Who does not love volunteers? From the board of directors to the newsletter mailing campaign team members, they are the lifeblood of every type of charity, non-profit group and community organization. Selflessly giving of their time and sweat equity with only our unwavering gratitude as compensation, volunteers are blessings who enable organizations to accomplish incredible things on a minimized budget.
Although volunteers are among the most valuable assets any organization can possess, they must be managed properly to prevent them from potentially becoming a liability. Much like paid employees, volunteers need supervision and support to be successful in fulfilling their duties. Assigning volunteers tasks or roles for which they are not qualified nor interested can have disastrous results for charities and the people whom they serve. Moreover, grant-makers are often very cognisant of organizations who lack responsible volunteer management practices and this is frequently a reason why applications are denied.
Here are three (3) effective practices that organizations can embrace to ensure that their volunteers remain their greatest resource:
1) Foster a team environment for your volunteers.
There is no “i” in either “team” or “volunteer” and organizations should take every step possible to create a working atmosphere that exudes this sentiment. From the moment they are recruited and trained, it is crucial to encourage volunteers to combine their skills and talents to achieve a common goal. Organizations should cultivate a working culture where volunteers complement, inspire and strive to bring out the best in one another. Performing their roles with a singularity of purpose will enable volunteers to experience a shared sense of job satisfaction, pride and ownership over the optimal results that this approach is certain to produce.
A sure-fire way to establish such a cohesive working environment is to search and identify places in the community where existing units of volunteer talent with strong degrees of team chemistry can be recruited. Service clubs, church groups, college and university student associations are groups with built-in synergetic volunteer rosters who frequently welcome opportunities to work with a variety of community projects. Enlisting the services of entire teams consisting eager, compassionate and tightly connected members who enthusiastically and resolutely execute any voluntary task they are assigned will ensure the success and impact of any organization’s programs.
2) Recognize the contributions of volunteers as you would your financial donors.
Charities have a tendency to bend over backwards when it comes to thanking their financial supporters. Yet they seem to employ a comparatively reserved approach when acknowledging the contributions of the people who unconditionally give time and energy in pursuit of their mission and vision. Even when the collective effort of volunteers dwarf that of monetary benefactors, organizations are apt to shower the latter with monumental verbal praise, name buildings after them, and publicly present them with lavish tokens of gratitude at Annual General Meetings. In the meantime the generosity of genuinely passionate and loyal volunteers tragically goes unnoticed.
Rather than acknowledging the commitment of volunteers separately with tired events like Volunteer Appreciation Nights, charities must thank them in the same fashion and alongside financial donors. Those who unselfishly donate their skills, talents and time should receive the same level of acclaim and more importantly, the same messaging as those who give with their chequebooks. Specifically, the primary message that organizations must instill with each volunteer is “Because of your kind contribution of your time and energy, we are closer to realizing our mission and the people we serve are now in a better place”.
Instead of holding separate recognition events for donors and volunteers, charities should host Stakeholder Appreciation Evenings where both groups are paid homage on an equal basis. Extending heartfelt expressions of gratitude publicly on social media platforms, featuring them in promotional videos, nominating them for prestigious awards, and establishing new community awards in their names are some meaningful ways organizations should commonly recognize their most committed volunteers.
Make sure that your volunteers know how deeply you appreciate everything they do and help them understand the true impact that their contributions have had on the lives of the people served by your programs. Consistently showing volunteers the important impact of their efforts strengthens their affinity for the cause. In the end, embracing this tactic will instill a growing sense of ownership of the organization’s achievements among the volunteers and inspire them to devote themselves towards the long-term pursuit of the mission and vision.
3) Involve volunteers in finding their replacements.
A proven technique for safeguarding the continuity of service delivery for grassroots and community-based charities is when volunteers play an integral role in identifying individuals within their personal connections who may be an ideal replacement if they can no longer perform their duties. Retaining a healthy roster of volunteers is always a challenge for smaller organizations with little to no staff. Having volunteers actively participate in finding their successor is an effective and logical strategy since chances are the suitable candidate is someone they personally know with the same skills, interests and personality.
If an organization wishes to engage in this method, it is crucial that volunteers are informed of this expectation of them when they are first recruited. Learning about such a significant obligation several months into their tenure is certain be an aggravating experience for any volunteer.
Being up front about their responsibility in pinpointing their potential successor is especially crucial when recruiting board members. As the most important volunteers in any organization, blindsiding board members with this information can have devastating consequences on the group’s functionality. A recommended preventive measure is to incorporate this expectation into the organization’s terms of reference or job description so each board member is aware of this task prior to starting their tenure.
In addition to enhancing the overall capacity of an organization’s programs, adopting all three (3) of these volunteer management strategies is certain to entice prospective grant-makers. Implementing these approaches will demonstrate an organization’s commitment to efficiency and budgetary responsibility through its ability to optimize available volunteer resources and keeping operating costs low.
Grant-makers will detect these organizations’ dedication to providing a friendly, nurturing and progressive working environment where volunteers thrive as they collaboratively fulfill their roles. Ultimately, prospective funders will confidently invest in such organizations because the volunteer teams they assemble create incredibly important positive changes affecting the well-being of the community.
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In the meantime, the best of luck with your grant-seeking pursuits and be safe.
