Volunteer Management From Home: 4 Tips for Virtual Programs

Now more than ever before, people are leveraging digital solutions and doing more remotely than has even been possible. Like businesses that have asked their staff to work from home, many nonprofits and organizations have begun to facilitate virtual volunteer programs.

Over the past year or so, many organizations have shut down their in-person volunteer opportunities and rethink how their volunteer team can contribute meaningfully from their home.

With the acceleration of technology over the past five years, it is more possible than ever to create and manage amazing and impactful virtual volunteer programs. This article will offer actionable tips for creating virtual programs and implementing great volunteer management strategies to set your organization up for success.

Specifically, we recommend that you:

1. Grow your team
2. Allow for flexible hours
3. Leverage your data
4. Show your appreciation

Now, let’s dive in!

1. Grow your team

For many nonprofit and community organizations, volunteers are the primary workforce behind their programs and day-to-day operations. This means that these organizations can’t simply rely on full-time staff and require highly skilled and committed volunteers to fill a large number of roles and responsibilities on a regular basis.

To help bridge those gaps, organizations need to keep a database of volunteers with their skills, interests, and availability to ensure that no task is left incomplete. However, the first step is to grow your volunteer base by promoting opportunities via your website, social media, and referrals from current volunteers.

Here are a few tried-and-true volunteer recruitment best practices to consider:

• Ensure your volunteer opportunities are publically available on your website.
• Offer an easy online volunteer sign-up and application process.
• Collect skills, qualifications, certifications, interests, and availability in the sign-up process.
• Communicate with volunteers throughout the recruitment and onboarding process to keep them informed about next steps they need to take.

The more open and transparent your volunteer recruitment and sign-up process are, the more likely you are to attract volunteers who understand what they are committed to and will be equipped to help your cause.

2. Allow for flexible hours

Most people are interested in helping out an organization by volunteering. However, their schedules and the lack of flexibility are a barrier keeping them from committing to your team. That is where a virtual volunteer program can come in handy.

Virtual volunteer programs are completed remotely, making them inherently convenient for all sorts of volunteers. It is important to build in time flexibility when creating a virtual volunteer program rather than schedule set volunteer shifts. For example, consider posting volunteer tasks on a weekly basis that volunteers can sign up to complete by a certain date or time. This makes it easier for volunteers to fit that work into their existing schedule.

Virtual volunteering management also requires your organization to invest in more volunteer communications and engagement activities to keep your team informed and motivated. This can be as simple as sending routine communications, keeping in touch with each volunteer, and automating notifications to remind them of the tasks they’ve committed to this week.

3. Leverage your data

Collecting important volunteer data through your volunteer management system offers your organization a great deal of insight into each individual's volunteer engagement and interest. These analytics allow you to tailor communications and volunteer opportunities based on your needs and the skills and interests of your volunteer team.

Things like skills, availability, interests, and commitment offer organizations significant insight into their existing database of volunteers. This data can be harnessed to give your organization the opportunity to create new volunteer opportunities and programs based on the data collected. Then, you can increase your organization’s impact and encourage volunteers to make a bigger difference.

4. Show your appreciation

Volunteers give their time and skills to help your organization meet its mission or goals. It is incredibly important to make sure your organization takes the time to show each volunteer appreciation for their time and effort.

However, virtual volunteers can often feel disconnected from an organization because of the remote nature of their work. Take the opportunity to really thank your volunteer with a nice thank you message, a small gift, or a social post about the great work they did.

However you choose to thank your volunteers, the effort will be well worth it by when you retain your existing volunteers and increase their engagement levels with your organization in the long term.

Now it’s time to start putting some of these tips into practice!

Virtual volunteer programs offer organizations the opportunity to bring new volunteers who would otherwise be unable to participate in on-site volunteer programs. With greater technology adoption rates and improved volunteer management solutions available to help, there has never been a better time to begin posting virtual volunteer opportunities for your organization.