A Nonprofit Manager’s Guide to Online Volunteering

Submitted by Elizabeth B. Bolton 

Beatrice Bezmalinovic Dhebar, Benjamin Stokes. A Nonprofit Manager’s Guide to Online Volunteering. Nonprofit Management and Leadership.  Vol 18 no. 4, Summer 2008; 497-506.

Introduction

As the internet expands in every facet of academia, government, business and industry and the nonprofit sector, many nonprofit managers have found a way to recruit and utilize volunteers in their program outreach and operations.  Major internet-based services such as Idealist.org and Volunteermatch.org provide access to connections with many types of organizations.  This article discusses the appropriate goals for an online volunteer program, the operational factors that need to be considered in the volunteer management process and emerging practices in online volunteering.  The research results show that “clearly defined goals, clear and regular communications with volunteers, and a process for monitoring results” ( p. 498) are the key elements for a successful online volunteer program.

Methodology

Telephone interviews with both volunteers and managers were conducted using tested standard guides.  Organizations and volunteers were separated into three categories of service usage; those who had used the service but had stopped for at least twelve months, those who applied but were not active, and those who were actively engaged.  Eighty nine organizations and 120 volunteers from the three categories were selected for additional follow-up and interviews. 

The majority of the online volunteer assignments were in the operational nature of the organization such as technology support, fundraising, communications, marketing, management and consulting advice and infrequently research, writing, editing, etc. 

Findings

Lesson 1:  Plan with Clarity.  Planning can be translated into clear assignments with detail and focus.

 

Clarity of Purpose:  Conceptualizing an Online Volunteer Program.  Most managers viewed the online volunteer program as a means to provide a tactical solution or to provide solutions to staffing problems.  Some used online volunteers to provide services they could not afford otherwise.  Another approach was organizations that achieved widespread geographical coverage or program scale.  As the authors noted, these organizations provided many opportunities and assignment postings.  Some organizations built their entire organization around the service of online volunteers.  Some provided training for the high-performing volunteers to supervise and train new ones. 

Clarity of Expectations:  Understanding the Mind-Set of a Volunteer Candidate. This result deals with the motivations of the volunteer which can be quite varied.  Potential volunteers are concerned about the time it takes to perform the assignment, their contributions to the organization’s goals and choose assignments that were consistent with their background and experience.  The results showed that most volunteers preferred assignments that were limited in weekly time requirements and duration and preferred an assignment from one to 5ive hours per week that lasted no more than 12 weeks. 

Gaining clarity means:

  • Clearing articulating the strategic basis for pursuing online volunteers.
  • Defining  assignments fully before beginning recruitment.
  • Keeping  assignments clear and product focused.
  • Limiting assignments in duration and intensity, especially when either the organization of the volunteer is a newcomer.  (P. 501)

Lesson 2. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.  Regular communications help both managers and volunteers to clarify tasks and do more work and do it better.  Regular communications are an absolute necessity for remote volunteer workers. 

 

Communication:  It Starts with Recruitment and Selection. It is relatively easy to recruit volunteers online according to managers.  The challenge is to find qualified volunteers who complete the assignment.  Some managers hand this by requiring significant trial work to evaluate commitment and qualifications. 

Communication is not only to volunteers that are selected for service.  Those not selected should also receive a communication that will preserve the organization’s good will.  In the future the volunteer may apply for another position. 

Routine Communications:  Keeping Online Volunteers on Track.  Regular communications provide reassurance to the online volunteer that someone knows they are out there working for the organization.  Most communications is done by e-mail however some groups use telephone contacts.  It is difficult to standardize communications to all volunteers as assignments may vary, locations may be far apart in different time zones.

The authors make the following suggestions for routine communications with online volunteers.  Communicate regularly, even if it is only to give a greeting or share a little about the project; check e-mail daily and let volunteers know when to expect a response if it is not possible to respond immediately;  Evaluate whether to introduce new technologies … to make it easier for volunteers to interact with each other and with a manager; Be prepared to provide clear and specific feedback in a timely manner.  ((p. 504)

Lesson 3:  Monitor and Learn from Results.  Many times volunteers are never asked to evaluate their work or the results of their involvement. However most online volunteers indicated that some type of feedback would be helpful for their performance and to the organization.  Retention is a problem associated with limited internal monitoring. 

The authors suggest that managers could benefit if they: Monitor performance and provide regular feedback; keep records on completion and retention rates; use a standard evaluation form for all volunteers to respond to when they finish their assignment. 

Implications for Practice

Volunteers have been the lifeline for many Extension programs and it is expected that most county offices that have programs utilizing volunteers have a volunteer management plan they follow on a regular basis that includes the basic steps of recruitment, orientation, training, supervision, evaluation and recognition (Bolton, EDIS xxx) or some variation that works for their local programs.  Volunteering and the management of volunteers in Extension is well know and widely practiced.  However the online volunteer may provide a completely new and innovative approach to extending and multiplying program outreach.  This is an area that needs to be explored both locally and statewide and which can provide impact for all areas that utilize volunteers.