How to Create Effective Virtual Volunteer Training Courses

 When you think of volunteer training, you may think of printed handouts, PowerPoint slides, and a litany of procedures and regulations. While the exact nature of each volunteer onboarding program depends on the work of the nonprofit and the tasks at hand, this kind of training can get a bad rap for being tedious. 

This is true even when the information shared is critical for effective, organized, and safe volunteer labor. Plus, on top of the responsibility-related details, you also want new volunteers to understand the mission of your organization and how the work they’re doing makes a tangible difference. This is a tall order for “normal” times, let alone in the circumstances of 2021. How can your nonprofit accomplish all of these goals in an engaging way even when the volunteer landscape has been transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic?

Many organizations have had to close their doors to volunteers completely or drastically cut down on the number of individuals who are able to serve. For volunteers who are over the age of 65 or have underlying medical conditions, even socially-distanced involvement opportunities are not safe or feasible.

When possible, many nonprofits have implemented new virtual volunteer programs so that supporters can contribute from the comfort of their own homes. But with a new type of volunteering comes a new need for virtual training materials that help supporters understand and retain essential information. 

At Skyepack, we design engaging digital course materials for organizations and educators who want to create the best experience possible for their learners. To help you optimize your virtual volunteer training program, we’ve compiled a few key strategies: 

  1. Consider the goals of your volunteer training program.
  2. Analyze differences between in-person and virtual training.
  3. Choose an engaging course delivery platform.
  4. Iterate and improve the course over time.

Your volunteers are essential to the progress and productivity of your organization. Make sure they have the tools and knowledge they need to succeed—even virtually—by offering a training program catered to their needs. 

Consider the goals of your volunteer training program.

Broadly, the goal of your training program is to empower new volunteers to contribute effectively to your organization. On the most basic level, you want each individual to be equipped to fulfill their responsibilities without feeling overwhelmed or confused. However, you should also consider how your training program can support the long-term sustainability of your organization.

Volunteer onboarding is the first step in what will hopefully be a long relationship with each volunteer. In order to build that foundation, you need to start off with a good first impression. After all, if you invest in engagement from the start, you’ll have more commitment from volunteers and ultimately, higher retention rates.

To design a volunteer training program that will drive long-term support, you need to carefully tailor the course to the needs of your volunteers and your organization. As you analyze the overall goals of your volunteer training program, keep the following questions in mind:

  • Is it one-time or ongoing? Consider whether the training program is exclusively part of the onboarding process or whether it is a resource volunteers will continue to find valuable over time.
  • What information do you need to include? Be sure to cover a brief history of your organization and mission as well as the details of the volunteer responsibilities.
  • How long should the course take? The length of the course will vary depending on the skill of the volunteer work—individuals training to quality test audiobooks will need more training than people in a nursing home pen pal program.
  • Will all volunteers complete the course in its entirety? Assess whether there are skills, procedures, or concepts that will only be applicable to a certain group.

This list is not exhaustive and won’t cover the specifics of every organization, but it should jump-start your thinking about which needs you must address.

Finally, don’t limit yourself to a one-size-fits-all approach. You may consider having separate sections of the course for new and returning volunteers. For longtime volunteers, be sure to include any updates that are virtual-specific as well as general information about hours tracking, sign-ups, and corporate volunteer grant programs.

Analyze differences between in-person and virtual training.

The foundation of your virtual volunteer training course will be similar to what you covered in person. After all, the core of your mission and your organization hasn’t changed! 

However, you must also consider how to reframe your volunteer experience for the virtual world. This applies both to the volunteer activities themselves and to the training program. 

For the volunteer tasks, take into account the changes you’ve made since you pivoted to the virtual sphere. Be sure to update any training documents that are only relevant to in-person volunteering. 

A course design specialist can help you update existing material, curate new high-quality resources from external sources, and create new documentation where needed. For instance, if you’re adopting a new tech platform to handle remote volunteer activities, you may need a walk-through of the specific processes each individual will need to know.

From an educational perspective, you’ll also need to consider how volunteers will be able to address questions that arise. While an online course is a powerful tool for instruction, it can be more challenging to detect misunderstandings and confusion when volunteers aren’t in the room together. You’ll want to create a way for volunteers to connect with each other virtually in order to foster a sense of community and provide a space for questions. A private Facebook group can work well to meet this need.

Choose an engaging course delivery platform.

