Designing and managing volunteer programs

This chapter elaborates the essential components of the volunteer program and offers suggestions for increasing their effectiveness. Two caveats with respect to coverage are in order. First, one might reasonably add risk management for volunteers and volunteer programs to the listing above, since it has become a concern to many host organizations. Second, the chapter concentrates on “service” volunteers, individuals who donate their time to help other people directly, rather than on “policy” volunteers. Service volunteers can bring a wealth of practical experience and knowledge that might prove a great asset to a governing or advisory board. A primary purpose of the planning meetings and discussions is to develop policies and procedures governing volunteer involvement endorsed by all parties. The volunteer program can also be decentralized in individual departments within a larger nonprofit organization. The organization must adapt traditional hierarchical approaches to managing volunteers, including use of teamwork and collaboration, to obtain the best results.