Too often the role of engaging volunteers falls exclusively to the volunteer program manager. It's not uncommon to hear the phrase "your volunteers" used within organizations. How do you make volunteer engagement everyone's job? This webinar will provide you with the tools to become an advocate for volunteer engagement. Learn how to create a step by step communication plan to reinforce the importance of volunteer engagement to key stakeholders within your organization.
Where Do I Go From Here? Evolving your Volunteer Program for More InvolvementVolunteerMatch
How long do volunteers usually stay with your program? Do you struggle with keeping them interested, involved and engaged? This webinar will help you think about new strategies and help you evolve your program to include new roles and responsibilities for volunteers, pathways for more involvement and leadership positions in your program, how recognition plays a role in retention, and the importance of including continuing education and professional development to keep your volunteers engaged. Tools to help you evaluate your program implement new ideas will be provided.
In a Volunteer Recruitment Rut? Steps to Up Your Tech GameVolunteerMatch
With new, powerful technology popping up all over the web, managing online volunteer recruitment can be a time-consuming undertaking. But it doesn’t have to be. What if we told you there’s an easier way to maximize your volunteer opportunities’ reach and streamline your online recruitment efforts so you can focus on other parts of your program, like engaging volunteers?
In this best practices webinar, VolunteerMatch and the Association for Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE) for shared insights into recruiting great volunteers online and tips for crafting an irresistible volunteer opportunity.
If you recognize the value in recruiting volunteers online or are having trouble finding the right fit lately, watch this video recording of our webinar: http://bit.ly/2q8JNwv.
Are you engaging volunteers with an eye to the future? Do you know what your volunteer program should look like in 3 or 5 years? Join us as we talk about the fundamentals for creating a strategic plan for volunteer engagement for your organizations. This webinar will include components that should be included as well as ideas for working with organization leaders to include strategic goals for volunteer engagement in your organization's overall strategic plan.
Measuring Success: How to Strategically Assess Your ProgramVolunteerMatch
Your volunteer engagement program can be measured by more than just the hours a volunteer gives your organization. What other kinds of information should you keep track of, and how do you know if you're doing a good job with your volunteer engagement program? This webinar will help you think through both the quantitative and qualitative information you can use to evaluate your program.
Walking the Walk: Engage Volunteers in your Volunteer Engagement ProgramVolunteerMatch
Stop just talking the talk and start walking the walk! Learn how to effectively delegate volunteer engagement and management work to volunteers so you have the opportunity to "think bigger." We'll discuss evaluating your program for volunteer engagement, determining how best to use volunteers, creating a communication plan, screening and training volunteers to be an important part of your volunteer recruiting, retention and recognition plans.
As leaders of volunteer engagement we want to share the impact volunteers have in our organization and in the community, but often the information we track doesn’t help us tell that story - The real story of volunteer engagement is so much more than the number of volunteers and hours served.
In this workshop Jennifer will discuss gathering the right information to inform your story and the key components to good storytelling. She'll also share how to build support and buy-in for the work volunteers do through compelling storytelling, and how to engage other staff – paid and volunteer – in this work.
During this workshop participants will be asked to explore how they tell the story of volunteer impact in their organization now, and through facilitated group discussion and brainstorming create a story that more accurately shares the work that volunteers do, identify what information could quantify or qualify the impact of that work, and leave with a worksheet and resources to begin telling and sharing that story.
What do you do when it's time to ask a volunteer to leave your organization? This webinar will give you the tools to address challenges around difficult volunteers, including volunteers aging in place and entrenched volunteers. You'll also learn how to minimize these situations in the future. Suggestions for determining when a volunteer should be terminated, and making it easier on you, other volunteers, and staff will be presented. The role that risk management plays in these decisions will also be included.
Build Staff Buy-in for your Volunteer Engagement ProgramVolunteerMatch
Is your organization open to engaging volunteers in new ways? Often one of the biggest challenges to a new model of volunteer engagement is the resistance of paid staff. Often attitudes and fears of our co-workers prevent us from expanding the work that volunteers do. But, if you've never worked with volunteers before, it can be scary. In this webinar we'll discuss strategies for working with paid staff to engage volunteers. We'll cover what you can do to alleviate some of those fears, strategies for working within a Union environment, and how you can train and support your coworkers as they become responsible for managing volunteers.
Where Do I Go From Here? Evolving your Volunteer Program for More InvolvementVolunteerMatch
How long do volunteers usually stay with your program? Do you struggle with keeping them interested, involved and engaged? This webinar will help you think about new strategies and help you evolve your program to include new roles and responsibilities for volunteers, pathways for more involvement and leadership positions in your program, how recognition plays a role in retention, and the importance of including continuing education and professional development to keep your volunteers engaged. Tools to help you evaluate your program implement new ideas will be provided.
In a Volunteer Recruitment Rut? Steps to Up Your Tech GameVolunteerMatch
With new, powerful technology popping up all over the web, managing online volunteer recruitment can be a time-consuming undertaking. But it doesn’t have to be. What if we told you there’s an easier way to maximize your volunteer opportunities’ reach and streamline your online recruitment efforts so you can focus on other parts of your program, like engaging volunteers?
In this best practices webinar, VolunteerMatch and the Association for Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE) for shared insights into recruiting great volunteers online and tips for crafting an irresistible volunteer opportunity.
If you recognize the value in recruiting volunteers online or are having trouble finding the right fit lately, watch this video recording of our webinar: http://bit.ly/2q8JNwv.
Are you engaging volunteers with an eye to the future? Do you know what your volunteer program should look like in 3 or 5 years? Join us as we talk about the fundamentals for creating a strategic plan for volunteer engagement for your organizations. This webinar will include components that should be included as well as ideas for working with organization leaders to include strategic goals for volunteer engagement in your organization's overall strategic plan.