As you determine which training course platform to add to your nonprofit’s tech stack, be sure to look for a service that is tuned in to the rapidly-evolving nature of digital course materials. 

With the increased prevalence of online learning, there are many hot topics in the world of instructional design trends. Course designers and instructors are finding new ways to use technology to facilitate effective learning experiences even outside of a traditional classroom.

While not every trend will make sense in  the context of volunteer training, you should consider implementing innovations such as:

  • Mobile learning. More and more web traffic originates from smartphones, so your training course should be mobile-friendly. Then, volunteers will have convenient access to key information while on the go.
  • Interactive learning. Make sure your course offers interactive elements like quizzes, drag and drop activities, and comprehension questions.
  • Social learning. Collaboration and discussion can enhance the learning experience and allow volunteers to immerse themselves more deeply in the content.
  • Video. Today’s online courses use a variety of multimedia content, but in our streaming-focused society, video is one of the biggest players to consider.

These features will ensure volunteers can engage and interact with your content rather than simply skimming through the material. Your volunteers likely process information in different ways—such as through sight, sound, practice, or interaction. Offering a variety of content delivery and engagement options will increase the efficacy of the training. 

Iterate and improve the course over time.

To engage and retain volunteers, they need to feel recognized, listened to, and empowered to make a difference. As a volunteer coordinator, you know these elements are key indicators for whether a volunteer will return time and time again. To keep volunteers coming back, Lumaverse’s guide to volunteer appreciation recommends stewarding your volunteers with just as much effort and intention as you would your donors. Part of this gratitude and appreciation should involve asking your volunteers for honest feedback about their experiences volunteering with your organization. 

Among other volunteer management areas to gather input on, be sure to include your training program in any survey you send out. Collect qualitative feedback on which parts of your course are most effective (and which could use some work), as well as which elements volunteers found the most engaging and entertaining. You should consider both the format and content of the course to get a comprehensive picture.  

You also may be able to gather quantitative data from your course delivery platform to see which topics were the most challenging, or which activities seemed most effective. Taken together, these data sets will help you make improvements for the next cohort of volunteers going through training.

With this in mind, it’s best to follow a course development process that isn’t a one-and-done approach. By following a cyclical framework like Skyepack’s Agile instructional design model, you can prioritize the needs of your volunteers at every stage of the process, even after the course is launched. 


Soon, we’ll be able to resume in-person volunteer activities like sorting donations, serving food, and building homes. In the meantime, virtual volunteering can still enable your supporters to give back and engage with your organization. 

To make these virtual opportunities as effective as possible, be sure to equip volunteers with an interactive and informative training program. A positive onboarding experience will pave the way towards a long and mutually beneficial volunteer engagement.


About the Author: Brady Kalb, CEO

Brady is a “reformed engineer turned entrepreneur”. After engineering gigs at two Fortune 100 companies, Brady left the corporate world to pursue a business degree and seek out new challenges. Brady’s passion for education stems from his desire to “always be learning” and find innovative solutions to difficult problems. Brady enjoys family outings to the park, explaining the answers of “Life, the Universe, and Everything” to his daughters, and reading just about anything (favorites are classics, popular fiction, and biographies).

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4 Important Donor Data Practices to Bring into 2021

This past year has shaken up the efforts of even the most experienced fundraisers. No one could have expected a global pandemic and the resulting mass social distancing guidelines, let alone their effect on how nonprofits connect with supporters and solicit donations. 

With most face-to-face interactions paused, nonprofit leaders had to modernize their fundraising efforts and communicate with supporters in creative digital ways. Virtual events have now become the norm, and there’s been a major shift of organizations moving to remote work

Because of digital advancements like these, nonprofits also saw an increased dependence on management tools and communication tech, as well as the data they produce and collect. As we prepare for 2021, it’s important to remember this: Taking a data-based approach is invaluable and is the best way for nonprofits to reach their supporters in meaningful ways and further their fundraising goals.

Using data to back up your nonprofit strategies and donor engagements has been a reliable method of growing organizations for a while now. Since most of your nonprofit engagements are currently limited to digital communications and other virtual tools, you likely have more data available to you than ever before. 

This guide will walk you through some of the most important donor data practices you should follow, especially as you head into this new year. You’ll be exploring the following tips:

  1. Ensure your donation forms collect key information.
  2. Use your donor data to create targeted marketing content.
  3. Regularly analyze your donor data.
  4. Take necessary steps to protect your donor data.

