If you asked the volunteers at your organization, “What is the one thing you would change if you could change anything about volunteering with our organization,” what do you think they would say?
In my experience, volunteer engagement professionals and nonprofit leaders imagine very lofty and impressive answers to this question: greater access to the CEOs or Board leadership, a chance to influence the strategic plan, or the like. And yet, in our work interviewing hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteers and asking this question, the answers are most often much more tangible and specific. What would most volunteers change? Easier or cheaper parking. Adding another computer station so it’s easier to check in or document their activities. A chance to participate in training remotely. In other words, they tend to simply want volunteering to be easier.
What else do these answers have in common? They all relate in one way or another to infrastructure.
Effective and impactful engagement relies on sufficient infrastructure. By understanding what it takes to engage and support volunteers, organizations can not only make it easier for volunteers to serve but also make it more appealing for staff members to engage volunteers in the work. Additionally, assessing infrastructure assets and needs can be useful when advocating for such support as budget, staff, space, equipment, and technology.
What does infrastructure include: Many components, including:
- Budget (designated operational funds to support staff, office equipment, program supplies, training, technology hardware and software, etc.)
- Staffing (dedicated volunteer management staff, volunteer engagement responsibilities incorporated into other staff member job descriptions, etc.)
- Space (workspace, storage, breakrooms, etc.)
- Equipment and Materials (storage bins, cash machines, gardening tools, program kits, uniform, name tags, etc.)
- Technology (hardware including computers, tablets, phones, and cameras; Software including volunteer management software, emails, applications, and more)
- Recognition Resources (catering, event spaces, awards, gifts, etc.)
- Training (curricula, handouts, guest speaker, refreshments, space, etc.)
- Policies and Protocols (volunteer handbook, background checks, risk management including insurance, etc.)
Check out the latest addition to our tools and templates page — the infrastructure assessment (or download it directly here) to help you assess your current infrastructure and identify areas to expand or update infrastructure. And, to better understand how assessing infrastructure can also help you influence colleagues to engage volunteers more effectively, be sure to read our recent guest post on the Better Impact blog, in which I share a story about interviewing volunteers at a wildlife rescue organization. Their answer to the question about what would enhance their experience was quite surprising – and remarkably simple.