Measuring Success: How to Strategically Assess Your ProgramVolunteerMatch
Your volunteer engagement program can be measured by more than just the hours a volunteer gives your organization. What other kinds of information should you keep track of, and how do you know if you're doing a good job with your volunteer engagement program? This webinar will help you think through both the quantitative and qualitative information you can use to evaluate your program.
Walking the Walk: Engage Volunteers in your Volunteer Engagement ProgramVolunteerMatch
Stop just talking the talk and start walking the walk! Learn how to effectively delegate volunteer engagement and management work to volunteers so you have the opportunity to "think bigger." We'll discuss evaluating your program for volunteer engagement, determining how best to use volunteers, creating a communication plan, screening and training volunteers to be an important part of your volunteer recruiting, retention and recognition plans.
As leaders of volunteer engagement we want to share the impact volunteers have in our organization and in the community, but often the information we track doesn’t help us tell that story - The real story of volunteer engagement is so much more than the number of volunteers and hours served.
In this workshop Jennifer will discuss gathering the right information to inform your story and the key components to good storytelling. She'll also share how to build support and buy-in for the work volunteers do through compelling storytelling, and how to engage other staff – paid and volunteer – in this work.
During this workshop participants will be asked to explore how they tell the story of volunteer impact in their organization now, and through facilitated group discussion and brainstorming create a story that more accurately shares the work that volunteers do, identify what information could quantify or qualify the impact of that work, and leave with a worksheet and resources to begin telling and sharing that story.
What do you do when it's time to ask a volunteer to leave your organization? This webinar will give you the tools to address challenges around difficult volunteers, including volunteers aging in place and entrenched volunteers. You'll also learn how to minimize these situations in the future. Suggestions for determining when a volunteer should be terminated, and making it easier on you, other volunteers, and staff will be presented. The role that risk management plays in these decisions will also be included.
Build Staff Buy-in for your Volunteer Engagement ProgramVolunteerMatch
Is your organization open to engaging volunteers in new ways? Often one of the biggest challenges to a new model of volunteer engagement is the resistance of paid staff. Often attitudes and fears of our co-workers prevent us from expanding the work that volunteers do. But, if you've never worked with volunteers before, it can be scary. In this webinar we'll discuss strategies for working with paid staff to engage volunteers. We'll cover what you can do to alleviate some of those fears, strategies for working within a Union environment, and how you can train and support your coworkers as they become responsible for managing volunteers.
Creating a Culture of Volunteer EngagementVolunteerMatch
It's important to create a culture of inclusion and engagement of volunteers within your organization. But, it can be hard to recognize what your current culture says to volunteers, or identify how to make changes to help volunteers feel more welcome. This webinar will help you identify how your organization's current culture is shaping or limiting what volunteers do, and provide steps you can take to start to create more understanding, respect, and appreciation for engaging volunteers.
At VolunteerMatch we have a unique view into what volunteers are looking for in an opportunity. The age of one-size fits all volunteer engagement is coming to an end. This webinar will start with a review of some of the things that we know about what volunteers are looking for in an opportunity. It will then help you use this information to start designing volunteer opportunities and determining who is the “right” volunteer for your program. You’ll also learn how “word of mouth” plays such a large role in attracting volunteers to your organization and how social media makes this even more important.
This is a great introduction to some of our more advanced webinars including Where do I go from here? Engage Volunteers in New Ways, and Developing a Strategic Plan for Volunteer Engagement
Volunteer recognition programs your employees will love - March 2015 Voluntee...VolunteerMatch
Employee volunteers who go above and beyond deserve recognition. Rewards and awards programs offer your employees incentive to get involved, fun competition with their coworkers, and a feeling of being appreciated.
But we think these volunteer champions deserve something more than a free t-shirt. In this month’s Best Practice Network (BPN) Webinar, we’ll hear from Nationwide and AT&T – two companies that get creative with their employee recognition programs. They’ll inspire you to start your own unique reward practices.
Oh, and we’ll be doing things a little differently this month. We’re excited to announce “Bite-Sized BPNs”: The same great information packed into half the time. Pairs well with coffee, lunch, or snack breaks.
Writing Accurate and Useful Position DescriptionsVolunteerMatch
A good position description can make the recruitment and placement of volunteers so much easier, but this foundation component of a program is often overlooked or put into a folder and never used.
This webinar will start with the basics of what should be included in a position description and will help you create or update position descriptions for all of your volunteer opportunities.
Once those position descriptions are created – use them! Learn how accurate and up-to-date position descriptions can help you recruit and train volunteers, and how they can help with retention and the development of leadership positions within your volunteer engagement program.
You want to share the impact volunteers have in your organization and in the community, but often the information you track doesn’t help you tell that story. This webinar will help you move past number of volunteers and number of hours and start telling the real story. You'll learn about information gathering and the key components to good storytelling, how to evaluate your current measurements and how to build support for a more thorough measurement and evaluation program, and how to engage other staff – paid and volunteer – in this work. You'll also receive a worksheet to help you begin to tell the story of volunteer impact in your organization. (last slide of the deck)
Social Media & Creating Impactful Recruitment MessagesVolunteerMatch
Social media is a great way to recruit volunteers, but you want to make sure you're creating great opportunities, and telling the whole story of volunteer engagement in your organization.
Join this free webinar to learn more about social media, and how you can use social media tools to increase your volunteer engagement and expand your volunteer recruitment.
Volunteer engagement is changing. What do you need to know about social media as a volunteer program manager? How can you use social media to promote your volunteer opportunities and recruit volunteers? This webinar will offer an introduction to including social media in your volunteer recruitment and retention plans. You'll see examples of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as blogs that other nonprofits have successfully used to draw attention to their organizations and volunteer opportunities.
You'll also learn about the social media tools available as part of your VolunteerMatch account that can help you promote your volunteer opportunity on other social networking sites.
VolunteerMatch is here to help make it easy for you to recruit volunteers, manage existing volunteers, and promote your organization.