Donor data is valuable when the methods to obtain it are organized and accurate. This will likely rely on the tools you use, so investing in a dependable online donation tool and nonprofit payment processor is key. Ready to learn more? Let’s begin.

1. Ensure your donation forms collect key information.

To build an arsenal of rich and valuable donor data, you will need a donation form that asks for that information. This seems like a basic tip, but ensuring your donation forms are optimized and collecting the right information is the first step to getting your donor data in tip-top shape. 

The donor data that your organization considers relevant will depend on your unique mission, goals, and engagements. For instance, if your organization often hosts ticketed events, a relevant field that you’ll want to include is ticket amount and ticket type. In general, the key information you want your donation form to collect will include:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Email address/Phone number
  • Donation amount
  • Payment information

Pulled from iATS Payments guide to donation form best practices, here’s an example form that asks for the essentials:

Make sure your online donation form is integrated with your donor database. This way, all of your critical supporter information is directed to centralized and comprehensive donor profiles. Having an integrated nonprofit tech solution is crucial for many reasons, especially to ensure that your data is accurate and can be used for any engagement, like in your marketing efforts.

2. Use your donor data to create targeted marketing.

Now that your donation form is collecting the right donor data, let’s discuss how you can use it. A best practice that you should definitely continue in 2021 is using donor data to create targeted marketing campaigns and content. 

According to AccuData’s data marketing guide, “the main benefit of data marketing is the specificity the strategy offers, improving your ROI and the overall success of campaigns.” In simple terms, using data to inform your marketing strategy allows you to focus on high potential supporters as well as create content that is most likely to increase engagement. But how do you do so?

First, look at your donor and fundraising database. Take note of any key spikes in engagement and if a particular marketing campaign caused it. This gives you a clear idea of successful past strategies and what might work again. 

You can also use your donor data to learn more about your nonprofit audience. For instance, see if there are any common metrics that your donors share. This could be something like age, location, past engagement type, and more. Then, segment your supporters by these common metrics and create personas for them. This gives you a concrete “target” for any marketing strategies and content that you create. 

Let’s use an example: Segment your major donors in your nonprofit database. You might define these supporters as those that donate over $10,000 each year. These individuals respond most positively to personal phone calls and hand-written letters. Using this persona information, draft targeted messages and main points to cover during phone conversations,

This targeted information along with a fundraising appeal will inspire the supporter to give again more so than a generalized email asking for a gift. This way, the recipient is reminded of how much their previous contribution was valued, enticing them to be a part of this high-impact group and give again.

3. Regularly analyze your donor data.

A huge benefit of collecting donor data is its ability to help you improve future processes and optimize nonprofit strategies. That’s why it’s essential that you regularly analyze your donor data. 

Using your donor database, compile key reports on relevant metrics and fundraising data in order to track a campaign’s process. This might depend on the type of database you use, but many of them will compile these types of reports for you. For instance, after your organization hosts an event, you should compile reports and analyze key data points from it. Include metrics like many attendees there are, how many of those attendees made an additional gift, and so on. 

A good practice to keep is compiling a nonprofit annual report. Not only should you compile data for your team to analyze, but pulling key information into an annual report allows you to distribute insights to your supporters as well. This will summarize your organization’s progress for the year and present it in a visually pleasing and digestible format for supporters and other stakeholders of your mission. This shows them your progress, as well as the goals that you will tackle in the new year.

4. Take necessary steps to protect your donor data.

As your nonprofit expands and takes on additional software solutions, you are able to collect more information through online interactions with supporters. However, this increased transfer of information could also increase your vulnerability to hackers and fraud if you’re not careful.

When someone gives to your organization, they’re submitting sensitive information and financial details all in the name of supporting your cause. They’re putting a lot of trust in your organization. Show that you value this trust and work to keep it by taking the necessary steps to protect donor data. 

The top area of concern is likely your online payment tool. It’s critical that you invest in a payment processor that:

  • Is PCI compliant
  • Has data portability
  • Offers 24/7 security assistance
  • Has experience with nonprofits

Along with the above, your payment provider should incorporate additional fraud protection tools. Taking some insight from this article on online fraud protection for nonprofits, some common fraud protection tools are an address verification system (AVS), bank identification number (BIN) blocking, and a card verification code requirement (CVV2).

