Volunteer Management for Nonprofits or Ministries

by Ophelia Livingston
owlivingston@owrlrisk.com

In America, volunteers and volunteer organizations are a way of life. Volunteers give their time, talents, and treasures in many ways. Parents frequently volunteer to help at their child’s school, with extracurricular activities, or church groups. Children learn about volunteering from their parents, their teachers, and their peers as many public, private, and parochial schools require service of the students to foster civic responsibility. Young adults become involved in organizations to support their beliefs, such as evangelism, outreach, literacy, or poverty reduction.

Whether you are starting a nonprofit or ministry which will operate solely with the use of volunteers or an established entity with a paid staff who are complimented by volunteers, it is important to enlist the service of volunteers as a valuable resource- a resource that requires maintenance and management. Volunteers as a resource can save the organization money and increase cost-effectiveness, while they expand the organization’s capabilities, improve the quality of service, and improve community relations. However, these advantages require a significant investment and commitment by the organization in time, money, and staffing.

In order to create a successful volunteer program, nonprofits and/or ministries must practice due diligence in “volunteer management” through the establishment of policies and procedures for the program. When creating your nonprofit or ministry the following policies should be addressed:
-Recruiting volunteers
-Interviewing and screening for placing volunteers
-Orientation and training of volunteers
-Supervising and evaluating volunteers
-Retaining and recognizing volunteers
-Maintaining the records of the program
-Writing program reports
-Evaluating the program
-Advocating and educating the staff on the important roles of volunteers

Once a nonprofit or ministry has established the guidelines for the volunteer program, it is now ready to undertake the task of volunteer recruitment. Upon beginning to recruit volunteers, you must keep in mind the need for diversity within your program. To adequately reflect the needs of a diverse population, volunteers should be a diverse group of people as well. It is important to reflect the community that will foster a growing the client base.

Another aspect of diversity for your consideration is the fact that volunteers have diverse needs that the nonprofit or ministry will need to address. Most importantly, the nonprofit or ministry will need to recognize the diverse time commitments that many volunteers will be able to make. Thus, volunteer opportunities need to have flexible time schedules.

Whether the nonprofit or ministry is undertaking generic recruitment, a widespread call for all volunteers; or targeted recruitment, a request for individuals with a specific skill, there are three techniques most commonly employed.
1. Individual Contacts- This is most effective on a one-to-one basis through a network of existing volunteers, professionals, or other key people within your local community.

2. Organizational Contacts- This method involves the use of other organizations, such as volunteer centers, schools, service clubs, judicial court systems, and online volunteer portals.

3. Media Contacts- The use of the media to recruit serves two purposes, to recruit volunteers and to create publicity for the organization and its role within the local community and surrounding areas.

Remember that once a potential volunteer has been recruited the real work begins. The recruitment process for the volunteer program should involve the following “Volunteer Program Kit”:
1. An application form
2. A standardized interview guide that meets all of the compliance and regulatory mandates.
3. A written screening procedure guideline
4. Written procedures for acceptance and rejection of potential volunteers
5. A Volunteer Contract
6. A mandatory orientation program
7. An assignment procedure form
8. Development of a personnel file that includes all of the above.

Your volunteers are important organizational assets and another essential segment of volunteer management is retention of these valuable resources. It is important to continually make efforts to remain in consideration of each volunteer’s safety and security needs, social needs, and esteem needs.

Retention of volunteers requires a staff dedicated to the philosophy of using volunteers to accomplish the organization’s mission. Everyone within the nonprofit or ministry plays an important part in retaining volunteers, and your ministry and board members must cultivate this attitude. Personal consideration of each volunteer’s needs and nonprofit/ministry strategies to meet those needs can forge a bond between the volunteer and the nonprofit/ministry that is stronger than any bond based only on monetary compensation.