This summer, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced a competition that will provide nonprofit organizations the opportunity to bring on more volunteers who are age 55 and older. The deadline for letters of intent to reply (which can be a simple email) is August 9, and the deadline for applications is September 10.

The agency will award more than $14 million to local organizations that sponsor RSVP programs, and is expected to bring in more than 92,000 volunteers in six areas:

• Disaster services
• Economic opportunity
• Education
• Environmental stewardship
• Health futures
• Veterans and military families

RSVP was established in 1971. It is now one of the largest senior volunteer programs in the nation, offering a variety of activities that benefit both volunteers and the communities in which they live and work.

The competition will focus on measuring performance, and increasing and demonstrating the impact of national service in 270 specific communities, by funding grants that support volunteers 55 and older. The communities are in 45 states, and eligible organizations include public and nonprofit agencies, city and country governments, higher education institutions, Indian tribes and faith-based organizations. Learn more here.

According to the CEO of CNCS, Wendy Spencer, the focus on senior volunteers reflects the fact that “Baby boomers and other older adults are an excellent resource for local nonprofits, faith-based institutions, public agencies and others.”

Why not check to see if your community is on the list, and apply to participate in the competition? You might just increase your volunteer base, and your impact!

Even though the economy is on the mend, it’s still a tough job market out there. But a recent report contains news that might make your volunteers feel better about their prospects—and help you recruit more talented volunteers, too.

The report was published by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), and it provides evidence of an association between volunteering and employment. In fact, it states that unemployed individuals who volunteer over the next year have a 27% higher chance of being employed at the end of the year than non-volunteers.

Interestingly, factors such as age, gender, geographical location, ethnicity and job market conditions did not change the odds.

The CNCS used over 10 years of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and analyzed more than 70,000 people aged 16 and over. Their volunteering and employment records were studied over two years. The 27% increase in employment odds was stable over each year of the study, despite varying employment rates.

The research suggests that volunteering may provide a job-hunting advantage, regardless of the hiring conditions at the time.

Individuals without a high school diploma and those who live in rural areas saw even higher increases in the odds of landing jobs (51% and 55%, respectively). This suggests that those with limited skills or networking opportunities gain even more advantage when they volunteer.

Volunteering has long been seen as a way to enhance social connections, professional contacts, skills and experience. It can also be a route into a paying position with the nonprofit organization. Even the Department of Labor issued guidelines last year that volunteering can help unemployed people enhance their resumes and develop new skills. The agency encouraged state workforce offices to promote volunteering by those receiving unemployment benefits.

If you’re looking for quality volunteers, encourage those who are unemployed to apply with your organization. You may both benefit!

As much as we’d like to think there are no differences between the genders in the workplace—or in volunteer positions—the truth is that there are. Understanding the fundamental differences can help any organization run more smoothly, and with less tension and stress.

Some of the ways men and women view the workplace differently follow. Of course, these aren’t hard-and-fast rules, but general observations.

Men and women communicate differently: This will come as a surprise to practically no one. Men are more competitive and are more likely to interrupt one another. Women are more likely to weigh in after others have already expressed their opinions. Women also don’t raise their hands to speak as much, so they’ll often need to be asked their opinions. Both styles are valuable, with women viewing problems more broadly, and men being more narrow in their focus.

Women work more toward consensus: Women are more apt to exchange information, ask for consensus, and bounce ideas off of a larger group in order to create a broader agreement. Women prefer to gather feedback and are more likely to show concern that others are included in decision making. This interest in others can gain them more trust and create a more productive work environment. Men, on the other hand, want a quick decision, and more often come to them on their own.

Work-life balance: This is where misunderstanding can cause issues. Women are more accepting of the diverse needs of volunteers and workers, while men are more comfortable with doing things the way they’ve always been done. Traditional management styles and organizational cultures tend to favor the way men prefer to work. Women in positions of leadership are more likely to notice people’s needs.

It’s difficult for women and minorities to advance in places where an “old boys’ club” exists, but happily, that’s more the norm in corporate America than in non-profit America.

There is no question that a consistent practice of screening volunteers can make your organization, clients and the public safer. Gathering and checking references from volunteer applicants should be part of the screening process.

References can confirm or deny whether the applicant will be a good fit for your organization. It’s much better to find out before they start their volunteer duties!

Here are several tips for doing volunteer reference checks:

• Ask applicants for references who are familiar with their work—employers, previous volunteer managers, etc.
  
