General Interest

Ten Myths About Managing Your Volunteers

Brianne Sanchez

Volunteer coordination is hard work, and there are a lot of misconceptions about what the role entails (and how to be successful along the way). We’re here today to de-bunk some of the most common myths we hear about volunteer management.

  1. You’re on call, 24-7. If you’re passionate about your job, managing volunteers could turn into an all-day, every-day gig. But with established communication protocols and an active team, you can (and should!) unplug. 
  2. You can’t solicit volunteers for donations. Many volunteers see their time as their primary contribution to an organization, but if there are costs associated with onboarding (background checks, etc.) asking them to cover those fees is a good path into the donor pipeline. 
  3. Volunteer trainings need to involve slides and manuals. Sure, you should cover compliance and protocols in an onboarding, but bring the mission to life with role-playing, behind-the-scenes tours or other activities that engage and inspire volunteers. 
  4. You should be happy with whoever you get. That old “beggars can’t be choosers” philosophy could really disrupt your organization. Screening volunteers is critical. They should be a right match for the organization, and placed in a role that maximizes their skills.  
  5. There’s no professional development for volunteer managers. So many people fall into this line of work. Seek out a support system of other volunteer managers who can share best practices through your local United Way, nonprofit professionals network or online forums. They can also recommend conferences and webinars to grow your skills. 
  6. Volunteer programs are free. While a volunteer program can bring great value to your organization, they’re like a garden that needs attention and investment to yield the best results. Don’t forget to build recognition materials, management software and other supplies into your budget. 
  7. Your organization should jump on every Day of Service opportunity or group volunteer request. Saying ‘no’ to someone (or lots of someones) who want to contribute to your organization can seem crazy. But if the activity is out of scope for your organization, a ‘yes’ can lead to confusion and cause more harm than good. 
  8. You’re the only one recruiting volunteers for your cause. Partnerships – with corporations, colleges and universities and other civic organizations – can create productive volunteer pipelines. 
  9. Liability and insurance isn’t your territory. Make sure you are working closely with your organizations’ compliance arm to ensure both volunteers and the organization are not putting each other at risk. 
  10. Measuring volunteer impact is impossible. With proper tracking of volunteer hours and assignments, your organization can put a relative dollar value on volunteer power. And by collecting stories of volunteer initiatives and outcomes, your leveraging powerful anecdotes to support your cause.

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What Motivates the 300-Hour Volunteer?

Brianne Sanchez

It’s exciting when you witness someone discover their passion through volunteering. Kathy Kelley started volunteering a decade ago at the Morton Arboretum, a 1,700 acre outdoor living museum in suburban Chicago. Through the years, her identity and pride as an Arboretum volunteer has grown tremendously. So, what made volunteering there take root? 

We sat down with her to learn more about her incredible volunteer experience and what keeps her coming back, year after year.

 

What inspired you to start volunteering at the Morton Arboretum?
Kathy: This is my 10th year volunteering at the Arboretum. One of my good friends was volunteering one weekend at a big fall festival and I got hooked on it. Now, the process of becoming a volunteer is much different; you apply and have an interview. The Arb has 1,592 volunteers in all capacities. They have people who work every week taking out invasive species. They have people who help with mailings. They have all ages. You find your niche. My first year, I did 3 hours and 30 minutes. The second year I had 27 hours. This year, I will have over 300 volunteer hours.

 

Do you get any perks as a volunteer?
Kathy: You’re considered an active volunteer if you volunteer 40 hours or more a year. You get 20 percent off at the store and free admission for two people for the year. Every quarter you can get 20 percent off a class and every year they have a big volunteer appreciation dinner. You get a voucher for a free drink every time you volunteer for a coffee or soft drink. They provide special volunteer parking and entrances. They’re always saying ‘Thank You.’ Even when you’re driving out, there’s a sign that says “Thank You Volunteers.” 

 

What’s your relationship with the volunteer coordinators like?
Kathy: They’re wonderful. There’s two people – Kristin and Lucy – and they’re very appreciative. They’re very accommodating. I always bring them a box of candy at Christmas, just because when you’re working with 1,500 volunteers you get some crankypants. You log-in and post your hours on their volunteer portal, but it’s interesting because I work now a lot with special events, so they’ll text me and ask if I want to work certain things. 

