Post on 17-May-2015
description
Tools for Volunteer Management
Pre-Exercise: Think for a moment
• When was the last time you helped to coordinate an activity with more than ten people?
• What worked well?
• What are some lessons you learned from that experience?
Tools for Volunteer Management
Volunteer Management
Online Organizing and Community Building
Tools for Volunteer Management
Context in the Curriculum
Divergence Convergence Emergence
Inspiration Ideation Implementation • Visioning & Sharing
Vision • Environmental
Scanning & Impacting Environment
• Social Business Models
• Prototyping & Assessment
• Operations & Finance • Volunteer Management • Pitching and Friendraising
Tools for Volunteer Management
Start-Ups Need Volunteers, and Fast
• Most start-ups, even for-profit start-ups, leverage “sweat equity” to succeed.
• Start recruiting early. Those first hours will be the most rewarding capital you raise. Build a corps of people who believe your venture should exist.
• Two key elements to keep in mind:
• WIIFM: “What’s In It for Me?” (Value proposition to the volunteer)
• “So what can I do?” (Call to action)
Tools for Volunteer Management
Recruiting Volunteers
Connections & Leads
Calls & Coffee dates
Open Houses
Tools for Volunteer Management
Managing Expectations
• Creating specific and reasonable roles
• Specifying time commitments
• Accounting for under-commitment and attrition
Tools for Volunteer Management
What Are Volunteers Looking for?
Exposure and experience
Networking opportunities
Sense of accomplishment & contribution
A chance to do good for a good cause
What do YOU expect as a volunteer?
Tools for Volunteer Management
Communicating With Volunteers
• Matching volunteers with needs
• Creating clear expectations or job descriptions
• Assigning atomic tasks
• Establishing contracts & check-ins
• Offering motivations & incentives
• Sending regular email communication
Tools for Volunteer Management
Take Advantage of Platforms
Find a platform that fits your audience’s needs:
• Wikis help create shared ownership
• Managed sites help centralize ownership
• Formal platforms help professionalize activities
• Social media platforms engage people where they are
Tools for Volunteer Management
Wikis: Shared Ownership
Others: PBworks and Projectmanagementwiki.org
Tools for Volunteer Management
Managed Sites: Directed Focus
Others: Weebly, jimdo, etc.
Tools for Volunteer Management
Formal Platforms: Checking Items Off
Others: Veoproject, Zoho Project, and CentralDesktop
Tools for Volunteer Management
Social Media Platforms: Engagement
Tools for Volunteer Management
Gantter: Manage Tasks and Timelines
Tools for Volunteer Management
Communication is Key: Google Apps
CentralDesktop, Zoho and Zimbra are other great services, too.
• Nothing says “I’m committed” more than a branded email account. Google Apps allows that, as well as shared docs, etc.
• Free for nonprofits and small groups.
• Setting up Google Apps is an easy and quick way to integrate volunteers.
Tools for Volunteer Management
No One App to Rule Them All
• Dozens of project and volunteer management apps come out every day.
• We’ll review a few market leaders in online applications– but take these as a starting-off point for further exploration.
• In the end, the key is to get people to do things. The platform is only a tool, and what might work for one group might not work for another.
Tools for Volunteer Management
Online Applications
• Sparked: set up microvolunteer challenges and find willing people. Lightweight and brandable.
• Idealist: largest reach for gathering volunteers and advertising opportunities.
• VolunteerSpot: tools and scheduling for group volunteering
• HandsOn: a resource for more massive volunteer recruiting and management
Tools for Volunteer Management
Workshop • Discuss the following scenario with your group, or invent a new one that speaks to you:
• You have formed a strong group of volunteers who have helped you test your prototype and seem to be excited about next steps. You named one person the chair of the group as she showed commitment and promise.
• The chair was engaged and responsive for several weeks but now has not returned any calls or emails for 3 weeks straight.
• Further, your other volunteers have not been communicating clearly and there has been duplication of efforts, which is becoming clear to your market.
• What do you do?
Tools for Volunteer Management
In the End, It’s All About the People • Ultimately, people make projects happen
• If you can’t motivate people to be involved, the project will not happen
• If you can’t structure people’s motivation, you won’t have a clear deliverable at the end of the day
• People are a core input to the activities. Leverage them well, and anything can happen.