Creative and Innovative Recognition Strategies for Today's VolunteersVolunteerMatch
Are you doing the right things to recognize the work volunteers do for your organization? Are your recognition strategies and events stuck in the past? In this webinar we'll discuss what motivates today's volunteers and discuss strategies for matching recognition to motivation. We'll also share examples and ideas to incorporate creative and meaningful recognition into your volunteer engagement strategy
New to volunteer management? Looking for a refresher on the basics? This webinar will walk you through the three primary Rs - recruitment, retention and recognition. We'll discuss the most popular program components such as interviews, orientations, volunteer handbooks, and more. And, we'll talk about the importance of managing risk for your program and your organization. All attendees will also receive a sample packet with examples of program documents and program assessment checklists to help you evaluate your existing program.
Integrating Virtual Opportunities and Remote Volunteers into your Volunteer P...VolunteerMatch
Managing remote volunteers can be challenging - how do you supervise, evaluate, or recognize the work of a volunteer you never meet face to face? The good news is that now, with an ever growing set of online tools, building an online community and connecting with someone across miles (or continents) is easier. In this webinar Jennifer Bennett and Deanna Cole will discuss best practices for creating meaningful relationships with remote volunteers, including building and empowering remote teams, managing projects by letting go but not checking out, and creating a two-way communication plan to share the work of remote volunteers with the organization and share what's happening at the organization with remote volunteers. While it is strongly encouraged and extremely beneficial to attend both Part I and Part II of this series, attending both is not required.
Central Ohio VAN - Best Practices for Recruiting OnlineVolunteerMatch
Learn all of the tips and tricks needed to successfully recruit volunteers online. We'll also share some of the secrets to using VolunteerMatch to find the volunteers you're looking for!
VolunteerMatch Best Practices for Recruiting OnlineVolunteerMatch
Learn how to make the most of your VolunteerMatch account by creating your volunteer opportunities using best practices. This webinar will cover the eight simple steps to making your opportunities stand out on VolunteerMatch.
Re-energizing your Volunteer Program by Designing Mission-Driven OpportuntiesVolunteerMatch
Too often organizations look at volunteer engagement as something that's nice to have, and never realize the true potential of volunteers. But, our organizations become more successful, responsive, and effective when we look at volunteers as a key component to our organization's success. In this session we'll discuss creating a connection between the work volunteers do and the mission of your organization. You'll learn how to design volunteer opportunities with real impact, and how to tell the story of that impact both within your organization and to your community. Attendees will leave with sample mission-driven position descriptions and a worksheet to help craft their organization's story of volunteer engagement.
So many volunteer managers depend on groups of volunteers to meet the needs of their programs. Different types of groups can come with their own challenges.
We’ll discuss ideas for working with corporate groups, youth groups, and other groups. Effective practices for engagement, ideas for diversifying the work and commitment level of volunteer groups, the importance of creating opportunities with measurable impacts, and communicating those impacts will be discussed.
Interviewing each prospective volunteer can seem overwhelming, but it's one of the best ways to ensure that the volunteers you recruit are the volunteers you need. This webinar introduces a variety of question types used in volunteer interviews and offers strategies for honing your interview skills. Materials will be provided to help you implement this process in your organization, as well as a training syllabus so you can learn how to recruit and train a volunteer staff to assist with prospective volunteer interviews.
Re=Energize Your Volunteer Program: Creating Mission-Driven OpportunitiesVolunteerMatch
Too often organizations look at volunteer engagement as something that's nice to have, and never realize the true potential of volunteers. But, our organizations become more successful, responsive, and effective when we look at volunteers as a key component to our organization's success. In this session we'll discuss creating a connection between the work volunteers do and the mission of your organization. You'll learn how to design volunteer opportunities with real impact, and how to tell the story of that impact both within your organization and to your community. Attendees will leave with sample mission-driven position descriptions and a worksheet to help craft their organization's story of volunteer engagement.
Playing by the Rules: Creating an Effective Volunteer HandbookVolunteerMatch
When was the last time you reviewed your Volunteer Handbook or Policies and Procedures Manual? It's probably been too long. Learn how to create a living document that can help both paid and volunteer staff be better informed and know what is expected of them. A good Volunteer Handbook can also help you better identify and deal with challenging volunteers. Whether you're just starting to create a Handbook or if you're looking for best practices on information to include, this webinar will evaluate the Handbook you have and help you create a stronger framework for your volunteer engagement program.
Balancing it all: The Shifting Role of Volunteer Engagement LeadersVolunteerMatch
Roles and organizational priorities are shifting. It's exciting, but it can also feel like there's too much to do and no one to help you! In this session we'll discuss strategies for evolving and managing your role, being 'all things to all people' and how delegating and developing processes can help.
From the Inside Out: Creating a Culture of Volunteer EngagementVolunteerMatch
Are the things you value and believe about volunteers reflected in your organization’s culture? Too often volunteers are thought of as a “nice to have” rather than a critical component to success. If there’s a lack of understanding of the real value volunteers bring to your organization, or if you want to consciously develop a culture that welcomes volunteers this workshop will help you work within your organization to create real inclusion and understanding of the work volunteers do.
Creating a Comprehensive & Engaging Volunteer Training ProgramVolunteerMatch
What do you volunteers need to know to be successful? This webinar will start with the basics and help you understand how to determine what information you should be sharing with your volunteers, and how that can be used to create a curriculum. We’ll then discuss how to present this information in a variety of ways using different delivery methods that appeal to adult learners. Assessing what your volunteers have learned, and creating ongoing training and professional development training for your volunteers will also be covered.
Creating a Culture of Volunteer EngagementVolunteerMatch
It's important to create a culture of inclusion and engagement of volunteers within your organization. But, it can be hard to recognize what your current culture says to volunteers, or identify how to make changes to help volunteers feel more welcome. This webinar will help you identify how your organization's current culture is shaping or limiting what volunteers do, and provide steps you can take to start to create more understanding, respect, and appreciation for engaging volunteers.
