Tom Knipe, MRP '11trk44@cornell.edu

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

An overview of the what, why, and how of building and sustaining a strong volunteer corps for nonprofit organizations and events. This session will be led by Tom Knipe, MRP '11. Through his extensive work with a hands-on bicycle non-profit organization and professional event production company, Tom has led volunteer management efforts on everything from large scale community events, drop-in volunteer programs, internships, and after-school and summer youth programs to corporate community service events and multi-day overnight service trips and projects. He has seen first hand how volunteers from a variety of backgrounds - unskilled to highly specialized, CEO to juvenile offender, one-off to long-term - can transform events, projects and organizations.

30 seconds: THINK

Picture a time that you’ve had a great volunteer experience.

What made it great?

Volunteer Program Management:Workshop Overview

What we'll explore➲ Types of volunteers and volunteer programs➲ Elements of any successful volunteer program➲ Your questions and contributions

How we'll do it➲ Basic conceptual framework➲ Brief overview of concepts➲ Activities to explore application of concepts to

specific issues you may be considering

Types of volunteer opportunities➲ Recurring ➲ Drop-in➲ Groups➲ Events ➲ Projects

➲ Skilled and non-skilled➲ Old and young

Be creative in imagining volunteer roles.Management strategies differ by type.

1 minute: THINK

Envision a specific volunteer program that you would like to

implement or improve.

What are the different elements of the program?What are volunteers doing? How will you make it great?

What motivates people to volunteer?

Three Social Motivators:

1.Need for achievement2.Need for affiliation3.Need for power

People usually act on a combination of these.

Think about motivation when designing your program.

Elements of a successful volunteer program

➲ Planning

➲ Recruitment & Intake

➲ Orientation & Training

➲ Supervision & Recognition (Retention?)

➲ Evaluation

Program Element:Recruitment and Intake

Marketing:• Make volunteer opportunities integral to your

development / fundraising efforts.• Is your description useful, fun, relevant, important

(or is it unclear, dull…think motivation)

Intake: • Assess skills and interests.• Gather data for reporting (in-kind match!)• Background checks for youth programs.• Do interviews for skilled positions.

Program Element: Orientation and Training

Orientation provides volunteers with information about the organization, the volunteer program, how volunteers fit into the mission.

Training provides volunteers with the specific knowledge, skills and attitudes they will need to do their work effectively.

Different levels of orientation and training are needed for different roles. Aim for the right balance of information to do the job well, and efficiency to get people engaged in a useful task quickly.

Program Element:Supervision

Provide clarity about:• Policies, procedures and operations that volunteers

affect or are affected by.• Responsibilities and functions toward the agency and

its clients• Your organization’s responsibility to them.

Communicate clear expectations:• Don’t just hand them a stack of paper.• Encourage questions.• Just cover what’s relevant.

Give regular feedback!

Program Element: Recognition (and Appreciation)

There are lots of ways to recognize volunteers. Be creative!

• The basics: food, smiles, schwag, perks, thank-you’s (verbal and written).

• Be organized. Provide a useful task. Start and end on time.

• Volunteer appreciation events & special invites.

• Website, newsletter, meetings.

• Remind people how their support relates to the mission.

Program Element:Evaluation

• Solicit volunteer feedback, and incorporate lessons into planning and management.

• Assess and communicate the value of volunteerism to your organization in terms of $ and mission/service delivery.

• Is it an efficient allocation? If not, redesign or eliminate.

• But don’t say “volunteers save us money”. Instead say, “volunteers allow us to spend every cent available and then do more”. Or, “volunteers extend the budget beyond anything we could otherwise afford.”

• Use volunteer stories, photos, profiles & statements to communication your mission to the public.

Characteristics of organizations that successfully engage

volunteers:1. Lay the foundation through mission and

vision (mission exists in all sectors, not just non-profit).

2. Combine inspiring leadership with effective management.

3. Build understanding and collaboration.

4. Learn, grow and change.

5 minutes: WRITE

Given the volunteer program scenario that you pictured at the beginning of this workshop, pick

one element that you would like to focus on and describe it in detail.

Event: Holiday Bike Drive

Drop In: Volunteer Night

Program: Create a Commuter

Youth Programs – Bike Club

Event: Worst Day of the Year Ride

Event: Cirque du Cycling

Groups: Service Day

What is appropriate for volunteers; what’s not?

• Is the task achievable in the timeframe / framework I’ve established?

• Do the volunteers have the necessary skills?

• Do I have the organizational capacity to provide the appropriate level of support?

• Would it be better handled directly by staff (legal considerations)?

Tom’s Lessons Learned

• Avoid information overload. Let people get busy as quickly as possible.

• Don’t match volunteers with tasks with which they can’t achieve success.

• Don’t forget that volunteers can also be donors, partners, staff and a positive (or negative) mouthpiece for your organization. This is your chance to make your program shine.

• Always plan backup activities.

• Be careful what you say. Volunteers will listen and take cues from you.

• Don’t assume that if something is complex, time-consuming, or challenging in other ways, that it isn’t appropriate for a volunteer.

Reflection: Don’t neglect it!

5 minutes: TOGETHERWhat did you appreciate most about

today?

Other reflection prompts:• What? So what? Now what?• I used to think…., but now I know…• What was the muddiest point for you (what was unclear).

Use for recurring volunteer programs. Internal feedback.

Tom Knipe, MRP '11trk44@cornell.edu