February 16, 2023 Episode #045: Build a Smarter Volunteer Retention Strategy What do volunteers experience while serving at your organization? Why do volunteers want to stay? And why do some volunteers decide to leave? In this episode, Tobi offers a closer look at how to design [...]
How to Thrive in Changing Times: Two Key Shifts to Make in Your Nonprofit Management We rarely think specifically about how we lead as nonprofit management professionals. Our management models are as invisible to us as our own breathing. The way we choose to manage and support our teams is either inadvertent or unconscious -- we manage [...]
How to Forge Stronger Bonds with Remote & Hybrid Volunteers Hybrid volunteers – or volunteers contribute time to nonprofits both online and in person – can be invaluable assets to a nonprofit. They can bring special skills and talent to the table that a nonprofit might otherwise not have available or would need to pay a [...]
Results of the Pathways to Participation study has just been released. In addition to analyzing what stimulates civic engagement, the study also points to organizational issues that can affect supporter retention. Fortunately, they are issues you can address directly.
Many people think of volunteer screening interview as an exercise in risk management. That’s only partially true. Interviews can also be an opportunity to more deeply understand the motivations of your applicant, which can help you with volunteer retention down the road.
How to Design a Volunteer Training Program that Boosts Learning When designing a volunteer training program, the biggest challenge is how to create a training process that doesn’t scare volunteers away. Often, the programs I work with have daunting amounts of information volunteers must learn in order to perform with confidence. Programs must be assured [...]
As our economy evolves, I hear the frustration expressed that volunteers aren’t available any more. Two reasons are often cited -- 1) Older volunteers are delaying retirement, and 2) Unemployed volunteers are returning back to work. But, I wonder of this is the case.
Volunteer Sustainability Strategies You Need To Increase Capacity In the face of ever-growing community needs and persistent economic strains on nonprofits, volunteer sustainability isn’t just a nice thing. It’s a necessary thing. Volunteerism is a strategic choice to use human resources to build capacity, and recent data shows it works. The Points of Light Service [...]
Naturally, leaders of volunteers want to express their gratitude for the contributions of their volunteers and want to encourage them to continue their efforts. As I work on a volunteer recognition and retention plan for one of my consulting clients, I’ve taken a step back to reconsider -- What really motivates us? How can that be integrated into how we reward and recognize volunteers?
In his recent Ted Talk, “The way we think about charity is dead wrong,” author and fundraiser Dan Pallotta raises some serious questions about our current mindset in the social sector. He argues that a discriminatory belief system about nonprofits stunts our growth and capacity. This also impact how we think about and resource our volunteer programs.