At VolunteerMatch we have a unique view into what volunteers are looking for in an opportunity. The age of one-size fits all volunteer engagement is coming to an end. This webinar will start with a review of some of the things that we know about what volunteers are looking for in an opportunity. It will then help you use this information to start designing volunteer opportunities and determining who is the “right” volunteer for your program. You’ll also learn how “word of mouth” plays such a large role in attracting volunteers to your organization and how social media makes this even more important.
This is a great introduction to some of our more advanced webinars including Where do I go from here? Engage Volunteers in New Ways, and Developing a Strategic Plan for Volunteer Engagement
Volunteer recognition programs your employees will love - March 2015 Voluntee...VolunteerMatch
Employee volunteers who go above and beyond deserve recognition. Rewards and awards programs offer your employees incentive to get involved, fun competition with their coworkers, and a feeling of being appreciated.
But we think these volunteer champions deserve something more than a free t-shirt. In this month’s Best Practice Network (BPN) Webinar, we’ll hear from Nationwide and AT&T – two companies that get creative with their employee recognition programs. They’ll inspire you to start your own unique reward practices.
Oh, and we’ll be doing things a little differently this month. We’re excited to announce “Bite-Sized BPNs”: The same great information packed into half the time. Pairs well with coffee, lunch, or snack breaks.
Writing Accurate and Useful Position DescriptionsVolunteerMatch
A good position description can make the recruitment and placement of volunteers so much easier, but this foundation component of a program is often overlooked or put into a folder and never used.
This webinar will start with the basics of what should be included in a position description and will help you create or update position descriptions for all of your volunteer opportunities.
Once those position descriptions are created – use them! Learn how accurate and up-to-date position descriptions can help you recruit and train volunteers, and how they can help with retention and the development of leadership positions within your volunteer engagement program.
You want to share the impact volunteers have in your organization and in the community, but often the information you track doesn’t help you tell that story. This webinar will help you move past number of volunteers and number of hours and start telling the real story. You'll learn about information gathering and the key components to good storytelling, how to evaluate your current measurements and how to build support for a more thorough measurement and evaluation program, and how to engage other staff – paid and volunteer – in this work. You'll also receive a worksheet to help you begin to tell the story of volunteer impact in your organization. (last slide of the deck)
Social Media & Creating Impactful Recruitment MessagesVolunteerMatch
Social media is a great way to recruit volunteers, but you want to make sure you're creating great opportunities, and telling the whole story of volunteer engagement in your organization.
Join this free webinar to learn more about social media, and how you can use social media tools to increase your volunteer engagement and expand your volunteer recruitment.
Volunteer engagement is changing. What do you need to know about social media as a volunteer program manager? How can you use social media to promote your volunteer opportunities and recruit volunteers? This webinar will offer an introduction to including social media in your volunteer recruitment and retention plans. You'll see examples of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as blogs that other nonprofits have successfully used to draw attention to their organizations and volunteer opportunities.
You'll also learn about the social media tools available as part of your VolunteerMatch account that can help you promote your volunteer opportunity on other social networking sites.
VolunteerMatch is here to help make it easy for you to recruit volunteers, manage existing volunteers, and promote your organization.
Creative and Innovative Recognition Strategies for Today's VolunteersVolunteerMatch
Are you doing the right things to recognize the work volunteers do for your organization? Are your recognition strategies and events stuck in the past? In this webinar we'll discuss what motivates today's volunteers and discuss strategies for matching recognition to motivation. We'll also share examples and ideas to incorporate creative and meaningful recognition into your volunteer engagement strategy
New to volunteer management? Looking for a refresher on the basics? This webinar will walk you through the three primary Rs - recruitment, retention and recognition. We'll discuss the most popular program components such as interviews, orientations, volunteer handbooks, and more. And, we'll talk about the importance of managing risk for your program and your organization. All attendees will also receive a sample packet with examples of program documents and program assessment checklists to help you evaluate your existing program.
Integrating Virtual Opportunities and Remote Volunteers into your Volunteer P...VolunteerMatch
Managing remote volunteers can be challenging - how do you supervise, evaluate, or recognize the work of a volunteer you never meet face to face? The good news is that now, with an ever growing set of online tools, building an online community and connecting with someone across miles (or continents) is easier. In this webinar Jennifer Bennett and Deanna Cole will discuss best practices for creating meaningful relationships with remote volunteers, including building and empowering remote teams, managing projects by letting go but not checking out, and creating a two-way communication plan to share the work of remote volunteers with the organization and share what's happening at the organization with remote volunteers. While it is strongly encouraged and extremely beneficial to attend both Part I and Part II of this series, attending both is not required.
Central Ohio VAN - Best Practices for Recruiting OnlineVolunteerMatch
Learn all of the tips and tricks needed to successfully recruit volunteers online. We'll also share some of the secrets to using VolunteerMatch to find the volunteers you're looking for!
VolunteerMatch Best Practices for Recruiting OnlineVolunteerMatch
Learn how to make the most of your VolunteerMatch account by creating your volunteer opportunities using best practices. This webinar will cover the eight simple steps to making your opportunities stand out on VolunteerMatch.
Re-energizing your Volunteer Program by Designing Mission-Driven OpportuntiesVolunteerMatch
Too often organizations look at volunteer engagement as something that's nice to have, and never realize the true potential of volunteers. But, our organizations become more successful, responsive, and effective when we look at volunteers as a key component to our organization's success. In this session we'll discuss creating a connection between the work volunteers do and the mission of your organization. You'll learn how to design volunteer opportunities with real impact, and how to tell the story of that impact both within your organization and to your community. Attendees will leave with sample mission-driven position descriptions and a worksheet to help craft their organization's story of volunteer engagement.
So many volunteer managers depend on groups of volunteers to meet the needs of their programs. Different types of groups can come with their own challenges.
