Recruiting & Using Executive Volunteer

Using Skills-Based Volunteers Nancy Long Executive Service Corps of Washington

Purpose
Provide tools and resources that help nonprofits successfully tap into the professional skills of volunteers…
...and encourage companies to facilitate the engagement of their employees in skills-based roles.

Key Outcomes
At the end of this session you will be able to:
Identify factors important to a successful match with a skills based volunteer
Develop a scope of work for SBV
Identify sources of skills-based volunteers

Definition: Using the professional skills of volunteers to build organizational strength and increase nonprofit capacity.
Skills-based Volunteerism

What’s different? “ You don’t need to know where you are going. Just keep walking.”

Reinvent Volunteerism
Individually based (not a program)
Project-based—Driven by scope of work
Unpaid (or stipended) staff role
Volunteer is an active participant
Agency describes the outcome
Volunteer contributes to how the outcome is reached
Enhanced experience if:
Paired with learning
Diverse/Intergenerational

What are some possible benefits of using SBV?

What professional skills might be useful to nonprofits?

W hat are the barriers? Results of the Community Experience Partnership Assessment
Philanthropy is providing very little support for volunteerism of any kind, particularly SBV or older adult engagement
Volunteer management is underfunded and underdeveloped

Focus for Today
NFPs do not understand how to match people
NFPs need to assess readiness to use SBV
Need to learn to “contract” with volunteers
NFPs need to tap into volunteer brokers

Step #1: Matching Volunteers
Square peg in a round hole?
Determining a good “fit”

Typology for Matching Volunteer Requirements with Organizational Needs Volunteer Organization Volunteer’s values about who they want to help Focus/mission; staff/board diversity; who is served Volunteer’s values about workplace culture Organizational culture Volunteer’s preferences about using/developing their skills Organizational needs (what needs to be done; what expertise is needed) Volunteer’s preferences about the structure and benefits of a volunteer opportunity Structure and benefits of the volunteer opportunity

Typology Exercise
Choose a partner
One plays the role of the volunteer
One plays the role of the organization
Read the description of the nonprofit’s project and the profile of the volunteer and attempt to determine if there is a good match

Typology for Matching Volunteer Requirements with Organizational Needs Volunteer Organization Volunteer’s values about who they want to help Focus/mission; staff/board diversity; who is served Volunteer’s values about workplace culture Organizational culture Volunteer’s preferences about using/developing their skills Organizational needs (what needs to be done what expertise is needed) Volunteer’s preferences about the structure and benefits of a volunteer opportunity Structure and benefits of the volunteer opportunity

Challenge: Cross walking skills
From the corporate to…
the nonprofit sector

Pro Bono Action Tank www.probonoactiontank.org
Competencies Map
A catalog mapping needs to expertise
76 opportunities and the occupations that can have the needed competencies
Select
By project
By occupation

Select By Project
Select a category : Fundraising
Select a project: Fundraising Management Process
A fundraising management process project helps a nonprofit define a process for managing fundraising activities to increase efficiency, effectiveness and predictability.

Project Viability
Pro Bono Project Viability :
Time Sensitivity Risk
Scope Creep Risk
Sector Knowledge Risk
Relevant Occupations
General and Operations Managers

General and Operations Managers
1,663,280 potential pro bono consultants
Plan, direct, or coordinate the operations of companies/ organizations. Duties and responsibilities include formulating policies, managing daily operations, and planning the use of materials and human resources. Include owners and managers who head small business establishments whose duties are primarily managerial.

Step #2: Contracting with SBV
Defining the project
Scope of Work (what, how, to what end?)
Deliverables (products/outcomes)
Timeline
Resources needed
Accountability/Evaluation process

Contracting with SBV
Scope of work:
Problem to be solved
What will be done/ by when
Generally how it will be done
Where will the resources come from
Deliverables
Products of the work, incl. interim products
Outcomes
Accountability/Evaluation

Contracting Exercise
Develop a scope of work for role you defined
Problem to be solved
What will be done
Generally how it will be done
Where will the resources come from
Develop a list of deliverables
Products
Outcomes

Define what does success looks like?
How will you evaluate success of the match?
On what basis will you judge the volunteer?
Define desired behaviors and the process for assessing if those desired behaviors are being displayed

Assessing Readiness for SBV Supplement to the Volunteer Management Audit (Energize Inc./Susan Ellis) Sample standard #1:We insure that specialized volunteers are given the staff support and resources needed to accomplish their projects.

Assessing Readiness Sample standard #2: The volunteer program is staffed to meet the increased demands of managing skilled volunteers Staff do not have time to work with skilled volunteers. No one is assigned the primary responsibility of managing skilled volunteers.

Want an easier way to efficiently and effectively use skills based volunteers?
… .Use Volunteer Brokers!

What is a volunteer broker?
A 'volunteer broker' matches the volunteer with a community need.
The advantages of brokers are:
More efficient for vol and org
Able to identify broad array of opportunities
Able to match from a broad pool of vol
Understand sector-specific needs
Understand employer goals

WAACO
Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations
www.waaco.org
Pro bono lawyers

Taproot Foundation Services
Marketing (annual report, brochure)
Information Technology (Database, website)
Strategic Management
Leadership Development and Strategic HR

Executive Service Corps of WA
Capacity building
Consulting services (not legal/tech)
Coaches, Trainers, Executive Advisors
Financial Fitness, Emergency Planning
All ages: 70% in workforce; 30% retired
250 Professionals from business, education, nonprofit, government

Other Brokers
NPower - technology volunteers
Corporate Volunteer Programs that do the engagement management
Volunteer Centers that do the engagement management.

Working with SBV over 50
10,000 people turn 60 each day
King County - 27% of the population
Highly educated population = increased volunteerism
48% of working adults over 45 are already volunteers

The experience gain
Few expect traditional retirement: 80% plan to work beyond 65…
… but 57% say it's very important that they have work (paid and unpaid) that
gives them a sense of purpose
keeps them involved with people
and helps them improve their communities

Working with SBV in their 20s/30s
Give options
Be flexible and clear about expectations
Engage in smaller projects to build commitment
Be open to how the work gets done
Appreciate their technology knowledge and experience

Discussion
Do you feel more prepared to work with SBV?
What are the biggest barriers to your organization using SBVs?

Contact Information
Nancy Long, Executive Director,
Executive Service Corps of Washington
[email_address] 206.682.6704
www.escwa.org

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Recruiting & Using Executive Volunteer

by 501 Commons on Aug 21, 2009

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