They plan and strategize for an effective volunteer engagement program. They give the works in their organization to people who can work even without a salary. For a nonprofit, there can be challenges that they should face in getting volunteers for their organization. Recruiting is not easy, as it is rare to find someone who wants to volunteer. What is common for employees is to demand payment for work. Only few would work without a promised salary. Volunteer recruitment is a great challenge for a nonprofit. This article will give you information about volunteer engagement plan. It has tips that can help you and the steps on how you can make a volunteer engagement plan. It also has FAQs that can answer questions that you can be asking. So keep on scrolling and learn new things!

5+ Sample Volunteer Engagement Plan

What is a Volunteer Engagement Plan?

A volunteer engagement plan is a strategy to recruit volunteers to work in an organization. It can give success to an organization. It can make volunteers active and the organization can have a good relationship with them. Volunteer engagement plan starts with the recruitment process and continues up to the long-term retention of volunteers. Volunteer engagement makes the volunteers engaged with the organization, making them fulfilled and enthusiastic. Without it, the working process may be dull. And who knows if it will not work at all? Strategy is important in a volunteer program because you have to take care of the volunteers. Employees are engaged in their job because of salary. Since in the case of nonprofit, there would be no salary that would be given, you have to find some ways on how to keep your volunteers energized with their work. So volunteer program strategic plan comes in. It has some ways on how volunteers can give their best for the community service. It contains volunteer recruitment ideas that can encourage someone take part in volunteering. It has creative ways to recruit volunteers. The role of volunteers in nonprofit organization is an essential role so the nonprofit should give some effort in recruiting them. It is not easy to become a volunteer. You will sweat without payment, all for the love of community service. So a nonprofit should find ways on how they can keep their volunteer. Without a volunteer engagement plan, a volunteer may last for a month or so only but with a good volunteer engagement cycle, they can be encouraged to keep their job even without payment.

Tips on Volunteer Engagement Plan

Do you have a nonprofit organization? Do you need a lot of volunteers? Perhaps you need some tips so you can come up with a better volunteer engagement plan. Incorporate the following and it might help you:

Have an understanding of the motivation of the volunteer. Do not just hire a volunteer. In the interview, show that you are interested about your volunteers. Ask them about their motivation, why they want to volunteer to your organization. You may find out that their passion is on your organization. For an instance, if your organization caters to street children, you might learn that they have special compassion for it. Learning that they will fit better for the job because of their passion is a good thing. You can be more confident that they will be more dedicated to their job. You can better give them the opportunity. Knowing their motivation can also build a good relationship with them. Their passions can make them closer to you and to your organization. However, if their motivation is not enough, knowing it will make you find of ways on how you can keep them attached to the job. You can give them the motivation that they need.Give honour to the commitment of the volunteer. You have to bear in mind that a volunteer is giving their time away without payment. You have to honor them. Show that you appreciate their goodness. Treat them in the very best way that you can. Never let them feel anything bad just because they are there for no payment. Do not let anyone think that they are lower people because they are working with no salary. Give them honor instead. Where can you find someone who will work with no payment or low payment? Treat them as rare jewels like they really are. If not with them, your organization can somehow not run. They help you will all the tasks and do all things without expecting anything in return. They give their talents for free. It is all the reason enough for you to always be sure to honor their commitment.Provide clear information to the volunteers. Be honest with your volunteers. Give them the information that they need about the job that they will do. You have to be sure that they agree with all the terms that is related to the job that they will have. Explain to them in detail the job that they would have their hands on. It is essential that they know everything first all about it. Everything should be clear from the beginning. Describe their tasks and all the works that you can give them. Do not hire them and make them surprised with all the tons of work that they should do. Before they will agree to work as a volunteer, they have to be sure that they are available for all the possible work that they will have in the organization. If ever, they want a definite role that is not currently open, you must also tell them the truth. Let them choose the work that they want. Remember, they are just volunteers. Do not take advantage of them.Have respect with the volunteer’s time. You have to be mindful of the time of the volunteer. If the volunteer says that he or she can only work one times a week, do not force her or him to work three times a week. You have to respect whatever time volunteers can give to your organization. That is why you have to talk about it at the recruitment process. You both have to be definite about the amount of time that a volunteer can give to your organization. After a volunteer has decided on a specific time, you have to agree with it and respect it. You have to understand that even how less time a volunteer can give, it is still precious.Be fair to all the volunteers. You have a variety of tasks in your organization. Be sure to be fair in assigning tasks to all the volunteers. Not just because a volunteer is the most dedicated, you should give her or him the best tasks. Be fair to all them. Do not bombard a volunteer with dull tasks. Give also tasks that are fun to him or her. Do not have favoritism. Remember that you should treat each one of them well. If you will not do that, they may not volunteer again. You may lose one valuable volunteer. Or many of them, if you will not show fairness and equality.Do a celebration with them. You can use your database to celebrate occasions with them. You can be sweet to your volunteers. This will show that you care for them. You can send them a birthday card. Or a thank you note when their anniversary in the organization comes. You have to let them know that they are important. By celebrating with them, you and your volunteers will become closer. They may become more inspired in their job. You can also have a good harmony at work.Tell the volunteers the mission of your organization. Volunteers are volunteering to make a difference. To further motivate them , you must show that your organization has a good mission. You can show them pictures and multimedia that can show the achievements of your organization and all the good things that your organization had done. If they will see that your nonprofit organization is moving with a cause, they will be more encouraged to join you. Proof can be a great motivation for them. They will know that they are on the right track in doing a community service. They will know that your volunteer opportunities are great to have. So a mission is essential to show some proof of goodness and altruism.A volunteer training program is important. Even if the volunteer will work on a small project, to have an effective volunteer engagement, you need to provide training for them. After giving them an orientation, give them a training that will give them skills on the work that they are about to do. Training is important to ensure that they will be adept in whatever department they will be assigned. Without training, how can they do the things that they have not done before? Some volunteers may not have experience on the job that they will have in your organization. It is especially true as some tries to volunteer because they want something that can be written in their resume. They are fresh graduates that do not have much work experience. So, you must provide them a training that will make them equipped.Give volunteers flexibility. Nonprofit is taking the precious time of the volunteers. Because you owe them something, you must give them flexibility at work. Let them choose their own schedule. Agree with the hours that they can provide work. Do not give them compulsory works and overtime. Give them the freedom in their job. It is one way of taking care of them. If they will see that the schedule they can have with you will not hurt them, they will be at ease at work, and they may volunteer again. That will be a good chance for your nonprofit organization.

