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Volunteer Coordination

If your Village offers services to members, you will require many volunteers to perform theses services. Finding and enrolling volunteers is a significant activity and key to your success. This page outlines the process for enrolling volunteers. The team holds volunteer orientation meetings to recruit and train volunteers, and implements plans for volunteer retention and appreciation in order to provide needed services to assist members.

Orientation meetings are scheduled periodically, usually once per month. Use the event manager to copy a previous orientation meeting with a new date or add a new one to the calendar.

Schedule Orientation

Once we have scheduled the next orientation meeting and have a name and an e-mail address for a potential volunteer , we enter them into the non-member database as a prospective volunteer Add Potential Volunteer, and send them a welcome letter thanking them for their interest in volunteering including an application and an invitation to the next orientation meeting. Copy the sample volunteer welcome email. Send Email

A week before the orientation meeting send an email to all potential volunteers reminding them about the next volunteer orientation. Copy the sample volunteer orientation invitation email. Send Email

When we receive a completed application with the supporting materials (copy of license and proof of insurance), we update the database via the service provider screen. Usually this occurs after the orientation meeting. The information entered includes contact data, services the volunteer will provide, and schedule data.

Service Providers

At the orientation we describe the Village, its mission, and how volunteering works. Volunteer Orientation Presentation

Volunteers learn about us from many sources. One of the first questions we ask is how did they hear about us.

New volunteers are asked to read the volunteer handbook.

Volunteer Handbook

New volunteers who were already in the database as potential volunteers can have their vetting status updated via the service providers screen. Someone who shows up at an orientation meeting without first having been entered into the database can be added directly from the Service Providers screen.

Volunteers enter their information for background checks on the website of the vetting service used by the Village. This avoids the Village having to keep and secure sensitive information. Sterling Volunteers is an example, but there are other providers. Review your requirements and compare costs.

We review the results of the background checks on the Vendor's site. View background check results.

Details: After a volunteer attends the orientation meeting, remove the person from the potential volunteer category, and add them to the new volunteer category. This prevents them from being invited to future orientation meetings and flags that they need a follow up phone call after two weeks or so. After that phone call is made, remove the new volunteer category flag and update any notes in the volunteer's record.