Wrapping Up

Donor data is a valuable resource that all nonprofits and fundraisers should be taking advantage of. Not only does it make your tools and internal processes more efficient and streamlined, but it can also definitely aid your fundraising efforts and donor engagement strategies. As you compile additional donor data, make sure you’re keeping it safe so that you maintain the trust of your supporters and can continue growing, especially as we head into a new year. Good luck!


About the Author: Matt Dunne

Driven by his desire to support numerous charitable causes in his home country of Ireland, Matt joined the iATS Payments Team in March 2016 to leverage his entrepreneurial experience in support of the non-profit industry. He empowers partner organizations to provide impartial, accurate and valuable payments information and knowledge to the Nonprofit community.

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3 Strategies for Nonprofit Volunteer Retention in a Virtual World

Donor retention gets a lot of attention, and with good reason. Generally, the average nonprofit retention rate has hovered around 40% for years. However, when you increase that rate by simply 10% (or hopefully more), you can raise tens of thousands of dollars more at your organization. 

Similarly, when you engage and retain volunteers, you’ll save money on recruitment and training activities for the future, helping you focus more intently on your mission. 

The first step to increasing your volunteer retention rate is showing your appreciation appropriately to those who engage with your organization and contribute to your success. 

This will help you develop effective and beneficial relationships between your organization and your valuable supporters. Luckily, there is a lot of overlap between the strategies that help retain donors and the strategies that help retain volunteers. At the end of the day, supporters of every kind want to be recognized, appreciated and engaged.

Here at Bloomerang, we designed our nonprofit software solution with retention in mind. We help thousands of nonprofits improve their retention rates by developing strong relationships with supporters every day. From our ample experience, we’ve developed a list of appreciation strategies that your organization can employ to cultivate your relationship among volunteers. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into some volunteer appreciation and stewardship ideas that can help you develop relationships and improve your retention rates. 

1. Provide Non-Traditional Volunteer Activities

Social distancing may have limited your ability to host in-person volunteers. But beyond the pandemic, you may have supporters who love you but don’t live near your office or service area, or who are unable to help in-person due to a disability. In any case, it’s a good idea to have virtual volunteer opportunities so that all of that passion doesn’t go under-leveraged.

There are many ways for volunteers to help out from the comfort and safety of their own home. Consider, for instance, the following merchandise ideas: 

  • Peer-to-Peer Fundraising. Encouraging supporters to leverage their networks to create new donor opportunities is a high-value activity with a low cost of donor acquisition. For example, if you have birthday data on your volunteers, suggest they host a Facebook birthday fundraiser that benefits your nonprofit.
  • Letter Writing. Volunteers are great people to say thank you to donors; even more so that staff members. Thank you phone calls to donors are also a great use of volunteer time and energy. It doesn’t just have to be donor-facing. Consider asking volunteers to write letters of advocacy to local politicians, or sign petitions for change that benefits your organization. 
  • Social Media. Sharing is caring! If you have a campaign that is being promoted on social media, don’t be afraid to ask volunteers to go out and engage with those posts. It will help drive engagement and show the network algorithms that it’s content worth promoting to a higher percentage of the newsfeed.

When you make volunteerism more accessible and the opportunities more diverse, you can go beyond just pulling weeds or painting walls and really begin to engage your volunteers in unique ways that pay dividends!

2. Foster Community Among Supporters

Now more than ever, society craves the comforts of a tight-knit community. We’re more physically separated from one another than we have ever been. When you’re able to foster community among your supporters, you can satisfy this need for social interaction and connection, even while everyone remains socially distant. 

Using some of the remote opportunities and technologies that have become available this year, nonprofits like yours are able to create virtual opportunities for community gatherings amongst their supporters. While it does present a bit of a challenge, your nonprofit can still engage your supporters remotely; all it takes is some additional planning and prep work. 

The first step to create community among your remote supporters is to start with excellent virtual event opportunity ideas. As you begin, we recommend analyzing past successful virtual fundraising ideas. Make sure to rework them so that the event can be free for donors and volunteers to attend—after all, this event is to show appreciation rather than ask for funding. 

