Apr 8, 2014
Creating meaningful volunteer opportunities is an important way to keep your volunteers coming back for more. At a recent Center for Nonprofit Excellence volunteer management training, Sarah Newman, Ronald McDonald House Charities of New Mexico; Stephanie Becker, Amy Biehl High School; and Marjori Krebs, UNM Dept. of Ed shared their best practices for engaging youth volunteers.
Many of the principles were applicable to any volunteer opportunity. One that particularTop of my list was this acronym: PARC
- Preparation
- Action
- Reflection
- Celebration
Preparation: Be ready for volunteers; think about what volunteers can do to be of real benefit to your organization. Think beyond busy work. Find out what the volunteers’ interests are—don’t make someone stuff envelopes that could be helping with your database. Be sure you have enough work to do, always keep a project or two in the wings, in case they complete the first one and still want more. Prepare other staff and let them know when volunteers are coming. Make introductions, use name tags to help identify volunteers as individuals.
Action: If it’s a volunteer’s first time at your organization, give them a brief tour and tell them about your mission and the work you do. Whenever possible, do what you can to make the volunteer opportunity fun and interesting. Put it into context for the volunteers, for example: “because you’re doing this, you are helping hungry people to have food through the holidays. With your help we are able to feed x number of families that might have gone hungry otherwise.” Make sure your volunteers have all the tools they need to complete their task. Be sure to tell them where the restrooms are and provide water and/or coffee and maybe even snacks. The more fun it is, the more they will talk about it to their friends and the more likely they are to come back.
Reflection: Calculate the time spent and let your volunteers know how much money they saved your organization by doing the work (Volunteer Calculator). Help volunteers to think about how the work connects to them in other aspects of their lives. Ask volunteers what the project meant to them.
Celebration: Be sure to thank volunteers. Celebrate the results of the project. If your volunteers agree, take a picture and post on your organization’s Facebook page or website. Do you have an annual volunteer recognition event? It can be as simple as coffee and cookies with board, staff, and if appropriate, clients on hand to thank volunteers. When you interview your volunteers, do you ask them how they like to be thanked? Some like mugs or certificates or hats; some prefer a verbal thank you or a hand-written note. Knowing and honoring your volunteers’ preferences will help them to feel valued by your organization.