Many charitable nonprofits rely on the help of volunteers to fulfill their missions. Whether it be packing food boxes, mentoring youth, or assisting with general office work, volunteers contribute valuable time and energy to help organizations succeed. Implementing management practices allows organizations to recruit and retain volunteer resources, but many nonprofits struggle to successfully engage volunteers and reap the full benefits of their service. By effectively managing and engaging volunteers, organizations can save costs, increase community support, and build their capacity to operate efficiently and sustainably.

Engaged volunteers feel connected to the organization and are more easily retained, allowing nonprofits to benefit from volunteer contributions over longer periods of time. Building relationships with volunteers and unlocking additional ways they may be willing to support the cause helps an organization develop its capacity to fulfill its mission. Implementing strategic engagement initiatives designed to leverage the assets of volunteers expands a nonprofit’s ability to maximize its social impact.

Nonprofits should consider engaging volunteers as leaders, donors, and advocates to grow their commitment to the organization, boost retention, and build organizational capacity. In order to cultivate volunteers to contribute in these ways, a strong foundational volunteer program must be in place.

…

A few months after I graduated from high school, I found myself finishing a 40-mile-long grueling ruck march and receiving the yearning green beret. That was not the finish line but the beginning of service that continues today. Along the way, I served different organizations and worked hard for the success of the mission. However, one thing never changed: the need to master practices that have been proven to work and enable me to lead from wherever I am, as a sergeant first class or a nonprofit employee.

As an Israel Defense Forces veteran, I relate to Jim Collins’ West Point talk about the ethics of service, commitment to a cause bigger than yourself, the understanding that you could die while serving and meaningful insight that the pursuit for greatness is a journey that never ends. Lisa Joslin says, “creating organizational change is not the same as leadership. It is, instead, a byproduct of leadership, and leadership must come first." I believe that it starts with leaders that empower others to make the act of leadership.

In his talk Collins said, “Every good-to-great transition in our research began with a Level 5 leader…

Nonprofit employees are starting to show sector-switching intent, which affects the retention of nonprofit organizations. Understanding what positions need to be filled, hiring and training all require a large amount of resources. After all that, the goal is that an employee will remain long enough to become a worthwhile return on investment, according to John L. Lipp in “Keeping the Volunteers You Have.”

While salaries can influence the retention and recruitment of employees, a potential employee’s intrinsic motivations related to the mission and social connection to the organization also relates back to the satisfaction of that employee with their jobs.

Meeting the following motivations can lead to a successful retention program for nonprofits.

Monetary motivations

Monetary motivations correspond with the most basic level of human needs according to Maslow’s Hierarchy. Compensation covers the material safety needs of employment, property and health. It should be noted that not any compensation will be acceptable for employees. They need to be able to meet the needs of the local environment and their living situation in order to be able to accept a position.

To better meet monetary motivations of employees, try implementing some of the following methods.

…

According to the Millennial Impact Project, episodic volunteerism is increasing in popularity as our younger generations look for ways to share their wealth across many different causes and passion areas. Businesses and other associations are always looking for team-building activities that give back to their local communities as part of their corporate social responsibility programs. Finding ways to bring short-term volunteers into your nonprofit can be tough, especially if your organization relies heavily on training or extensive screening mechanisms to ensure long-term commitments.

Engaging, worthwhile experiences are not too difficult to develop and you never know who might come through your doors. Some organizations have received legacy donations and major gifts as a result of a well-executed one-time volunteer event. The best part: You don’t need a fully staffed volunteer program to make this work. Start planning now and your organization can begin to tap into the wealth of knowledge and skill available in short-term volunteer opportunities.

Here are six questions to ask your organization before embracing episodic volunteer opportunities. 

1. What tasks do the existing volunteers complete that require minimal training and are completed in a few hours?  These are the PERFECT tasks for episodic volunteers and are even better if you can recruit some of your existing volunteers to become project…

Since the 1980s, nonprofit, for-profit and public organizations have formed partnerships to produce and distribute various goods and services. The growing magnitude and complexity of socioeconomic problems that face societies throughout the world has generated the urgency for cross-sector collaboration to emerge. Examining these cross-sector collaborations reveals advantages for nonprofit leaders seeking greater impact.

In addition, the interdependence between nonprofits, corporations and governments will continue to intensify during the 21st century.  In Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, James E. Austin and M. May Seitanidi said, “Collaboration creation will continue to accelerate and likely become the organizational modality of choice in this century.”

A cross-sector partnership is an alliance between organizations from two or more sectors that commit themselves to working together to develop and implement a specific project. These alliances are becoming more strategically important for all sectors. 

They can be from business, government and civil society, and they combine the competencies of each sector to resolve a specified problem or challenge. Public/private…