Volunteers in nonprofit organizations come in all shapes and sizes. At the highest level, volunteers make up every nonprofit organization’s unpaid board of directors – in the United States, anyway. Volunteers may serve in an advisory role or perform office duties. They may be on the front lines, interacting with an organization’s beneficiaries or registering participants at a special event, or participating in internal meetings.
Motivations of Nonprofit Volunteers
What compels a person to make a commitment and give up her personal time to perform an unpaid job? The reasons can be a combination of altruistic and personal needs, writes Michael J. Worth in Nonprofit Management: Principles and Practice (2009). These motivators may include:
- Belief in the mission of the organization
- Desire to "give back"
- Meet new people for friendship or dating
- Make new business contacts
- Invited or inspired by another volunteer or staff member
- Improve resume
- Learn new skills
- Benefits such as discounted event tickets
Like paid nonprofit employees, volunteers find satisfaction in feeling like they have contributed to the success of the organization and made an impact, and being recognized for their work. Also like paid employees, volunteers require a management structure that is clear and supportive.
Volunteer Management Tools
In the Nonprofit Kit for Dummies (2005), Stan Hutton and Frances Phillips offer a number of tools to assist in volunteer management. “Almost nothing is worse than asking people to help and then finding out that you have nothing for them to do,” say Hutton and Phillips.
Before enlisting volunteer help, a nonprofit should organize itself by considering these management tools:
- Volunteer task list with number of people needed and estimated time
- Job descriptions for volunteers, breaking out individual tasks
- Organizational chart showing volunteer positions in different departments or on different committees
- Volunteer agreement form outlining duties and commitment
- Volunteer handbook with information about policies, important numbers and frequently asked questions about the organization
- Orientation and training
- A way to track volunteer work (both quality and quantity)
The Added Benefit of Satisfied Volunteers
Volunteers are credible sources of information and influence for the nonprofit organizations they support. While paid staff members are “tainted” by their compensation, volunteers are believed to be pure in their loyalty and passion. For this reason, volunteers can be an organization’s best spokespeople.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the fundraising arena. Peer solicitation is the most effective way to ask for donations. Volunteers entrenched in the work of the organization can speak with authority, testify to their own commitment and ask for a match of support.
Nonprofit organizations ensuring volunteer satisfaction and equipping their volunteers with talking points, fundraising materials and appropriate training will develop an invaluable asset.
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