Course Topics

• Introduction to Volunteering – what is volunteerism?
• Why people volunteer (and the benefits of volunteers)
• The volunteer life cycle
• Effective volunteer recruiting strategies (including job descriptions)
• Risk management
• Training and equipping volunteers for success
• Keeping your best volunteers – Rewards and retention
• Evaluating performance of volunteers and your volunteer program.

Learning Outcomes:

After completing this course, you should be able to:

• Define volunteerism and explain its role in public sector and nonprofit organizations.
• Discuss the core intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that lead one to volunteer.
• Assess and evaluate the effectiveness of a volunteer management program.
• Classify volunteers according to the Volunteer Stages & Transitions Model (VSTM).
• Design meaningful roles and job descriptions for volunteers.
• Articulate key risk management issues facing volunteer managers and outline appropriate steps to minimize those risks.
• Prioritize training objectives to successfully prepare individuals for their volunteer roles.
• Construct a strategy for volunteer retention that includes appreciating and rewarding volunteers for their service.
• Analyze strategies for effective volunteer recruitment.
• Prepare for the inevitable departure of a volunteer from the organization