We’ll discuss ideas for working with corporate groups, youth groups, and other groups. Effective practices for engagement, ideas for diversifying the work and commitment level of volunteer groups, the importance of creating opportunities with measurable impacts, and communicating those impacts will be discussed.
Interviewing each prospective volunteer can seem overwhelming, but it's one of the best ways to ensure that the volunteers you recruit are the volunteers you need. This webinar introduces a variety of question types used in volunteer interviews and offers strategies for honing your interview skills. Materials will be provided to help you implement this process in your organization, as well as a training syllabus so you can learn how to recruit and train a volunteer staff to assist with prospective volunteer interviews.
Re=Energize Your Volunteer Program: Creating Mission-Driven OpportunitiesVolunteerMatch
Too often organizations look at volunteer engagement as something that's nice to have, and never realize the true potential of volunteers. But, our organizations become more successful, responsive, and effective when we look at volunteers as a key component to our organization's success. In this session we'll discuss creating a connection between the work volunteers do and the mission of your organization. You'll learn how to design volunteer opportunities with real impact, and how to tell the story of that impact both within your organization and to your community. Attendees will leave with sample mission-driven position descriptions and a worksheet to help craft their organization's story of volunteer engagement.
Playing by the Rules: Creating an Effective Volunteer HandbookVolunteerMatch
When was the last time you reviewed your Volunteer Handbook or Policies and Procedures Manual? It's probably been too long. Learn how to create a living document that can help both paid and volunteer staff be better informed and know what is expected of them. A good Volunteer Handbook can also help you better identify and deal with challenging volunteers. Whether you're just starting to create a Handbook or if you're looking for best practices on information to include, this webinar will evaluate the Handbook you have and help you create a stronger framework for your volunteer engagement program.
Balancing it all: The Shifting Role of Volunteer Engagement LeadersVolunteerMatch
Roles and organizational priorities are shifting. It's exciting, but it can also feel like there's too much to do and no one to help you! In this session we'll discuss strategies for evolving and managing your role, being 'all things to all people' and how delegating and developing processes can help.
From the Inside Out: Creating a Culture of Volunteer EngagementVolunteerMatch
Are the things you value and believe about volunteers reflected in your organization’s culture? Too often volunteers are thought of as a “nice to have” rather than a critical component to success. If there’s a lack of understanding of the real value volunteers bring to your organization, or if you want to consciously develop a culture that welcomes volunteers this workshop will help you work within your organization to create real inclusion and understanding of the work volunteers do.
Creating a Comprehensive & Engaging Volunteer Training ProgramVolunteerMatch
What do you volunteers need to know to be successful? This webinar will start with the basics and help you understand how to determine what information you should be sharing with your volunteers, and how that can be used to create a curriculum. We’ll then discuss how to present this information in a variety of ways using different delivery methods that appeal to adult learners. Assessing what your volunteers have learned, and creating ongoing training and professional development training for your volunteers will also be covered.
Integrating skilled volunteers into your existing volunteer program is both exciting and scary. If you're thinking about adding skilled volunteers to your program, or if you've just started, this webinar can help you make the experience successful for both the volunteer and the organization. Navigating the introduction of the idea into your organization, developing the art of delegating work to volunteers, and setting achievable outcomes will be covered.
Creating Virtual Opportunities & Engaging Remote Volunteers - Part 1VolunteerMatch
Beginning to incorporate virtual volunteer opportunities into your volunteer engagement program can be tricky. But, by thinking creatively, embracing technology, and creating screening, training and retention plans built specifically for remote volunteers, you can engage volunteers with the talents you need even if they're on the other side of the state, the country or the world! Join Jennifer Bennett and Deanna Cole as they discuss best practices for creating successful virtual opportunities, and building and managing relationships with remote volunteers. Part II will build on these concepts and discuss in more detail managing remote volunteers. Sample position descriptions and recruitment messages will be provided. While it is strongly encouraged and extremely beneficial to attend both Part I and Part II of this series, attending both is not required.
Managing and recruiting seasonal volunteers is always a challenge, particularly when volunteer interest can be skewed towards certain times of the year. While holiday volunteers can be a great asset to your organization, how do you recruit volunteers for the rest of the year? We'll discuss some strategies for maintaining a consistent volunteer base, and conveying the importance of year-round volunteers to your seasonal volunteer team. Made possible through funding from the Walmart Foundation.
Introducing a volunteer mentoring program - Deanna Lynn Cole ivolunteer Unive...Deanna Cole, CVA
Introducing a volunteer mentoring program
By Deanna Lynn Cole
www.ivolunteerUNIVERSITY.com
When engaging volunteers it can be difficult to ensure that each volunteer receives the time, attention, and training that they need to be successful - this is where a volunteer mentoring program can help! Mentoring improves success in volunteer placement, increases recruiting and retention rates, engages seasoned volunteers and creates a sustainable practice for your organization. By encouraging a learning culture through mentoring, you can ensure that volunteers take an active role in spreading knowledge and best practices throughout their organization. In the first part of this two-part session, you'll learn how a mentoring program can benefit your volunteer engagement program and your organization, and some key steps and best practices for creating a mentoring program. Part II will cover building and managing a team of volunteer mentors. While it is strongly encouraged and extremely beneficial to attend both Part I and Part II of this series, attending both is not required.
What You'll Learn:
How a volunteer mentor program can positively impact a volunteer engagement program.
The benefits of mentoring to volunteers and the organization.
How to structure a mentoring program.
Best practices for introducing a volunteer mentoring program into an organization.
Who Should Attend:
Volunteer Program Managers
Those responsible for managing or engaging volunteers
FMI contact Deanna Lynn Cole at ivolunteerUNIVERSITY@gmail.com
How people want to spend their volunteer time is changing. What volunteers are looking for today, and will be looking for tomorrow, is different from what volunteers wanted just a few years ago. Whether you're looking to invite volunteers into your organization or send employees out into the community as volunteers this session can help. 2015 VolunteerMatch Summit attendees learned how to design opportunities that provide the right experience for volunteers by rethinking the work (and the way it's talked about), focusing on the impact of the work, and thinking about the skills, experiences and characteristics of the "right" volunteer for the role.
