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Put Corporate Volunteers to Work!

Jennifer Bennett, CVA, Senior Manager, Education & TrainingVolunteerMatch

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Agenda

• Put groups to work for you!

• Build an ongoing relationship

• The importance of planning

• Create opportunities that meet your mission

• Get help!

• Say thank you

Working with Groups

• Groups can present different challenges than ongoing volunteers– Motivation– Messaging – Expectations

• But a successful group opportunity can produce ongoing positive results– Awareness – Measurable impact– Opportunity for more involvement

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Build an Ongoing Relationship

• Encourage a group to think of your organization first when they are looking to volunteer

• Offer a variety of different types of volunteer– Group opportunities– Team building opportunities– Opportunities for employees to build or expand skills– Leadership opportunities – Opportunities for families and children

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The Importance of Planning

• Understand what you can offer, and what you need from the group– Be honest about what you can provide, but think

creatively too!

• Guidelines– minimum age– time commitment– when background checks are required 

• Project outlines

• Setting up boundaries

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Make the Work Mission Driven

Meet the Needs of the Group but don't forget your mission

• Orientation – Share why you do what you do– Make sure you have names and emails

• The relationship you build with a group is a two way street.

• Determine what the groups coordinator's goals are for the volunteer event

• Manage the expectations of the coordinator and the volunteers

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Get Help

Don’t feel like you have to do everything alone.• Build a plan that involves others in your

organization

• Create an internal communication plan to inform other staff and volunteers about the project event

• Engage your regular volunteers as team leaders or supervisors

• Ask the group to create teams with leaders– Children friendly opportunities need to be managed

Say Thank You

• Remember the goals – Make sure you share what was done with the

coordinator and invite them back

• Share the impacts with all of the volunteers– Not just hours, but actions and impacts too– Take pictures– Use social media - spread the thank you– Include ways for them to get more involved

• Don't forget to share how that work serves your mission

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Make it Work Checklist

Create a connection between the group, the volunteers and your mission, and you can build a real relationship.

• Get your ducks in a row!

• Think creatively.

• Know your boundaries.

• Connect the work to your mission – share the connection.

• Get help and start small.

• Keep in touch – say thank you and share the impacts.

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Questions?

Support

californialibraries_support@volunteermatch.org

VolunteerMatch Learning Center

http://www.volunteermatch.org/nonprofits/learningcenter/

Contact Me!

Jennifer Bennett

415-321-3639

jbennett@volunteermatch.org