 

What motivates you to volunteer so much?
Kathy: It’s my happy place. I love walking there every week, and their mission. As my professional and caregiving responsibilities lessened, I have had more time to give. [The Arboretum] is where I have chosen to spend my extra time. It’s a beautiful place, it’s a calming place. It’s also less than a mile from my house, but I know people who drive in from all over. It’s social. Some people you’ll work with just once, but others you get to see regularly and know. There’s also pride in ownership, when I take on tasks, like overseeing 5K shirts. It’s a self-motivation. I always try to see if I get a few more hours. I like working special events. I like being able to be part of the experience. 

 

Why is volunteering important in your life?
Kathy: I’ve always been a volunteer. It was instilled in us when we were little. It’s the way we were brought up. I don’t have a lot of the financial means to support something, although the Arboretum is where I have donated, but I have always thought it’s just a way of supporting an organization you believe in.

 

 

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Nurturing Volunteer Relationships 

Brianne Sanchez

Volunteer coordinators know that developing relationships with volunteers takes time and intention.

 

When there are endless roles to fill, it can be important to make sure every contact isn’t an ask, and that there’s a blend of informing volunteers on developments at the organization and appreciating how much they give in the mix, too.

 

“I definitely see the value in reaching out to volunteers outside of asking them for something,” says Jana, a longtime volunteer coordinator at a homeless youth shelter. “We try to send birthday cards each year to volunteers and at least one other personalized note or small gift outside of that. That could be a quick hand-written note sent to them in the mail or a small gift with an agency branded mug, shirt, or other small token of our appreciation. These other touch points are usually not connected to an anniversary or milestone, rather just an opportunity to check in. I think it’s important to build a personal relationship with our ongoing volunteers, but I have the luxury of being able to do that more easily than an organization that works with thousands of volunteers yearly.”

 

Jana says that enlisting the help of the clients you serve can also send a meaningful message to volunteers. Think of ways the “thank you” can come from the collective voice of the organization, rather than just your position. 

 

“Because the majority of our volunteers work withthe kids here in the shelter, we will sometimes ask the kids who work with them to sign a card or even create their own. If we know a volunteer is ill or injured, we may send get well cards to let them know we are thinking of them. Our organization also has quarterly talent shows where the kids in the shelter perform songs, skits, live art installations, and more. We invite our volunteers to attend these shows as a way to celebrate the achievements of the kids they work with and we’ve had a great response from the volunteers who attend.”

 

Volunteer coordinators at non-social service organizations can also get creative. Environmental organizations might send volunteers an annual calendar with nature photography. An animal shelter could create thank you videos that get everyone’s tails wagging. Enlist your marketing and/or development team to help come up with creative touchpoints that aren’t an ask. 

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10 Truths about Volunteer Coordinating

Brianne Sanchez

Every volunteer coordination position is a little different than the next.

But there are some truths that are consistent across all organizations. If you are or have been a volunteer coordinator, you probably already know a lot of these to be true:

 

 

  1. Your best volunteers can turn into personal friends. You’ve spent countless hours together, so, why shouldn’t they?
  2. Finding a skilled volunteer who follows through on commitments is like finding a four-leaf clover. They expand the capacity of your organization and make a huge impact. 
  3. Seeing how passionate your volunteers are makes up for the times you’re feeling burnt out. They’re putting in time and effort because they believe in the mission.  
  4. Nobody on your team really understands how much you do until you get sick right before a big event. 
  5. Coordinating volunteers can be like herding cats, but luckily you could teach a Master’s class in cat herding. It’s all about knowing how to communicate, motivate, and organize. 
  6. Coming up with creative ways to recognize people is part of your D.N.A. From thank you notes to nominations from national awards, you know the power of appreciation. 
  7. The pay isn’t great, but the rewards are huge. You might not be pulling in a six-figure salary, or might be operating on a nonexistent budget, but you are building important relationships and making meaningful experiences. 
  8. Vintage training manuals and videos are one part terrible and one part entertaining. Word to the wise – keep those current! 
  9. Your public speaking 101 course comes in handy frequently. Whether it’s reporting on volunteer data to the board, or giving instructions to a group of volunteers while standing in the bed of a truck, you know how to deliver a message. 
  10. Volunteer management platforms trump random spreadsheets for tracking and reporting, any day. (You are reading this list on the VolunteerLocal blog, after all!) 

