them. If you don’t have something concrete for the person to do on a regular basis, don’t take someone on at this time. Volunteers need structure, as well as effort and engagement from the staff.

Are you ready for your new volunteers?
If you are bringing in volunteers to work in your office, make sure they have a decent workspace and computer to use.

Each volunteer should have a supervisor. Other people in the office may have work for the volunteer, but it should all be directed through the supervisor.

Each volunteer should also have a work plan, which can be transformed from the position description. This link includes some sample workplans. Workplace Template They may be more complex than you need.

I strongly recommend putting together a volunteer manual for all volunteers. This can include information such as history and mission, organizational policies, accomplishments, and key messages. You can also write out specific instructions pertaining to each volunteer’s work.

Here are some sample volunteer manuals.
What to Include in a Volunteer Handbook
Volunteer Manual Template
The second one also includes other sample templates such as a volunteer contract.

On their first day
Before your volunteers start work, give them a good orientation. Show them around the office, introduce them to everyone, and show them how pertinent equipment (computer, copier, etc.) works. 

Go over the volunteer manual and the volunteer’s work plan. The volunteer should have input about the type of work they will be doing. Make sure everything is clear.

The amount of training you give your volunteers will depend upon their experience. Take time to give them the best training possible.

In addition, do something special for them on their first day. The Volunteer Manager at a place I used to work would always bring in a cupcake for new volunteers. Another good idea is for the volunteers to eat lunch with the staff. You could either go out or have pizza at the office. This is a great opportunity for volunteers to get to know people.

Are they lovin’ it?
Make sure your volunteer’s experience is a good one. While structure is important, be flexible if the volunteer needs to make a change in their schedule. Volunteers should enjoy the work they for you, and they should like coming in to help. Don’t give them work they don’t want to do.

Keep it up
Volunteers and their supervisors should hold a weekly check-in meeting to go over progress and exchange feedback. It doesn’t have to be a long meeting, but it can help volunteers feel engaged, while the supervisor can assess how well the volunteer is doing.

Show appreciation
Volunteers need to feel appreciated. A simple thank you is always good. So is bringing in treats for them, having a regular lunch together, holding a recognition event, and including volunteer profiles in your newsletter or website.

Volunteers like to be included. If it’s appropriate, invite them to attend staff or committee meetings. Keep them updated on your organization’s progress and accomplishments. Good volunteers could even manage other volunteers

Keep showing appreciation, but make sure it’s sincere and specific.  Encourage everyone on the staff to make your volunteers feel appreciated.

Is it working?
While it’s important to show appreciation, you need to give your volunteers honest, constructive feedback. This is why the weekly check-in meeting is so important. Help your volunteers if they need  improvement or give them another task that might be better suited for them. If a volunteer isn’t working work out, it doesn’t benefit anyone if you keep the person on.

Investing the time to keep your volunteers motivated and supported will pay off for everyone in your organization.

Volunteer Resources
What Do Your Volunteers Want?
Developing and Managing Volunteer Programs

Photo by The Big Lunch via Flickr

How To Ensure Effective and Engaged Volunteers – Part One – Finding Good Volunteers

Ann Green volunteers

Photo by WA State Library via Flickr

It’s National Volunteer Week. Many nonprofit organizations rely on volunteers. Some provide services such as tutoring or mentoring and others help out with publicity and administrative tasks.

Taking on volunteers can be very rewarding for an organization, as well the volunteer, but it can also be frustrating for both parties. Two problem areas are finding the right people and keeping your volunteers engaged. In this post, I’m going to write about finding good volunteers.   

If I can offer one piece of advice it would be – Don’t take on volunteers if you can’t support them.  People may contact you seeking a volunteer opportunity.  If you don’t have something concrete for the person to do on a regular basis, don’t take someone on at this time, even if you think you can’t turn away a potential volunteer. Volunteers require effort and engagement from the staff.

What is your need?
If you do have a need for volunteers, take the process seriously and go about it the same way you would if you were hiring a staff member.

First, put together a position description. This will help you assess your needs and what the person will do. Then you can post it when you recruit. The position description can also be transformed into the volunteer’s work plan.  I will go into more detail about that in my next post.

Here are some sample volunteer position descriptions.
Volunteer Position Description Worksheet and Sample
Volunteer Position Job Description – Sample

Training vs. Experience
Decide how much training you want to provide. If you are recruiting tutors, they will probably need to go through a training. However, if you are looking for an administrative person, you will most likely want someone with experience.

Finding someone with experience may take longer, but it will be worth it. Yes, people with experience will be looking for paid positions, but you might be able to find someone who is between jobs, a stay-at-home parent with relevant experience, or a retired professional. Don’t be afraid to be picky about choosing volunteers.

If you do bring on volunteers without experience, make sure you give them a good training and are available for guidance and support.

Finding the right people
Your best bet is to ask people close to you, such as board members, staff, and other volunteers. You would want a personal recommendation like this for higher level work and any type of work done on your website. 

Otherwise, you can post announcements on sites such as Idealist or Volunteer Match, on your website and social media, and on community list serves. 

Ask for a resume, writing or design samples, and references. Do a background check if the person will be working with children.

When you interview potential volunteers, besides assessing whether they have the right skills and experience for the position, see if they are willing to commit to a set schedule. This is often one of the biggest problems with volunteers. Of course, they should also be passionate about your work and fit in with your organizational culture.

I really recommend taking the time to screen your candidates. Any investment you make up front will pay off in the end for both your organization and the volunteer.

In Part Two, I will write about keeping your volunteers motivated and supported.

Additional Information

Developing and Managing Volunteer Programs