Volunteer Policies & Procedures 101

In case you didn’t already know, volunteers are amazingly valuable. According to a study done by the Independent Sector, the estimated national value of each volunteer hour is $24.69. With 63 million volunteers in the U.S., it is hard to overstate just how important of an asset volunteers are to nonprofit organizations all over the country.

With that in mind, volunteer management is an extremely important piece of the nonprofit puzzle, and one that is often overlooked. When you find a group of committed volunteers, you better know how to hold on to them. And that takes care, dedication, and an investment in your volunteers.

One of the best ways to set your organization and your volunteers up for a successful long-term relationship is with a Volunteer Policies and Procedures guide.

Yes, we know that long and sometimes tedious documents do not scream, “relationship-builder!” And while policies and procedures are not the glamorous aspect of organizations, they are essential for setting a good foundation between your organization, your staff, and your volunteers.

Why You Need One
A clear volunteer policies and procedures manual takes the pressure off of you and your staff. It is a safeguard for your organization. If there is an incident with a volunteer internally or external to the organization, your organization will already have a spelled-out response in place. The policies and procedures guide will

A Volunteer Policies and Procedures manual will also provide consistency. All volunteers will operate under the same expectations and can expect you to follow to the same protocol every time.

It will save you time and energy in the long term. We promise you on this one. Volunteer management will always be an investment of time and resources. Being able to provide written documentation to volunteers will save you the energy of repeating the same information and is a great resource for volunteers to be able to reference while donating their time and talent to your organization.

Essential Aspects to Include:

• Purpose of the manual
• Role of the Volunteer Coordinator (or equivalent position)
• Volunteer Rights and Responsibilities
• Standard Procedures, including: Tracking Volunteer Hours and Absences; Confidentiality; and Handling Concerns, Disputes, Grievances
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Liability

This list covers only the basics of what should be covered in a volunteer manual. The information will be different for every organization, depending on how you use volunteers within your nonprofit, how large your volunteer base is, your culture, and more. Make sure you take the time to think about what aspects you need to cover and add all of those necessary elements to your manual.

Introduce your policies and procedures guide to volunteers early, preferably during the volunteer onboarding process (more about that next week!). Make sure that the expectations outlined in the guide are clear to everyone and you have signed documentation that everyone agrees to adhere to the policies.

We love our volunteers and we know you do too! Having set policies and procedures in place will help you set a solid foundation with your volunteers and safeguard your organization.

*If you and your staff are a small to medium sized organization and do not have experience, time, or man-power to dedicate to creating a Volunteer Policies and Procedures document, let us do it for you! We are experts in volunteer management and can provide you with a personalized policies and procedures manual. Check out what we can do for you here.*