This document discusses tools and best practices for managing volunteers. It recommends recruiting volunteers early, clearly defining their roles and time commitments, and matching volunteers to specific tasks. It also suggests communicating regularly, using platforms like wikis, managed sites, or social media to engage volunteers, and providing value through networking and a sense of contribution. While many apps exist, the most important thing is motivating people to take action and work together effectively towards a shared goal.

1. Tools for Volunteer Management
Pre-Exercise: Think for a moment
• When was the last time you helped
to coordinate an activity with more
than ten people?
• What worked well?
• What are some lessons you learned
from that experience?

2. Tools for Volunteer Management
Volunteer Management
Online Organizing and Community Building

3. Tools for Volunteer Management
Context in the Curriculum
Divergence Convergence Emergence
Inspiration Ideation Implementation
• Visioning & Sharing • Social Business • Operations & Finance
Vision Models • Volunteer Management
• Environmental • Prototyping & • Pitching and Friendraising
Scanning & Impacting Assessment
Environment

4. Tools for Volunteer Management
Start-Ups Need Volunteers, and Fast
• Most start-ups, even for-profit start-ups, leverage
sweat equity to succeed.
• Start recruiting early. Those first hours will be the
most rewarding capital you raise. Build a corps of
people who believe your venture should exist.
• Two key elements to keep in mind:
• WIIFM: “What’s In It for Me?”
(Value proposition to the volunteer)
• So what can I do?”
(Call to action)

5. Tools for Volunteer Management
Recruiting Volunteers
Connections Calls & Open
& Leads Coffee dates Houses

6. Tools for Volunteer Management
Managing Expectations
• Creating specific and reasonable roles
• Specifying time commitments
• Accounting for under-
commitment and attrition

7. Tools for Volunteer Management
What Are Volunteers Looking for?
 Exposure and experience
 Networking opportunities
 Sense of accomplishment & contribution
 A chance to do good for a good cause
What do YOU expect as a volunteer?

8. Tools for Volunteer Management
Communicating With Volunteers
• Matching volunteers with needs
• Creating clear expectations or job descriptions
• Assigning atomic tasks
• Establishing contracts & check-ins
• Offering motivations & incentives
• Sending regular email communication

9. Tools for Volunteer Management
Take Advantage of Platforms
Find a platform that fits your audience’s needs:
• Wikis help create shared ownership
• Managed sites help centralize ownership
• Formal platforms help professionalize
activities
• Social media platforms engage people where
they are

10. Tools for Volunteer Management
Wikis: Shared Ownership
Others: PBworks and Projectmanagementwiki.org

11. Tools for Volunteer Management
Managed Sites: Directed Focus
Others: Weebly, jimdo, etc.

12. Tools for Volunteer Management
Formal Platforms: Checking Items Off
Others: Veoproject, Zoho Project, and CentralDesktop

13. Tools for Volunteer Management
Social Media Platforms: Engagement

14. Tools for Volunteer Management
Gantter: Manage Tasks and Timelines

15. Tools for Volunteer Management
Communication is Key: Google Apps
• Nothing says “I’m
committed” more than a
branded email account.
Google Apps allows that,
as well as shared docs, etc.
• Free for nonprofits and
small groups.
• Setting up Google Apps is
an easy and quick way to
integrate volunteers.
CentralDesktop, Zoho and Zimbra are other great services, too.

16. Tools for Volunteer Management
No One App to Rule Them All
• Dozens of project and volunteer management
apps come out every day.
• We’ll review a few market leaders in online
applications– but take these as a starting-off point
for further exploration.
• In the end, the key is to get people to do
things. The platform is only a tool, and what
might work for one group might not work for
another.

17. Tools for Volunteer Management
Online Applications
• Sparked: set up microvolunteer challenges and
find willing people. Lightweight and brandable.
• Idealist: largest reach for gathering volunteers
and advertising opportunities.
• VolunteerSpot: tools and scheduling for group
volunteering
• HandsOn: a resource for more massive
volunteer recruiting and management

18. Tools for Volunteer Management
Workshop
• Discuss the following scenario with your group, or invent a
new one that speaks to you:
• You have formed a strong group of volunteers who have
helped you test your prototype and seem to be excited
about next steps. You named one person the chair of the
group as she showed commitment and promise.
• The chair was engaged and responsive for
several weeks but now has not returned any calls
or emails for 3 weeks straight.
• Further, your other volunteers have not been
communicating clearly and there has been
duplication of efforts, which is becoming clear to
your market.
• What do you do?

19. Tools for Volunteer Management
In the End, It’s All About the People
• Ultimately, people make
projects happen
• If you can’t motivate people to
be involved, the project will not
happen
• If you can’t structure people’s
motivation, you won’t have a
clear deliverable at the end of
the day
• People are a core input to
the activities. Leverage them
well, and anything can
happen.