For instance, consider some of the ideas listed on Bloomerang’s virtual fundraising ideas guide

  • Online cooking night. Do you know a local chef in the community? Is there one on your team? Ask them to lead your supporters through a mouth-watering home-cooked meal. Send out the list of ingredients ahead of time. Then, you can video tape (or live stream!) the instructional video so that your supporters can follow along. 
  • TED Talk events. Offer TED Talk or other educational event opportunities so that your organization can present valuable information about your cause to your supporters. Create an engaging and informative presentation during which you can present new trends and research information about your mission. 
  • Virtual happy hour. Spark discussion by encouraging all of your valued supporters to gather together via virtual conferencing platform and enjoy their favorite beverages. Plan out discussion questions ahead of time to make sure everyone gets involved in the conversation.
  • Virtual book discussions. Book clubs are a great way to encourage people to come together for an engaging discussion. Look for a book that highlights the importance of your mission, then offer virtual book club opportunities so that your supporters can “gather” together regularly. 
  • Send physical gifts. Never underestimate the power of a small token of gratitude and the immense impact it can have on relationships with your supporters. Try branding these items to your organization so that you can spread awareness of your brand while showing your appreciation. Facemasks, stickers and t-shirts are low-cost and functional ways to let volunteers show off their pride for you, while getting your name and brand out in the community. Include a section in your budgeted expenses for volunteer appreciation gifts and try not to exceed that limit. 

When you design your organization’s strategic plan for the year, be sure to factor in both your fundraising events and your stewardship/appreciation events. There should be a good mix of both in your prospective calendar, creating a balance so that you can present involvement opportunities and show appreciation opportunities to supporters. 

This balance is what creates the best communities. Your supporters should neither feel like you’re pestering them for funding nor like they’re not helping the cause. 

3. Recognize and Encourage

There was a study conducted at Harvard discussing how praise and positive feedback results in increased “self-activation.” The study states,

“People whose best-self concepts were activated felt better and were more resilient to stress, more resistant to disease and burnout, better at creative problem solving and performance under pressure, and formed stronger long-term relationships with their employer.”

In terms of your volunteers, this means that recognizing and encouraging their work not only means that they feel appreciated, but that their quality of work will also likely increase in the future! 

Meanwhile, when donors give, the brain releases “feel-good” chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. These are the same types of chemicals that are released when we receive recognition and positive feedback. Increasing these feel-good chemicals for your donors makes it more likely that they’ll continue giving in the future. 

The first half of this strategy is to recognize your supporters for the work that they’re doing with your organization. There are several ways that you can do this: 

  • Feature volunteers in your monthly email newsletter. This is a great place to dedicate content in your email newsletter, taking some of the burden off of you for what needs to be created every month to populate the newsletter. Plus, you can brag about volunteers to a large group of recipients.You can also do the same in your annual report! Be sure to acknowledge the impact that some of your volunteers have had on your mission. 
  • Spotlight volunteers on social media. Try creating a Volunteer of the Month program where you give a social media shout out to different volunteers each month. Share a little bit about them and explain how they’ve been helping your organization. Volunteers will look forward to seeing who is featured and will love seeing their own name appear! 
  • Give shout-outs during get-togethers and meetings. If one of your volunteers does something especially caring or goes out of their way to help your organization in unexpected ways, tell the team about it! Giving bravos to your team about the wonderful work individuals are doing shows that you care about their hard work and encourages others to also go the extra mile. 

The second important part of this strategy is that your nonprofit should encourage volunteers to continue doing good work in the future. Don’t simply recognize, but be sure to also give a next action item for supporters. For example, if you spotlight Janine on social media, you might end the post by saying, “Keep it up, Janine!” This takes a recognition opportunity to the next level and encourages future action. 

When you use the recognize and encourage strategy to show your appreciation, make sure to include these four key elements in your shout-out to supporters: who they are, what they did, how it helped, and what they can continue doing. This gives people both the specifics of the support as well as the big picture impact


Showing appreciation for your valuable supporters is an important part of nonprofit stewardship strategies. Be sure to create your own stewardship program in order to show your supporters that you care and to encourage them to continue engaging with your organization. 

Look back over this guide and see if there are opportunities where you can combine multiple ideas into one strategy. For instance, start a Volunteer of the Month program and send a goodie bag of branded merchandise to the winner! Or, start a happy hour book club with your supporters so that they can enjoy a beverage while discussing their most recent read! 

There are infinite ways that you could show your supporters that you care about their contributions to your mission. Get creative! 


About the Author: Steven Shattuck

Steven Shattuck is Chief Engagement Officer at Bloomerang and Executive Director of Launch Cause. A prolific writer and speaker, Steven is a contributor to “Fundraising Principles and Practice: Second Edition” and volunteers his time on the Project Work Group of the Fundraising Effectiveness Project and is an AFP Center for Fundraising Innovation (CFI) committee member.

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