 

 

 

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How To Use Community Events to Promote Your Event

Lucy Williams

So, your event is coming up and you’re wondering how to maximize your reach outside of social media. As in, The Real World.

 

Without the face-to-face connection how can you be sure that the people who have RSVP’d are actually coming? We all know that outside of a faithful crowd or following, only about 10% of people really show up and what it comes down to is word-of-mouth.

 

First, look at your local calendars. These can be found through the city website, arts organizations, etc. Maybe there’s a regular event you yourself go to and you think your fellows would like to know what you’re throwing.

 

As you do your research, you’ll find that most of these events charge a booth fee. The benefit, though, is that the public turnout is huge. If you have some volunteers to spare to work the crowd, you can get tremendous returns signing up volunteers or just raising awareness. Such events would be:

  • Farmer’s Markets – when the weather is fair these can be as often as twice a week on different days for different crowds.
  • Festivals & Fairs – One-time events with huge turn outs and long run-times, like state fairs.
  • Sports Events – Such as marathons or competitions can get a lot of media coverage.
  • Other expos – specialty crafts, cultural show-cases, auctions, etc.  

 

If you have a small budget and you can’t afford to purchase a space, look to organizations already dedicated to community building, ie:

  • Public Libraries –  libraries are all about getting people in libraries. Period. Think about how your event might be relevant to whatever programming they’ve got going on and have some ‘literature’ ready to hand out.
  • Engage public schools – this can be daunting as public school teachers have a lot to keep up with during the year, but there’s probably an after school club or program that would love to have you.
  • Small businesses – community awareness is crucial to the vitality of small business owners. By helping you, they help themselves.

 

Whatever you decide to do, make sure your materials themselves are engaging. Make stickers, make t-shirts, use fun colors and interesting fonts. Smile, be aware of body language and make your rap short and sweet. You never know who you might impress or where sponsors will come from!

 

 

 

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How to Incorporate Sustainability Into Your Volunteer Coordination

Jordan Maze

Climate change is perhaps the most pressing issue of our time, and it’s important that organizational practices – especially in nonprofits – emphasize decreasing our individual and collective footprints. Considering that disposable items are frequently used as thank-you gifts for volunteers, and that food items must be pre-packaged at many events, it’s difficult to organize events that won’t add to our ozone and our landfills – but we have to try!

 

Let’s say you’re the volunteer manager for a breast cancer research organization, and your biggest event of the year – a 5k – is taking place this fall. You have a few all-star volunteers who you can trust with running teams, and a few dozen volunteers signed up for the day of.

 

How can you make your race as green as possible while keeping the focus on your organization’s mission?

 

Provide incentives.

One way to encourage your participants to lower their footprint is to offer special packages or deals for people who consume less before and during the race. For example, you could offer a “Green” package that’s slightly cheaper than the other signup options: in exchange for the discount, participants have to bike or carpool to the race, bring their own water bottles & supplies for eating, or other location and theme-specific behaviors.

 

Only offer “green” products.

Engage your all-star volunteers to come up with creative ways to provide sustainable products at the race. You can set up water stations instead of providing bottles, offer plant-based food or meals instead of meat (avoiding meat is a great way to lower your carbon footprint), and avoid printing t-shirts on new shirts. Partnerships with local businesses also tend to have less environmental impact than buying your supplies at a big box store.

 

Get the whole family involved!

Folks often wait on the sidelines to cheer on the racer in their families. This is a prime time to provide educational activities and interact with them. Here is a fun list of potential activities to set up for families. This is also a great opportunity to ask your all-star volunteers for help in leading the activities and gathering people.

 

Those who participate in charity events are often already civic-minded and want to help out. Reminders that they’re getting fruits and vegetables as snacks for the benefit of the environment will likely increase their level of engagement and pride in what they’ve accomplished. Make environment-themed signs, give verbal encouragement, and thank them for making your event as green as possible!

