5 Tips for Helping Volunteers Work With Your Nonprofit Staff

Volunteers are a vital part of nonprofit operations, often working behind the scenes to support mission-driven efforts, including operations, events, and programs. To empower your volunteers to do their best work, foster a collaborative environment between them and staff members so everyone is excited to contribute meaningfully.

Prioritize creating a harmonious work environment to facilitate better outcomes for your nonprofit's programs and beneficiaries. Let's examine a few ways you can improve collaboration between your organization's volunteers and staff members, ensuring that everyone does their part to further your mission.

It's an opportunity you don't want to miss out on!

The first step to effective collaboration is ensuring that volunteers understand what they are doing and why it's significant to your mission. However, it's also important that volunteers don't take on tasks that your staff members are already handling. Aside from being inefficient, this can also cause interpersonal issues between volunteers and staff.

Start by assessing your operational gaps and designing volunteer roles that fill those gaps while complementing staff responsibilities. This alignment prevents duplication, maximizes productivity, and ensures that volunteers feel useful and valued. Take these steps:

• Interview staff members to identify areas of need and recurring bottlenecks where volunteers can assist.
• Create clear volunteer role descriptions with goals, expected time commitments, required skills, and other key information.
• Onboard volunteers with department-specific context, including workflows, tools they'll use, and introductions to key staff.
• Establish a buddy system where volunteers are matched with staff members who can best guide them based on the volunteer's role and skills.
• Periodically check in to gather feedback from both staff and volunteers about the value of volunteer roles.
• Document and share success stories internally to reinforce the value of volunteer contributions.

Generally, it's a good idea to have volunteers perform less important roles while staff members oversee them. For example, if you run a nonprofit store, you'd have staff members set the prices for your items. Since they're more familiar with the costs of procuring that item and your thrift store pricing strategy, they have the knowledge necessary to set a price that makes sense for your nonprofit.

However, you'd ask volunteers to adjust tags and signage around the store to reflect any price changes. This task is still important, but doesn't require the same depth of knowledge and experience.

Although volunteers may occupy roles that are less critical to your nonprofit's operations, that doesn't mean their help is less valuable. Volunteers thrive when they feel like part of your team and that their work is meaningful to your mission. Integrating them into regular communication channels shows them that and helps foster a sense of belonging.

Here are a few ways you can strengthen communication and collaboration with your volunteers:

• Include volunteers in relevant team meetings to provide updates and foster transparency.
• Use collaborative tools like Slack, Trello, or Asana for shared visibility on tasks and schedules.
• Create a shared communication calendar with updates, deadlines, and key milestones.
• Provide volunteers with access to internal newsletters or volunteer newsletters so you keep them informed.
• Assign staff liaisons to oversee volunteer engagement and act as primary points of contact.
• Encourage informal meetups or social hours to build relationships and camaraderie.

Volunteer management software, can significantly enhance communication and collaboration. While different volunteer management systems offer different features, most are designed to streamline volunteer recruitment, organize volunteer activities, enhance volunteer engagement, and increase volunteer retention. They usually come with built-in messaging systems that facilitate seamless communication between volunteers and staff members.

By streamlining logistics and improving information flow, volunteer management software strengthens your volunteer team, empowering them to participate more fully in your operations and programs.

Many nonprofits enlist volunteers to deliver their programs and help out their beneficiaries. Think of Habitat for Humanity, for example. This large nonprofit is dedicated to helping people worldwide live in affordable and safe homes. It enlists volunteers to build some of those shelters, as staff members are unable to keep up with demand.

Volunteers can serve as vital extensions of your program team. From mentoring participants to helping organize community fundraising events, they bring unique perspectives and energy that enhance the service experience.

Here are a few examples of roles volunteers can occupy in program delivery:

• Program assistants for workshops or events
• Peer mentors or tutors
• Activity facilitators for youth programs
• Support staff for community health clinics
• Tech help desk volunteers for virtual learning programs
• Reading buddies in literacy initiatives
• Food service helpers at soup kitchens or food pantries
• Translators or cultural liaisons in multilingual service areas
• Logistics coordinators for mobile outreach units

Just like in other roles, staff members ensure volunteers are onboarded and trained well so they offer a quality experience to your beneficiaries and other supporters. This also empowers your volunteers to contribute to your mission with confidence.

If you have any upcoming programs or initiatives, consider what roles volunteers can play. Start your recruitment process early to guarantee you have the help you need once the program is underway.

While we most commonly see volunteers taking on program delivery roles, behind-the-scenes work is just as essential and may be just as understaffed for nonprofits. Volunteers can lighten the administrative load by tackling recurring or project-based tasks.

Administrative and operational responsibilities volunteers might take on include:

• Data and information management: A volunteer might perform data entry, file and digitize paperwork, or sort through donation records to ensure your nonprofit has clean records.
• Marketing and outreach: According to Cornershop Creative, every nonprofit should have a marketing plan to provide the framework for the highest return on investment (ROI) from its marketing activities. Volunteers can follow the framework, create marketing materials, and send or schedule messages that help you reach more supporters and inspire more gifts.
• Inventory and supply management: Many types of nonprofits hold inventory, such as items needed for upcoming events or programs. Volunteers can manage inventory by cataloging the items you have, items you’ll need to purchase, and items you have in excess.
• Event support and follow-up: Even large-scale nonprofits have trouble staffing large events. Volunteers can play a crucial role during these gatherings by checking in attendees, staffing specific activities, and answering attendee questions.

Volunteers may also help with mission-specific administrative and operational tasks. For example, in nonprofit thrift stores, volunteers can assist with sorting donations, restocking shelves, organizing merchandise, and creating visual displays. Nonprofits that operate secondhand or thrift stores might also take ThriftCart's advice and train their volunteers to use their point of sale (POS) system, enabling volunteers to assist with checking customers out.

Volunteers give their time and energy to your mission because they're passionate about it. One way you can encourage their continued engagement and reward them for their involvement is by providing them with leadership opportunities. These allow volunteers to get even further involved with your mission, solidifying their commitment.

Leadership roles look different in every nonprofit, but a few examples include:

• New volunteer mentors
• Volunteer team leads or coordinators
• Event committee chairs
• Program advisors
• Training facilitators
• Board members

Ideally, you should have a system for tracking volunteer hours, whether that's through a spreadsheet or your volunteer management software. Use this information to identify top volunteers who may be interested in a leadership position.

Once you have your list of individuals with the most volunteer time, narrow down your list based on your knowledge of the volunteers, their desires, and their ability to commit to your nonprofit. Extend leadership offers to recognize volunteers as capable partners, which also fosters a culture of growth and mutual respect between staff and volunteers within your organization.

When volunteers and nonprofit staff work together, the results are powerful. Strategic collaboration enhances your nonprofit's operational efficiency, enriches service delivery, and builds a stronger organizational culture.

And, if you want to make volunteer management and collaboration easier than ever, don't forget to check out our top volunteer management solutions that streamline scheduling, communication, and more.