It is “high season” for our community’s nonprofit events, campaigns, and board meetings, which inspired me to pull this “Key Points Summary” regarding developing volunteer resources from a presentation I made a few years ago to our Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Chapter. It is from the handout we provided to accompany Project Partners’ presentation titled “Volunteers. You Can’t Live With Them. You Can’t Live Without Them.”, one of my favorites. (We know good things come to those who train!) Having served more than 250 boards, committees, and task forces, (and counting), I promise these principles stand the test of time and will help guarantee your success:
Volunteers are critical to your nonprofit mission.
Our region has an average annual volunteer rate of 29.8%, with 1.4 million volunteers serving 150.3 million hours per year, creating an estimated annual economic contribution of $2.9 billion.
Vast resources are available on volunteer management, but experience tells me that the following key considerations are proven to help care for precious volunteer resources:
Understand why your volunteers volunteer. Why do they give their time, talent, and energy? What is their motivation? You cannot treat any two volunteers alike. Each is unique and it is our responsibility to help them get what they need from the experience.
Consider the issues facing volunteers today including increased competition for their services, greater professional expectations, and tighter time constraints. Put yourself in their shoes. Recruit and manage accordingly.
Consider appropriate staff and volunteer roles. As Paula Parrish (former AFP Fort Worth President) told us once, volunteers are the engine of your organization, and you are the engineer. You know how nonprofit fundraising, program delivery, and events work. You help plug people into that plan. You drive the train. When you do it right, people will want to hop on that train you’re driving.
Utilize job descriptions and organizational charts so that people can understand their roles as they relate to other volunteers and staff. Most folks are visual, and charts can be used at every turn, as opposed to a lengthy listing of information. (Ask me how we helped the TCU Alumni Association Chapter Presidents from across the country create their org chart.) Use the structure to grow your volunteers and move them into various leadership roles within your organization.
If you must make a choice to involve someone you believe will be key to your organization as either a volunteer or as a donor, involve them as a volunteer first. The money will follow.
Recruit the right person for the job. Consider a recruitment committee (different than a nominating committee) and train your volunteers and fellow staff about the right way to make a recruitment call or visit.
Understand the 1 in 3 rule: One of the three volunteers will be able to fulfill their responsibilities 100%; one of the three will be able to partially fulfill their responsibilities; and the third will be unable to fulfill their responsibilities for whatever reason. Knowing this and planning for it is practically a guarantee against failure when recruiting and placing volunteers.
Positively influence your board and committee meetings by using working agendas--detailed agendas that not only give recognition and kudos to the volunteers, but define roles, expectations, deadlines, key milestones, action items and assignments. It’s a great way to get more from your volunteers.
Follow-up. Follow-up. Follow-up. Even with the best intentions by our volunteers, life and work happen. Never assume. Be very literal. Call, e-mail, visit, write notes and letters. Your job is to make the volunteers successful. Support them in this way.
Provide meaningful, personal recognition and thanks, tied to the reason each person volunteers. Remind them that they are making a difference!
I ended this AFP Chapter presentation the way we like to end most training programs, with the quote attributed to Margaret Meade, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only that thing that ever has.” How fortunate are we to work in this world of philanthropy that allows us to link arms every day with the most dedicated volunteers of our community?