In this pitch, I talk about my path as a social entrepreneur and what I see as the key factors for succeeding as a social entrepreneur, or as a social enterprise
Fighting Hunger Together: The Basics of Volunteer ManagementVolunteerMatch
Modeled on our popular webinar The New Volunteer Manager’s Toolkit we’ll discuss all of the basic program components from volunteer handbooks to creating a comprehensive volunteer retention plan popular in volunteer engagement, but with a focus on the needs of hunger relief organizations. This webinar was originally designed for new volunteer managers, but even seasoned professionals can learn something new.
Cost:
Free
Designing meaningful, mission-driven virtual volunteer opportunities, and managing remote volunteers can be challenging. How do you create work than can be done independently, and still supervise, evaluate, or recognize the work of a volunteer you never meet face to face? The good news is that now, with an ever growing set of online tools, building an online community and connecting with someone across miles (or continents) is easier. In this webinar we will discuss best practices for creating those opportunities and developing meaningful relationships with remote volunteers, including building and empowering remote teams, managing projects by letting go but not checking out, and creating a two-way communication plan to share the work of remote volunteers with the organization and share what's happening at the organization with remote volunteers.
August BPN - Professional Development: Using Your Skills to Get Ahead and Hel...VolunteerMatch
As a corporate responsibility professional, you understand the importance of focusing on complex social issues and creating social change. But what about creating positive change in yourself to gain a wider and deeper perspective of your role and the overall work of your company? Learn how to step out of your comfort zone to gain professional development and how pro bono volunteering can be the answer for employee volunteerism.
In this month’s Best Practice Network (BPN) Webcast, hosted by ACCP, we’ll hear from two thought-leaders in volunteerism and professional development. Katherine Campbell, Executive Director at Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (CCVA), manages professional credentialing programs for leaders of volunteers. Amanda MacArthur, Vice President of Global Pro Bono & Engagement at PYXERA Global, designs and implements corporate social responsibility programs for the public and private sector focused on skills-based volunteerism. Both have extensive backgrounds in designing volunteer programs that benefit the organization, company, and individual. Register now!
Amanda MacArthur & Katherine Campbell are authors in VolunteerMatch’s new book Volunteer Engagement 2.0: Ideas and Insights Changing the World. They are just 2 of the 35 volunteer engagement experts sharing their knowledge on what’s next in volunteer engagement.
Book details: http://bit.ly/1HsI5tQ
9 Best Practices for Global RecognitionO.C. Tanner
Global organizations face different challenges in recognizing their employees effectively. This SlideShare outlines nine best practices to help with global recognition strategies.
Engaging Pro Bono and Skills-Based VolunteersVolunteerMatch
Integrating skills-based volunteers into your existing volunteer program is both exciting and scary. If you're thinking about adding skilled volunteers to your program, or if you've just started, this seminar can help you make the experience successful for both the volunteer and the organization. Navigating the introduction of the idea into your organization, developing the art of delegating work to volunteers, and setting achievable outcomes will be covered.
What You'll Learn:
How to design successful skills-based volunteer projects
Strategies for managing skills-based volunteers
Purpose Driven Corporate Social Responsibility is Not a Myth (+ Proof!)!VolunteerMatch
How do you balance purpose and corporate responsibility? And how do directives from leadership fit into your employee volunteer program goals? Last (but certainly not least), how do you create a program that’s inclusive of employee wants? If this feels like a lot to juggle, you’re not alone.
What’s ethics got to do with this? Ethics and Decision Making in Volunteer En...VolunteerMatch
As leaders of volunteer engagement we’re often asked to make difficult decisions. How do we know if the decisions we’re making are the right ones? When you’re in this type of dilemma how do you intervene or lead? In this highly interactive workshop we’ll explore how ethics guide the work we do leading and engaging volunteers, and we’ll practice using ethical decision making. Attendees will leave with a worksheet to help introduce and use ethical decision making in their organization.
Tap into the Power of Training and Set your Volunteers up to Succeed!VolunteerMatch
Are you preparing your volunteers for success, or leaving them to figure things out on their own? This session will explore best practices for adult education, and the need to develop a curriculum that meets the learning needs for new volunteers as well as supports ongoing learning for existing volunteers. In this engaging session we’ll practice effective and creative training delivery methods. Attendees will leave with a sample curriculum and a plan to evaluate their current volunteer training.
How to boost employee engagement with the volunteer match networkVolunteerMatch
Many companies invest a lot of time in researching nonprofits and curating one-off volunteer opportunities for their employees. Yet research shows that one-third of employees won’t actually give through their workplace because they’re not able to choose the causes that matter to them.
What if there were an easy way to connect employees with high-quality volunteer experiences that are meaningful to them?
There is. The VolunteerMatch Network is a consolidation of vetted, real-time nonprofit volunteer needs, all in one place. It can be easily integrated into your existing corporate giving platform in a way that’s tailored to your company’s goals and preferences.
On Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at 2pm ET/11am PT webinar attendees got a walkthrough of:
-Why it’s important to give your employees choice in your volunteer program
-How to balance employee choice with company-sponsored cause areas
-How the VolunteerMatch Network connects employees with causes that are meaningful to them
-How VolunteerMatch’s custom integrations can serve the interests of both your company and its individual employees, while saving you time and money.
Listen to Your Employees: How to Craft a Volunteer Program That Meets Their N...VolunteerMatch
In overwhelming numbers, employees want their companies to offer ways for them to volunteer. Yet, one-third of employees won’t give through their workplace because they’re not able to choose the causes that matter to them. On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, VolunteerMatch presented ways to gauge employee preferences and mobilize employees to give back in the way they want to.