• Remember that applicants often think their references won’t be contacted. So don’t assume that they will only provide positive references.
  
• Call or email each and every reference.
  
• Ask each reference the same set of questions. Don’t neglect to ask any of your questions. You may hear a glowing report on the applicant, until you ask certain questions that trigger concern. Plus, you’ll get a much better picture of the applicant by asking the same things of each reference.
  
• Don’t ask leading questions, or “yes” or “no” questions. For example, “Don’t you think Mary would be a great driver for our organization?” Give references the time and space to answer in their own words.
  
• Clearly describe the position for which the person is applying and ask whether he or she can successfully handle the tasks.
  
• In terms of vulnerability, clearly describe the people the applicant will be serving and ask whether the reference would be comfortable with it.

Consistency and clear communications are very important when doing volunteer reference checks. Make them a standard part of your volunteer screening process, and you’ll have higher quality volunteers who better fit with your organization!

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that more companies are offering paid time off for volunteering as an employee benefit. Over the past few years, the number has increased to 20% among the companies participating in a SHRM survey.

U.S. Bank is among them. Its employees are compensated for up to 16 hours of volunteer time per year each, depending on their length of service with the company. Some go to food banks to serve breakfast. Others help with children’s services organizations. They say they appreciate their employer’s policy, because without getting paid time off, they wouldn’t have time to volunteer.

Studies show that when employers support employees in their volunteer work, the employees feel better about their jobs. In this time of increasing on-the-job dissatisfaction, it can really give productivity a boost. Volunteering can augment whatever low sense of accomplishment employees may feel on the job.

For companies, offering paid time off for volunteering is a smart move. Not only do they benefit from happier employees, but they typically have lower turnover rates – which saves them money. And in many cases, when companies that are unable or unwilling to give pay raises give paid time off for volunteering, their employees are just as happy.

So, if you want to get more volunteers who are happy to help, try pitching your local employers to pay their employees to work for you. The employer and employees will benefit as much as your organization. It’s truly a win-win-win situation!

Making your valuable volunteers feel valued is important. But with so much on your to-do list, and no money in your budget, it’s far too easy to let it slide. Even the most appreciative managers forget to properly thank their volunteers.

Fortunately, letting volunteers know you care doesn’t have to be time-consuming or expensive. Besides, you get so much bang for your buck! Volunteers who feel valued report a higher level of satisfaction with their volunteer duties. Happy volunteers mean less turnover.

Here are some low-cost ways to show your appreciation, and make volunteers happy:

• Find out what their favorite candy or other treats are. A bar of dark chocolate or bag of peanuts might not cost much, but could mean a great deal to a volunteer.
  
• Feature them in a newsletter. Shining a spotlight on a volunteer is a great way to build awareness (when they share with their friends), while making them feel great! Plus, volunteer stories help connect your readers to your organization. You’re always looking for newsletter material, right?
• Send a thank-you note with a coffee card. A $5.00 gift card to a local coffee shop is a low-cost way to show appreciation, but a heartfelt expression will be remembered long after the latte is gone!
  
• Bring in ice cream and toppings for a midday sundae break. Or invite everyone to have lunch together, which can be as simple as delivery pizza or homemade soup.
  
• Create a “Wall of Fame,” listing volunteers’ names where everyone can see it.

Bringing dozens, even hundreds, of volunteers through your organization’s doors every year puts it at a risk of loss, damage or harm to your clientele. But volunteer managers can also manage the amount of risk the non-profit is subjected to by following a few steps.

First, identify each volunteer position and its associated level of risk. Your organization chart should have all positions clarified, but if not, you can easily add to it. Think about risk in the amount of contact the position has with confidential information, money or financial information or with vulnerable populations.

• Low risk means no contact.
• Medium risk means supervised contact with vulnerable persons, and no contact with confidential information or money.
• High risk means unsupervised contact with vulnerable populations and/or contact with confidential information and/or money.

Then, prepare job descriptions that establish guidelines and standards of behavior for each position. Make sure the role’s title, responsibilities and duties are clear. Establish goals, as well as boundaries. Mention any qualifications or skills required, as well as the amount of time needed to successfully fill the position.

Each job description should include any training required, supervision required or provided, conditions such as driving, lifting or standing, and tasks it takes to meet the responsibilities.

Finally, establish standards for volunteer screening, according to the level of risk for each position. Low-risk volunteers may simply need an identity check to make sure they are who they say they are. Medium risk would include the identity check as well as require a criminal background check, including sex offender status. High risk would include a top-level identity, criminal background, sex offender and credit check.

