You want to share the impact volunteers have in your organization and in the community, but often the information you track doesn’t help you tell that story. This webinar will help you move past number of volunteers and number of hours and start telling the real story. You'll learn about information gathering and the key components to good storytelling, how to evaluate your current measurements and how to build support for a more thorough measurement and evaluation program, and how to engage other staff – paid and volunteer – in this work. You'll also receive a worksheet to help you begin to tell the story of volunteer impact in your organization. (last slide of the deck)

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Telling the Story of
Volunteer Impact
Jennifer Bennett @JenBennettCVA
CVA, Senior Manager, Education & Training
Shannon David@VolunteerMatch
Senior Associate, Community Support

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Agenda
• What story are you telling now?
• What story could you be telling?
• Getting past numbers
• What’s your story?
• Getting Started
• Share your story!
• Questions

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What story are you telling now?
What kind of information are you sharing about
volunteer engagement now?
• Numbers
– Hours, people, trees planted, etc.
• Are you including an answer to the question
Why?
• Does the story tie back to your mission?

5. What’s your story?
CASA Guardian Ad Litem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc9Ew6uHddY
– Some quantitative information, but mostly answering the
question why?
– Outlining and illustrating the impact
Even if you don’t have cute kids (or puppies) there
can still be an emotional connection to the work
your organization does.
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6. Getting past numbers
What kind of information is informing your story
now?
• What matters to your organization?
– How do you deploy your mission in the community?
– What are the values or goals that drive your work?
• How are your clients, or the community, helped by
the work you do?
– What’s the problem you’re trying to solve?
– What’s different or better because of the work you do?
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7. Getting past numbers
What kind of information is informing your story
now?
• Who are your volunteers?
– What do they do?
– Why does it matter?
• What does it look like or feel like to be a part of
your organization?
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8. What informs your story?
What do you need to know (besides volunteer hours)
to tell your story?
• Things that you track now
– Clients, outcomes, trends over time, etc.
• Other information from within your organization
– Volunteer interview, client stories, etc.
• Information from outside your organization
– Research, reports, studies, etc
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What’s your story?
• The 5 W’s
– Who, What, When, Where and (W)How
• Build your story arc
– Set up the story
– What’s the problem or conflict?
– What’s the resolution or solution
– What’s the call to action?

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What moves you?
Your story should reflect the values and culture of
your organization.
• Be authentic
– Stay true to your mission and your work.
• Humor is hard
– You might want to be funny, but you are not actually
that funny.
– Humor is subjective and can be insensitive.
• What matters in your organization?
– What do your volunteers, donors, clients tell you is most
important about the work you do?

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Getting Started
Get the ideas flowing
• What’s your story? Workshop it. Creativity works
best with other brains present.
– Who else should be involved?
– What’s the voice of your organization?
– What do you sound like? What does it feel like?
– Identify the places you’ll need help or support
– Where could that come from? Who do you know?
• Remember there’s a learning curve
– Changing the way you talk about volunteer impact
happens over time

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Getting Started
• Find the overlap between minimal and viable
– You can spend a long time trying to tell the perfect
story, don’t let being perfect keep you from sharing that
impact!
– Don’t over think it!
• Just do it!

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How are you telling your story?
Now that you have your story share it!
• Informally, internally, externally, formally
– Updates and town hall meetings
– Infographics and videos
– Board and funding reports
– Social media channels and community partners
• Incorporate the story into your volunteer
engagement program
– Recruitment channels
– Recognition events
– All of your stakeholders – especially your volunteers!

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Tell your story!
• Use the worksheet to think through your story
– Remember to include others in the brainstorming!
• Engage others with the skills or experiences to
make it happen
– Database administrators, researchers, interviewers
– Graphic designers or videographers
• Determine what story is the best fit for each
communication channel
– Not everyone is inspired or influenced by the same
information

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Tell your story!
• Share your story and solicit feedback
– Evaluate the results for education and outreach

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Resources
Learning Center
Find upcoming webinar dates, how-to videos and more
http://learn.volunteermatch.org
VolunteerMatch Blog
Visit Engaging Volunteers, our nonprofit blog:
blogs.volunteermatch.org/engagingvolunteers/
Upcoming Related Webinar Topics:
•Best Practices for Recruiting Online
•Creating a Comprehensive and Engaging Volunteer Training Program
•Where do I go from here? Evolving your program for more involvement

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Thanks for attending!
Join us online:
Like us on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/VolunteerMatch
Follow us on Twitter: @VolunteerMatch
For any questions contact:
Jennifer Bennett
(415) 321-3639
@JenBennettCVA
jbennett@volunteermatch.org

18. Tell the Story of Volunteer Impact Worksheet 1 VolunteerMatch 1/17/2014
Volunteer Impact Worksheet
What sets the stage for the
story?
What’s the problem
or the conflict?
What information
informs the problem?
What’s the resolution
or what’s better?
What information informs the
resolution?