Join this free webinar, hosted only once a year, to learn more about the CCVA and the process for applying for and receiving your CVA. Credentialing in any profession increases credibility and promotes career development. Learn about this unique performance-based credentialing program, the process for becoming Certified in Volunteer Administration and how it can benefit you and your organization. Recommended for those with at least 3 years of experience in any setting.
Stop Wasting Time! How to ‘Go Big’ with Your Employee Volunteer Program’s ImpactVolunteerMatch
We know the benefits employee volunteer programs have on business: increased employee engagement and satisfaction, better recruitment and retention, publicity, skill development, team-building, and more. But how do you maximize these benefits while also achieving the greatest community impact possible? VolunteerMatch delved into this topic in this webinar.
Aligning your volunteer program with employee interestsVolunteerMatch
Studies show that employees seek out companies that embody socially responsible values and provide an outlet for volunteering. You’ve checked those boxes yet can’t seem to get your employees to participate in your volunteer program.
Where’s the disconnect here?
How to Make Volunteering Work for All Your EmployeesVolunteerMatch
On June 13, 2017, VolunteerMatch and Bright Funds teamed up to discuss how to create a multi-faceted corporate volunteer program to engage all employees.
Nonprofit Insights: Stories & Solutions Shaping the Future of Volunteer Scree...VolunteerMatch
It’s undeniable: vetting volunteers is essential in securing your nonprofit’s work.
The way in which you vet volunteers is equally as important. It could make all the difference as to whether a volunteer is mistakenly screened or not. It’s one reason why we’re sharing positive volunteer screening experiences and other stories of how crises happened or were averted from peers in the field.
You’ve just learned about technology options for your nonprofit, and you think, “Great, I’m so excited to get started! But wait—how can we start implementing within our current resources?” Engaging pro bono volunteers might be the right way to go!
Engaging pro bono volunteers for your technology needs will not only allow you to create new ways to deliver on your mission, but it will help broaden your volunteer options as well (in a way that many, many corporate volunteer programs are looking for!).
This session will take you through the entire process of finding just the right volunteer or group of volunteers, including:
How to create an effective job description and project timeline geared toward technology volunteers
Best practices in recruiting pro bono volunteers with specialized skill sets
How to market your new volunteer roles
How to scale your program to accommodate companies seeking pro bono opportunities for their employees
How to align your staff or volunteer structure to support pro bono volunteers
Nonprofit Insights: How Design Thinking Helps You Increase Impact And InnovationVolunteerMatch
Nonprofit organizations provide some of the most basic and essential services to those who need them most: clean water, food, shelter, etc. However, despite often Herculean efforts, many organizations lack resources and find themselves understaffed and underfunded. For organizations to survive, thrive, and fulfill their missions, the key is constant innovation.
During this free webinar, we’ll discuss how innovative nonprofits (e.g. American Red Cross, GRID Alternative, buildOn, etc.) utilize Customer Centric Design Thinking — a methodology developed at the Institute of Design at Stanford — to think outside-the-box and find ways to leverage existing resources, volunteers, staff, and social media presence to increase impact. We’ll then discuss methods for using design thinking to increase engagement, awareness, volunteerism, and fundraising at your organization.
This webinar will be lead by Ryall Carroll, Ph.D. Marketing and Co-Founder of raiserve.org.
At VM Summit 16, we heard from members of the Hunger Volunteer Collaborative including VolunteerMatch, the
Alliance to End Hunger, and the Taproot Foundation about how they fight hunger with pro bono programming that leverages logistic and safety expertise. Learn about ways to get involved and reduce food insecurity in the U.S., as well as examples of how companies are joining the effort.
"Stop the Funding: Social Sector is Fully Resourced." Until we see this headline across our newsfeeds, the corporate sector must continue to innovate on ways to build nonprofit capacity. Pro bono and skilled volunteering can connect the dots between the shortage of resources and the wealth of skills in the private sector. With 76% of nonprofits reporting an increase in demand for their services and over 50% unable to meet the demand, skilled volunteering programs offer a tremendous value to an organization’s infrastructure allowing for increased capacity and expanded programming. Taproot Foundation led a panel discussion with leading corporate
and nonprofit partners who shared real-life examples of succeeding at, stumbling with, and scaling skilled volunteer and pro bono programs! Attendees heard from experts and
walked away with tools supporting an increased engagement in pro bono and skilled volunteering.
Imagine recruiting over 100 new volunteers each week or supporting over 250 local nonprofits annually with your employee volunteer program. The Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana and Groupon have been able to accelerate their volunteer programs through an innovative approach and strategic community partnerships. Learn about this unique partnership and signature skills-based volunteer event—“Scout Out Engineering”—that was developed in Chicago and has scaled to the Bay Area! Both organizations also shared tips on how they use YourMatch and VolunteerMatch for volunteer management and recruitment.
In an increasingly globalized world, using technology to reconnect people with their local communities and exploring the ways they can give back is something each of us does in our daily work. Get inspired by stories of local communities becoming increasingly connected and how you can continue to build networks of impact. Similar to VolunteerMatch, Groupon helps people connect with their local communities. Groupon is building the daily habit for local commerce, redefining how traditional small businesses attract customers. The mission: to grow our love of local and build networks of impact.
The CSR Scene: From Checkbook Philanthropy to Authentic EngagementVolunteerMatch
This stimulating session offered a perspective on how
corporate community involvement has evolved over the
past 20 years. We explored the key trends in philanthropy
and corporate social responsibility (CSR), examined the
challenges companies and nonprofits face in working
together to achieve authentic engagement, and took a
peek at what may be coming down the line. The “CSR
Scene” is a constantly evolving field of work, with many
moving parts. Participants engaged in conversation
about this dynamically changing environment and the
obstacles as well as opportunities it presents.
Have you ever wondered what’s possible with collaboration? Time Warner Cable—while a corporate client of VolunteerMatch—saw a need for more STEM-related volunteer opportunities for their employees. The Connectory—the largest database of youth-serving STEM programs in the world—saw a need for more STEM-focused volunteers to support a growing number of programs. VolunteerMatch provided the perfect platform
for these resources to meet. At this session, VM Summit 16 attendees learned about how this partnership was launched, the
impact it has had so far, and best practices for
collaboration.