How to Make a Volunteer Engagement Plan

Hiring a volunteer is one thing. But to keep them is another thing. You have to make a volunteer engagement plan for you to have strategies that can keep your volunteers. Here are steps on how you can make a volunteer engagement plan:

Step 1: Make goals for the volunteers.

Volunteer involvement happens when a person wants to make a difference in the community. One strategic volunteer engagement is to prepare goals that can encourage someone to volunteer in your organization. If someone will see that your organization has good goals, they can be enticed to be a part of it. If volunteering means doing good, you have to ensure that a volunteer can see good in your organization. It is what will make them decide to join you. Making goals is the first rule that you can have in volunteer engagement. You can even make everyone to be more motivated if you can provide goals for all your works.

Step 2: Define success in the volunteer work.

You have to ensure that a volunteer can have fulfillment with the work that they are going to have. Make volunteer engagement job description that someone can like having. Actually, how can you measure success in an organization? Does it mean many volunteers for short-term work? Or some volunteers that can work long-term? Not only will you ensure the success of the volunteers with their work, you have also to be careful about your volunteer engagement strategy. If you need more volunteers to finish all the tasks in your organization, you must include it in your plan. Plan and make strategies that can give success to the organization. If that means you have to hire more volunteers, then be sure to take note of it.

Step 3: Improve the volunteer engagement cycle.

Volunteers can come and go. Some of them do not stay for long. You have to take note of that. So you have to make a volunteer engagement cycle that can provide volunteers to your organization always. You must be good in recruitment to always ensure that you will not lack volunteers. Handle well the recruitment, the screening, the training, the orientation, the placement, and the recognition.

Step 4: Have strategies on the onboarding process.

A volunteer has to go into an onboarding process. Here are the things that you can do in the onboarding process:

Step 5: Reinforce good communication with the volunteers.

After a volunteer is recruited, you must keep a good line of communication with them. Stay in touch with them. They might need some help in some areas of their work. You have to show them that you are always there for them. Seeing that they can have a good work with your organization can make them to volunteer again.

FAQs

What Does it Mean to be a Volunteer?

Being a volunteer means that you will have to work voluntarily, meaning you will work with no salary. You will do the job out of a community service or out of your passion to make a difference in the face of humanity. There are some volunteer jobs that has payments, but the salary is extremely low. So being a volunteer is working without expecting remuneration or compensation.

For How Long Can I Volunteer?

It depends on you. You can talk with the organization about it. Some volunteers work once a month or once a week. Some work for short-term, say, for 3 months only. Though, there are some volunteers who plan to stay even for a year or so. It is completely up to you.

Some people has altruistic views that could make them engage in a volunteer work. There comes Christian jobs and jobs that has something to do with charity. If you are someone who is considering a volunteer work, or you are someone who are about to make a volunteer engagement plan, you can refer to this post to get some help. This has 5+ SAMPLE Volunteer Engagement Plan in PDF. You can pick any from them and can use it in writing your own volunteer engagement plan. Happy writing!