A free resource for nonprofit
organizations, NGOs, civil society organizations,
charities, schools, public sector agencies & other
mission-based agencies
by Jayne Cravens
via coyotecommunications.com
& coyoteboard.com
(same web site)
Effective Volunteer Engagement:
Foundations You Must Have BEFORE Recruitment
I am adamant that these MUST be in place BEFORE you start
recruiting volunteers. If you don't, your volunteer
recruitment will
- frustrate, even anger, potential and current volunteers.
- create negative public relations.
- become ineffective.
In addition, your retainment of volunteers will plummet.
Before you recruit any volunteers
- Mission statements for your
volunteer engagement
(Saying WHY your organization or department involves
volunteers)
This is at the heart of everything I say and recommend
regarding volunteer engagement. This idea is what I would like
to be identified with even more than virtual volunteering:
that, in addition to carefully crafting the way you talk about
the value of volunteers, your
organization creates a mission statement for your
organization's volunteer engagement, to guide employees in how
they think about volunteers, to guide current volunteers in
thinking about their role and value at the organization, and
to show potential volunteers the kind of culture they can
expect at your organization regarding volunteers.
- Your
flow chart for volunteers
How to map what your volunteer in-take and volunteer placement
process should look like. This is one of the most popular blog
posts I've ever made.
- The Information About
& For Volunteers You Should Have on Your Web Site
If your organization or department involves volunteers, or
wants to, there are certain things your organization or
department must have on its web site - not by law, of
course, but from a point of view of ethics and credibility. To
not have this basic information about volunteer engagement on
your web site says that your organization or department takes
volunteers for granted, does not value volunteers beyond money
saved in salaries, or is not really ready to involve
volunteers. This resource is a reflection of my firm belief in
having a mission statement for
volunteer engagement.
- The Pitfalls of Having a
Program Sponsor
(and suggestions for mission-based organizations on how to
avoid them)
For-profit companies, particularly large corporations, often
sponsor specific programs at mission-based organizations
(non-profit organizations, non-governmental
organizations/NGOs, civil society, school, etc.), providing
funding, donated staff time, and in-kind equipment and
services to help launch and maintain a program. In most ways,
this is a blessing for the mission-based organization. But
there are often hidden costs that lead to frustrations for
everyone involved. This is a list of
some of those hidden costs, and ways they can be avoided.
Before recruitment, you also have to have to define your
support for volunteers/management of
volunteers and safety considerations and you have to
create roles and tasks for volunteers,
IN WRITING.
Return
to this web site's index of volunteer
engagement-related resources
And also time to have a look at:
The Last Virtual
Volunteering Guidebook:
Fully Integrating Online Service Into Volunteer Involvement.
A comprehensive guide to using online tools for
supporting & engaging ALL volunteers, & for creating
online roles & online tasks for volunteers.
The Ultimate Guide to Setting Up Virtual Volunteering At Any
Organization.
Here's how to order
(includes table of contents and reviews).
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