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Volunteer Coordinator
Crisis Center
1121 Gilbert Court
Iowa City, Iowa 52240
319-351-0140
crisiscentervolunteers@yahoo.com
Individuals volunteer their time and themselves for many different reasons and finding quality volunteers can be a
challenge that takes time and effort by staff.
Some might say a volunteer program starts with recruitment, but organizations that use volunteers must first go
through the process of identifying their goals for having volunteers and their expectations for volunteers before
going out to find them. To an organization, a volunteer program can be a useful form of community outreach, a
supplement to agency resources, fundraising assistance, the addition of expertise, or the element of the personal
touch. Viewing a volunteer solely as "unpaid labor" will not be a long-term motivator for the volunteer or the
organization. Defining the volunteer program as a collaborative effort will produce more satisfaction for the
volunteer and the organization.
The organization needs to develop a job description for volunteer positions in order to define the job and give
guidelines for performance. Writing a job description starts by identifying needs in the organization, this is a task
that requires input from more than one person and should be done by a staff team. Many organizations will have
positions for long-term volunteers and short-term volunteer assignments, so more than one job description may be
needed. It will be better for a volunteer to know ahead of time what is expected of their time and have the
opportunity to self-screen themselves.
Recruitment begins with understanding the reasons that individuals volunteer, their motivation to serve. The
motivations for volunteering are diverse and range from having extra free time to having a connection to those being
served. Generate a list of reasons for volunteering and match the motivations to the types of volunteer positions in
the organization. It is also important to realize that a person may have more than one motivation to volunteer. An
effective volunteer program will evaluate where it fits with motivation and identify what it has to offer the volunteer
in return.
Volunteer recognition is essential to keeping quality volunteers and should be a continuous part of the volunteer
program. Recognition is best when it is personalized to the volunteer and their performance, a warm, heart-felt note
after a job well done goes a lot farther than a printed certificate at the end of the year. An organization should try to
incorporate recognition on all levels, from the daily, personal recognition to developing a more formal event to thank
volunteers.
This presentation will explore the motivations for volunteering, ideas for recruitment, and provide hands-on
activities for developing volunteer job descriptions and day to day recognition for volunteers.
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