Surprising Ways You Can Get the Most out of Your MeetingsVolunteerMatch
Most meetings are bad; virtual meetings are worse. But you keep having meetings. There is hope. This session, presented by Danny Mittleman, focused on: [1] specific research-proven techniques that can triple your team’s brainstorming productivity [2] a process to help your team decide which few of those
many brainstormed ideas to focus on—without ever voting an idea “off the island”; and [3] an argument for never voting at meetings—unless you vote at the beginning, before you discuss
a topic.
Surprising Ways You Can Get the Most out of Your Meetings
Making Volunteer Engagement Everyone's Job
1. Making Volunteer Engagement
Everyone’s Job
Jennifer Bennett @JenBennettCVA
CVA, Senior Manager, Education & Training
Matt Wallace @ItsMattWallace
Senior Associate, Nonprofit Relations
Page
2. To hear the presentation
Making Volunteer Engagement Everyone’s
by phone call:
Job (415) 655-0056
Access Code: 690-784-930
Jennifer Bennett @JenBennettCVA
CVA, Senior Manager, Education & Training
Matt Wallace @ItsMattWallace
Senior Associate, Nonprofit Relations
Follow this webinar on Twitter to
join the conversation!
Hash tag: #VMlearn
Jennifer Bennett, CVA, Senior Manager, Education & Training
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3. Agenda
• Discuss how to move your volunteer engagement
program from where it is to where you want it to go.
• Address identifying and communicating with
stakeholders.
• Communication plan for stakeholders.
• Action plan for evolving your program.
• Investigate opportunities to engage volunteers in the
process.
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4. Outcomes
At the end of this presentation you will be able to
• Evaluate where your volunteer engagement program is
and where you want it to go.
• Identify stakeholders in your organization and create an
communication plan for each stakeholder
• Create an action plan to accomplish your volunteer
engagement goals
• Identify how and where you can involve volunteers in this
process
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5. Where do you want to go?
Depending on where you start you may have further to go –
What is your vision for volunteer engagement?
• Strategic planning – where do you want your program to
be in 5 years?
• Nurture and foster vision to your organization
• May not be adopted by all levels in the organization
• Consider what’s possible around expansion of impact
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6. Identify Stakeholders
Who plays a role in your organization? How do they feel
about engaging volunteers in new ways?
• Stakeholders could be organization leadership, staff,
volunteers, or donors.
• Assess where each stakeholder is on the engagement
continuum
– “I’m evaluating our volunteer engagement program. I’d love to
get your ideas”
– One on one conversations
– Opportunity for you to learn – don’t defend or attempt to change
minds
• Group stakeholders into champions, those seeking more
information, and those opposed to expanding volunteer
engagement.
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7. Create a Communication Plan
Based on your volunteer engagement continuum create a plan
for each group or each individual stakeholder.
• What type of information should be included?
– Quantitative – volunteer hours, number of clients served
– Qualitative – quotes or feedback from clients
– Opportunity for volunteer engagement
• Internal communication and external communication
– Different audiences need different styles and tones – overarching
message should be the same.
• Formal and informal communication channels
– Newsletter – formal, external facing. Who is included on the mailing list?
– Email/social media – less formal, internal and external
– Daily conversations/communication – informal
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8. Starting an Action Plan
First, assess your stakeholder continuum.
• Identify your champions
• Assess the barriers
– Attitudes
– Staff, money and other resources
– Where can you make progress, and where are the big walls?
• Is there an natural starting point or path for action?
– Remember where you want to go – 5 year strategic plan
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9. Create Benchmarks
Working from your starting point identify the milestones or
benchmarks that will help you achieve your plan.
• Engagement goals
– New volunteer opportunities, new programs/departments using
volunteers
• Communication goals
– Internal communication strategies, external communication
strategies
• Volunteer program goals
– Leadership opportunities within volunteer program
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10. Create a Timeline
When can you complete your benchmarks? Be realistic –
you still have to accomplish the rest of your job.
• Engage volunteers to help you
– You remove the barriers, volunteers build the program
• Leadership volunteers can help build the plan
– New roles for volunteers
– New opportunities for volunteers to use skills
– Model the volunteer engagement you want to see
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11. Opportunities for Engagement
Finally, after all the pieces are in place, you want to start
working with your champions to create new
opportunities.
• What are the organization/program needs?
• Engage supervising staff in position description and
screening
– Skills, experience needed, who would be successful at this?,
what training and supervision is needed?
– Engage volunteers to write the actual position, supervising staff
reviews position
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12. Make your Plan a Reality!
Remember the strategies for success.
• Start small and work with your champions
• Refer back to your strategic plan and goals.
– It’s okay to reevaluate where you’re going as the program starts
to evolved.
• Don’t get discouraged
– Tout your successes and evaluate and learn from your mistakes.
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13. Resources
Learning Center
Find upcoming webinar dates, how-to videos and more
http://learn.volunteermatch.org
VolunteerMatch Community
Ask and answer questions after the webinar – use keywords Skilled Volunteers
http://community.volunteermatch.org/volunteer
Related Webinar Topics:
•Creating a Comprehensive and Engaging Volunteer Training Program
•Where Do I Go From Here? Evolving your Volunteer Program for More Involvement
•Walking the Walk: Engage Volunteers in your Volunteer Engagement Program
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14. Thanks for attending!
Join us online:
Like us on Facebook:
www.Facebook.com/VolunteerMatch
Follow us on Twitter: @VolunteerMatch
Visit Engaging Volunteers, our nonprofit blog:
blogs.volunteermatch.org/engagingvolunteers/
For any questions contact:
Jennifer Bennett
(415) 321-3639
@JenBennettCVA
jbennett@volunteermatch.org
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