 

 

 

 

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How to Grow Your Volunteers into Brand Ambassadors: Part II

Anne Summers

Let’s keep talking about brand ambassadors! In our first post on growing brand ambassadors, we talked about putting together intentional steps to help move your volunteers from people who work with you occasionally into people who are fired up about what you do and talk about you even when they’re not volunteering. (If you missed the first post, go ahead and catch up! We’ll be here when you’re done.)

 

Today we’re talking about letting go. You’ve done the hard work of instilling knowledge and experience. Now it’s time to give a little guidance and let them do their thing! On the day of an event, you have the unique opportunity to observe your brand ambassadors in action and cheer them on. Take a look at a few ways you can set them up for success.

 

Offer Final Instructions

Repeating organizational language and ideology is extremely important as you communicate with your brand ambassadors in between events. As an event approaches, think through how your values and mission statement are played out in this specific instance and share that with your volunteers. This way they can visualize your mission in action.

 

This is also a great opportunity to give last minute guidance before the event begins. Think through the probable situations your volunteers may encounter and train them with best practices before they head out to work. For instance, my current employer throws a three-day fall festival each year. The first night is reserved only for families who have children with special needs. It’s a special night of celebration, and volunteers are usually eager to get involved. However, it also requires a few tips to help them be prepared to do their jobs well. We offer examples of positive phrases to use, ways to modify activities, people to contact if they need help, and reminders to slow down and enjoy the night together. These final pieces of information make your event better while also empowering your volunteers.

 

Give Official Gear

When asking volunteers to step into a broader role, help them get into a confident mindset by giving them official apparel to wear throughout the day. There’s just something about wearing a uniform, right? It makes us remember why we’re here and helps us stay engaged throughout the long event hours. This can be as simple as creating lanyards or creating volunteer shirts and hats. If your budget allows for new apparel every year, gift these items to your volunteers! Just another way to remind them of the great work your organization does after the event is completed.

 

Be Encouraging

When you see your volunteer embracing the role of brand ambassador, tell them as soon as possible! Call it out in person, text, or email to reinforce those great actions and attitudes. If you’re running a group text thread for your volunteer team, send encouragement and affirmation there. These little comments don’t take much time, but they help create a culture of encouraging each other and grow camaraderie among your team. Plus it offers an easy medium to address problems as soon as possible.

 

These steps are simple ways to equip your volunteers and release them into their role as brand ambassador. As they grow in their skill, experience, and passion, you’re able to shift into a support role and watch them be awesome—a true win for you both.

 

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Winning Over the Reluctant Volunteer

Josanna E. Berg-Hammond

While we’d all love to believe that any volunteer coming our way is in it for the good of the cause, every volunteer coordinator knows that’s just not always the case.

Whether it’s a sullen teenager, a court-ordered volunteer, or just a serious introvert, you know you need a way to win them over. We’ve collected some of our favorite ways to chip away at those reluctant volunteers.


Appeal to Their Interests

Even though your volunteer might have joined your crew out of duty (rather than passion), chances are you can probably find something for them to like about your organization. If your volunteer is a parent, maybe they’d love to find out that the work they’re doing is going to benefit kids. Maybe the crabby teen volunteering for your 5k is into music and would love to help you set up the speakers at the check-in booth. Who knows? Honestly, not us. Are teens still into music? It’s worth a try.


Give ‘em a Break

Every volunteer needs a break sometimes and a volunteer who doesn’t want to be there definitely does. Set clear times when your team can sneak a snack on the side or a quiet moment. Just the knowledge that a chance to rest is in the near future is a huge help in keeping unenthusiastic volunteers on the move.


Options

If a volunteer shows up to your event a little less than gung-ho, try giving them an option of what to do. While sitting in the break area with a bag of chips might not work, you might end up with a people-person who would love to do check-in, or a perfectionist who can make sure every single poster is straight. You might even get someone who’s obsessed with picking up trash and wants to be on garbage duty all day (we can dream).

 

And if all of that doesn’t work?

