This week we focus on the essential roles volunteers play in sustaining organizations. Today we hear from Andy Schroeder, executive director of Kodiak’s Island Trails Network, on how his organization keeps a motivated and engaged volunteer base.
This week, Reflect. Share. Blog. focuses on the essential roles volunteers play in sustaining organizations. Today we hear from Andy Schroeder, executive director of Kodiak’s Island Trails Network, on how his organization keeps a motivated and engaged volunteer base.
Island Trails Network’s (ITN) mission is to develop, maintain and promote trails on Kodiak Island. With just one full-time executive director and a handful of seasonal staff, most of our efforts are volunteer-driven. Our volunteer opportunities range in duration from several hours to several weeks. In 2010, volunteers donated over 1,200 hours of their time on trail projects around the island. While these hours are considered by many grantors to be worth around $20 each, they are far more valuable to ITN. Trail volunteers are also trail users, and a volunteer who helps us build or maintain a trail is also more likely to use that trail properly, more frequently, and to educate others while in the field about proper trail use and etiquette.
Here are my tips:
- Be a matchmaker. As a professional in your field, your attention to your organization’s mission may overshadow the everyday social relationships of the workplace. Our volunteers may be looking for more than just mission. They may be new to town, have recently undergone life changes, or may simply be looking to meet people who share their interests.
- Whether through casual conversation or a formal interview, make notes on what skills and qualities your volunteers offer. Then make an effort to place them in a position that matches their level of skill, responsibility or leadership.
- When planning volunteer events, carefully consider the right amount of people for the job. If a volunteer leaves an event feeling like they were not needed, they won’t come back. On the other hand, if the volunteer is promptly assigned a task and stays busy and productive, they are likely to become a long-term volunteer.
- Use volunteers as if you’re paying them. Be prepared to put the necessary thought and preparation into volunteer organization, training and oversight. In my experience, volunteers tend to be well-educated, organized, and hard workers. They are generally good time managers and are making time to volunteer for you. They scrutinize their volunteer time in the same way, and if your volunteer organization is not up to their standards, they won’t stay with you for long.
- Much has been made of the short-term versus long-term volunteer comparison. I wholeheartedly agree that a volunteer who works for only a few hours probably takes away more than they give. We have begun to emphasize longer-term volunteer opportunities of a week or more in the field, meaning that even a first-time volunteer provides a good return on our investment of recruitment and training. For instance, instead of recruiting broadly for volunteers to work over five consecutive Saturdays, we would target a smaller, more dedicated group to volunteer five consecutive days.
- Be very clear about what you expect from volunteers, the type of work they’ll be doing, and the time commitment involved. It’s a good exercise to write a complete job description as if you were hiring for the position.
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In the spirit of one of the main messages conveyed this week – to thank volunteers – Rasmuson Foundation would like to thank Toni Massari McPherson, Carole Henry, Vicki Martin, Trevor Storrs and Andy Schroeder for their blog submissions. Please join the conversation by adding your thoughts and ideas.