Are You Ready for Volunteers?

April 21st, 2009 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

Volunteers: they could arrive at your organization at any time! But are you ready for them?

Due to the economic downturn, volunteerism and nonprofits have been getting a lot of media attention. If your organization gets mentioned in a news story, you may get several phone calls or e-mails from people who want to help. And if a natural disaster strikes your area, a huge number of volunteer and donation offers may pour in. Imagine coming to work tomorrow and finding a slew of e-mails or voice-mails from people who want to volunteer this Saturday, and today is Thursday. You barely have time to respond to them, much less create tasks for them! But if you respond with “Thanks, but no thanks,” this could damage your organization’s reputation and discourage future volunteers.

So how can you effectively connect volunteers with activities that will utilize their skills and make them feel engaged in your mission?

• Be prepared. Create an organizational culture that supports volunteers. Train staff to incorporate volunteers into their departments; encourage them to routinely identify and prepare volunteer-ready tasks according to skill level needed, estimated task completion time and estimated due date. Photocopy orientation packets and keep them ready for distribution to non-episodic volunteers. Hold regularly scheduled volunteer orientations to discuss your organization’s expectations and policies. Make staff aware of volunteer expectations, and ensure they know to whom to direct volunteers’ questions. Offer volunteers tools to help staff identify and greet them, such as colorful nametags. And don’t forget to let staff know when volunteers are coming to your office!
• Match skills while utilizing interests. Ask volunteers to list both their skills and their interests on an application during the initial screening process. For example, an MBA student may offer to evaluate your organization’s current accounting policies and systems, but she may also love to plan events in her spare time—and your organization can give her the chance to do both! Another example: Out of a pool of ten potential volunteers, all are willing to distribute soup, but one knows how to troubleshoot computers. By utilizing skills as well as interests, you develop multiple points through which you can leverage volunteers. Encouraging pro bono work could have a tremendously positive impact on both your organization and the volunteer’s experience.
• Set expectations. The truth is, not every organization is going to have opportunities that exactly align with volunteers’ interests or skills. Sometimes less exciting duties just need to be done. So be up front and honest with your volunteers about what you need, and explain how the more mundane duties are crucial to the organization’s larger mission—the mission that inspired them to volunteer in the first place. This could prevent miscommunication and frustration.
• Mix it up. If you can’t avoid the newsletter mailings or envelope stuffing-type tasks, make them fun and interesting rather than humdrum! Schedule a group of volunteers to come together to work on a large mailing as a team.  Not only will you get a lot done in a short time, but your volunteers are able to meet other volunteers, which may be an incentive for them to stay connected to your organization.
• Thank them! Volunteers are an important part of your organization, but do they know it? An unappreciated volunteer is unlikely to come back, and may share his negative experience with others. Plus, satisfied volunteers are more likely to become financial donors of organizations where they volunteer. Offer superb customer service when your volunteers have questions or requests. And thank them with a letter or e-mail after their service. Something as simple as a genuine, hand-written card demonstrates that they really are needed and appreciated.

What have you found to be helpful in volunteer management? Please feel free to share information about additional best practices, good Web sites or useful books in our comments section.

Tags: Capacity Building·National Volunteer Week·Nonprofit Organizations·Pro Bono Volunteerism·Texas·Volunteer Management·Volunteer Recognition·Volunteers