There are always snacks.

You can win anyone over with free snacks.

 

 

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Getting Sponsorship when You’re Scared to Ask for Money

Anne Summers

Before we get started, let me be honest: I’m not great at asking for money. Talking about money makes me uncomfortable. Asking for money makes me uncomfortable. But at the end of the day, we in the nonprofit and event management business can’t avoid it. Procuring and developing sponsorship relationships is essential to success.

 

So let’s consider this a scaredy cat’s guide to asking for sponsors. We can do this! In many ways, the same principles that make an effective volunteer manager also make a prolific fundraiser. Take a look at four simple ways so secure sponsors.

 

Know Yourself.

There’s a theme throughout many of our posts at VolunteerLocal, but it’s that important! Know the vision behind your event. Know how your event fits into the overall mission of your organization. Know how your event provides value and benefits for the local community and for the sponsor. Nailing down great answers to these topics is incredibly helpful for recruiting volunteers, and it’s no different when thinking about sponsors. Knowing the details gives you confidence and helps potential sponsors put their trust in you.

 

Find Sponsors that Fit.

In the same way that there are people best suited to volunteer for your event, there are certain sponsors that are a good fit! Consider your vision and the mission of your event. Then research companies and organizations that already align with you. These potential sponsors are most prone to listen to you, and you likely have the most to offer them in return.

 

Look at local businesses and organizations. Examine your list of previous volunteers and identify any business owners or groups of people working for the same company. Assembling a list of warm prospects keeps building your confidence and eases some anxiety.

 

Do Your Research.

Develop your presentation with each organization in mind. Just like when you’re talking to different sources of volunteers, this is not a one-size-fits-all situation. Get to know your audience well, and demonstrate this knowledge by tailoring your pitch to show why investing in your event is the right choice. This takes a lot of attention to detail and extra time, but it makes all the difference!

 

Be Generous.

Many companies and organizations are willing to use their resources to invest in good causes, but they are still looking for the best return on their investment. Get creative in how you can give them high value exposure before, during, and after your event. Include sponsors in promotional material, add logos to event swag, offer high level investors to sponsor an entire section of your venue, find spots in your event schedule to integrate sponsor representatives into the festivities, send out post-event summaries to show them how much exposure your event generated on their behalf. In the same way volunteers are grateful for perks, your relationship with sponsors continues to grow as you find creative, meaningful ways to bring them into the event and repay their generosity.

 

If you’re like me and you find asking for money intimidating, don’t let it cripple your progress. Just focus on these essentials of fundraising. You can do it!

 

 

 

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How to Create (and Reach) Your Goal

Rebekah Coenen

As a volunteer coordinator, it’s important to know the vision of the event you’re helping to coordinate. Visions can be vague, but putting in the time to create a well-defined idea will take you a long way. In order to have a successful event you need to know what outcome you want and how to attain it. We’ve rounded up some simple steps to help you develop a precise plan for your event so you can get your whole team on board.

 

Step 1: Create a Goal

Develop two or three clear goals. The format we like best is S.M.A.R.T. goals. It stands for: specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound. These goals will be different for each event but the principals can be broadly applied. If you are raising money through a fundraiser have an EXACT amount you are striving to raise, the number should be challenging but reasonable. Set a deadline to have raised the money by. You can set a goal for number of participants, shares on social media, the list is endless as long as it is something you can track. If one of the goals is to have a fun event, then create a survey that you can measure participants’ reactions.

 

Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Results-focused – Time-bound

 

Step 2: Create a Plan

Once you’ve identified your goals, you need to set clear steps to achieve them. If you want to raise a specific amount of money, how will you do that? You’ve made sure the goal is reachable, you just need to know how to get there. You could launch a social media campaign to raise awareness of your event or offer prizes for participants to raise money. 

 

Step 3: Communicate

Communicate your goals (and your plan to reach them) to your volunteers -they’re your best resource on the ground. If your goal is communicated clearly to volunteers, your team will be able to share that information with attendees.

 

The best way to achieve the vision of your event is to have a clear idea of what you want so you can communicate it with your team and, ultimately, the people participating in your event.  

 

 

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