Ten Things to Research, Evaluate or at Least Think About

By Celeste J. Wroblewski
From The Seven Rs of Volunteer Management, pp.31-32

These are some basic questions that can help you plan a new volunteer program or evaluate an established one. The referenced worksheets and checklists are all found in this chapter.

Capacities and needs of the YMCA

1. How does our volunteer program compare to a model program and to programs at other YMCAs and other organizations?
No one wants to reinvent the wheel. Successful volunteer programs at Ys are more alike dm different. Find out how yours compares by using the "Checklist for a Model YMCA Volunteer Program" and by talking to other YMCAs. See "How Do Other YMCAs (and Other Organizations) Involve Volunteers?"

2. How could our YMCA involve more volunteers? What programs, projects, jobs, or tasks could we involve them in, either on a long-term or short-term basis?
Imagine all the ways volunteers could work at your YMCA. Write them down on a clean sheet of paper or use the worksheet "How Could We Involve More Volunteers?" Think about redesigning volunteering at your Y.

3. What is our YMCA's capacity to support a volunteer program?
The strengths and weaknesses of your YMCA will affect your ability to involve volunteers. For example, a financially sound YMCA with a wealthy image may need to be more persuasive in convincing people that it needs the help of volunteers. On the other hand, a YMCA with a lot of financial problems may be trying to cut costs. The staff may need to convince the executive director or board that it's necessary to invest some start-up funds in a volunteer program which, in the long run, will pay back the investment many times over. See "Worksheet: "What is Our YMCA's Capacity to Support a Volunteer Program?"

4. What is the paid staff's perspective on working with volunteers?
A volunteer program can be no better than your staff allows it to be. Check your paid staffs experiences, attitudes, and philosophies about working with volunteers so you can find out where they stand now. Then you can figure what you can do to make them want volunteers to succeed-- training, incentives, a new organizational commitment, or maybe even encouraging them to volunteer themselves for another organization. If you have an established program, involve the staff in evaluating the program. See "Survey: The Paid Staff's Opinion on Increasing Volunteer Involvement" and "Survey: The Paid Staff's Evaluation of the Volunteer Program."

Capacities and Needs of the Volunteers

5. What are the capacities and needs of our volunteers?
A good volunteer program is based on the capacities of volunteers-- skills and strengths that they offer. It also satisfies the needs of volunteers, as well as the YMCA and the community at large. After all, if your volunteers aren't happy, they won't stick around long. The needs of volunteers include what they need in order to volunteer (the right tools, training, supervision, etc.) as well as their motivations--why they volunteer. See "How to Research the Capacities and Needs of Volunteers."

6. Who are our volunteers? How many volunteers do we have? Where do they come from? What do they do-policy, program, managerial, fundraising, support?
Analyzing the current state of your volunteer program is an essential step. You can't improve if you don't know what you already have. Use the worksheet "Who Are Our Volunteers?" to take a look at current volunteer activity and evaluate volunteer effectiveness.

7. What do our volunteers think about volunteering here?
To keep volunteers and attract new ones, you need to make it a rewarding experience. But you can't generalize about why individuals volunteer (or how well you are meeting their expectations) unless you ask. Then you can take the steps to improve the experience and expand your pool of volunteers. See "Survey: The Volunteers' Opinions on Increasing Volunteer Involvement," as well as "Survey: The Volunteers' Evaluation of the Volunteer Program.'

Capacities and Needs of the Community

8. What are the issues to be resolved in our community? What needs or problems could we involve the local residents, as volunteers, in solving?
Have you done a community needs assessment lately? Check with your United Way to see if they have. Think of how the Y could recruit volunteers to help meet those needs.

See "How to Research Community Capacities and Needs."

9. What does our community look like? Who lives in your community? What is it like economically and socially?
For your volunteer program to be successful, you must know the community well. Unemployment, a highly transient population, income levels-all of these factors, and more, can affect your volunteer program. Take a look at who lives in your area and what's going on so you can see the forest before focusing on the trees.

See "Worksheet: How Can Our Community Affect Our Volunteer Program?" You can also use the process described on the worksheet to analyze your YMCA membership base, since your membership will probably be one of your best sources of volunteers.

10. What are our community's strengths and capacities? What kinds of skills, talents, and assets do the local residents have? What kinds of organizations are based here: private, public, not for profit?
The power of getting the right people to work on the right tasks is nearly unlimited. You can't figure out who the right people are in your community or what tasks need to be done unless you know what others are doing. Armed with that knowledge, you can lead, follow, collaborate, or get out of the way. See "Worksheet: What are the Community's Strengths and Capacities?"

The Seven Rs of Volunteer Management

For books on this topic in our bookstore, click the link(s) below:

Preparing Your Agency
Profession of Volunteer Administration

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Permission is granted for organizations to download and reprint this article. Reprints must provide full acknowledgment of source, as provided:

Excerpted from The Seven Rs of Volunteer Management, by Celeste J. Wroblewski, © 1994, YMCA of the USA

Found in the Energize website library at: http://www.energizeinc.com/art.html