It’s important to note when volunteers change positions or move around on the fly. Be cautious about allowing low-risk volunteers to switch into a high-risk role—even for a day—without conducting a deeper background check.

The alternative is to conduct the highest-level volunteer screening on all potential volunteers. Then, you don’t have to worry about a registered sex offender or convicted drug dealer having contact with children, the elderly or the vulnerable.

Social media can help you attract new interest in your non-profit organization, and greatly expand your audience. Through the power of social sharing, your mission can be delivered to people who haven’t heard of you before.

Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest are great ways to recruit new volunteers, too. If you haven’t signed up for each of these services yet, you’re way behind. But it shouldn’t take too long to catch up and start building your following.

One of the best—and most important—things about social media is its ability to make one-on-one connections. Having conversations is the best way to achieve this. When you start posting and following people on Twitter, you’ll see that there are a lot of conversations going on. Show you’re interested in what others have to say by re-tweeting interesting tweets. Thank people when they re-tweet yours. Ask questions of your followers.

On Facebook, provide interesting and usable content so your followers will feel compelled to share it. Ask questions so you can get to know people and spark conversations. Conduct a poll or ask them to promote your events. And when you need volunteers, you’ll have a ready-made audience that is interested in what you’re all about.

The same goes for Pinterest. Provide your followers with interesting content. That’s why they’re following you, after all. And share theirs. Social media is a two-way street.

Soon, you’ll feel comfortable asking for volunteers, as well as asking others to spread the word for you.

Once you’re up and running fast on social media, use it to your advantage. You can create a Google+ group for your volunteers, so you can communicate directly with them. Use Facebook for making announcements and creating interest in your events. Encourage people to share your information—and be sure to thank them when they do!

When you’re building an audience of social media followers, you’re also building a supply of potential volunteers. Use social media to make recruiting volunteers easier!

Just as in the for-profit world, the importance of interviewing cannot be overstated. Non-profit organizations are placed in a delicate position, because unlike employers, volunteers may feel insulted if put through their paces in the interviewing and screening process.

However, bringing in the right people is vital to the success of any organization. And successful volunteer recruiting requires successful interviewing. Here are some dos and don’ts that can make the interview process more effective:

• Don’t be swayed by others: Often, volunteers recommend their friends and acquaintances. In fact, current volunteers are great recruiters for your organization. But when it comes to the interview process, focus on the applicant and the facts, not on what you’ve been told. Jane or Justin might not be the solution to all your problems, no matter what has been said.
  
• Do pay attention to language: An interviewee who is unaware or uncaring about the language he or she uses with you is likely to continue in that realm around board members, clients and the public when representing your organization. People can be easily offended by vulgar, sexist or racist language, so if you hear any during the interview take it into consideration.
  
• Don’t judge by appearance: We all tend to form impressions based on limited exposure to a person—it’s human nature. But the best-dressed and most clean-cut people can still be dangerous to vulnerable populations. Only a complete volunteer screening and background check will tell you whether a prospective volunteer is safe to serve your organization’s clients, drive its vehicles and handle its funds.
  
• Do allow plenty of time: You may not have ample time in your day to interview potential volunteers, but this important task should not be shortchanged. Squeezing interviews between other meetings or being ill-prepared will likely result in a bad decision. You could either miss important red flags about a volunteer or overlook qualities and skills you need to accomplish your goals. Neither results in an effective volunteer workforce.

People used to volunteer out of a sense of moral obligation; however, that seems to have changed over the years. Some volunteers are repaying a kindness done to them or a family member; others remember a positive experience from childhood and strive to make that same difference to another child. Still others want to improve their professional skills, meet people or just fill their spare time.

And with time is so limited, these days, volunteers are looking for more meaning in their volunteer experience. People are more distant from each other; they connect in online social networks, but don’t always have trusted relationships or a sense of belonging to a community.

Volunteering is a way to form those real relationships. And volunteer managers need to recognize this new reality, promote their organization’s ability to bring people together and let volunteers shape their own experience that will work for them.

How to you draw in people who are looking for solid relationships? By establishing a little one-on-one time. Ask potential volunteers for a cup of coffee. Or ask small groups of two or three for their help in brainstorming ways for new volunteers to get involved with your organization.

Attract volunteers who want connection by providing it. Tap into the passions people have for a good cause. Share your mission and ask for their involvement.