AFS Introduction to Volunteer Development

Question #1 List all the factors you can think of that would lead someone who has never volunteered before to decide they should go out and get involved as a volunteer.

Question #2 List all the factors that go into a person deciding where they will try to volunteer. In other words, how do people choose which organization they want to volunteer for?

Question #3 List the factors that go into the decision by a volunteer to continue volunteering at an organization once they have begun.

Question #4 How, in your experience, are the answers to questions 1-3 similar to or different from the typical volunteer involvement pattern at AFS? Q #1: Why do people volunteer? Q #2: Where do people volunteer? Q #3: Why do people continue?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Self-Actualization Love/Belonging Esteem Safety/Security Physiological

General Conclusions AFS Volunteers generally match overall patterns and reasons for volunteering AFS Volunteers can vary greatly in their motivations AFS Volunteers will stay if satisfied with their volunteer experience and leave if not satisfied.

Four Keys to Involving Volunteers

1.Well-Managed Program Volunteers are increasingly sophisticated about how they are involved - they don’t like volunteer experiences in which they feel taken advantage of or ineffective.

Quick Discussion Has anyone in our group today ever quit as a volunteer? Or gotten out as quickly as you could escape? What about that experience led to the desire to leave?

Why Volunteers Quit 1998 UPS Foundation Survey Organization not well managed: 26% Volunteer’s time not used well: 23% Volunteer’s talents not used well: 18% Tasks not clearly defined: 16% Volunteers not thanked: 9%

National Survey of Volunteering UK, Institute for Volunteering Research, 1997 Reason for discontinuing volunteering: “Things could be better organized.” 71%

2. Proactive Recruitment Moving beyond the already committed Utilizing multiple approaches: personal invitation, internet, mass media, etc. Conducting recruitment on a continuous basis, not waiting until the last minute

Personal Invitation Highly effective in the short- term % likelihood of a “yes” answer Tends to lead to “cloning” in the long term

Other Approaches Newspaper articles Posters and flyers Websites Public service announcements Speeches to community groups School presentations Booths and tables at events

To effectively serve its mission, AFS needs a diverse and growing pool of volunteers from the community - our current pool of volunteers can’t reach all the people we exist to serve.

3. Ensuring Successful Volunteers Matching volunteers to interests and capabilities Providing training and support Evaluating and seeking continuous improvement Recognizing all contributions, both large and small

Nobody volunteers to fail

The encouragement and support provided by AFS volunteers and staff will be especially critical for new volunteers.

4. Building Effective Teams In the long run, personal relationships are one of the major factors in volunteer retention

Stages of Volunteer Development Organizational readiness Position definition Recruitment Screening and placement Orientation and training

Engagement Evaluation Recognition Maintenance