As the demand for nonprofit services skyrockets, the need for volunteers increases, too. Here are three easy ways to reach out to your community for more support and recruit quality volunteers.

1. Hire a volunteer coordinator if your organization hasn’t already. When quality volunteers are needed, a volunteer coordinator is one of the most valuable positions in a nonprofit organization. It’s a full-time job, involving everything from setting goals, making plans, and defining roles, to recruiting, screening volunteer applicants, and placing them in the right position.
2. Start asking for help. Over the last couple of years, the economy spurred many unemployed folks to spend their time volunteering, so recruiting might not have been part of your daily job duties. After all, volunteers were knocking on nonprofits’ doors, anxious to help. But as the economy improves and more people land jobs, they may have to give up their volunteer duties. It might be time to start asking for help. When communicating with supporters, let them know you need more volunteers. And it’s okay to say that giving time is an excellent substitute for giving money.
3. Hold a volunteer recruitment event for interested supporters to learn more about your organization and how they can get involved. You might want to have two events: one during the day for retired folks and others who want daytime opportunities, and one in the evening for people who work during the day. Ask your current volunteers to help you organize it, and to be on hand to answer questions and share their experiences. And of course, ask them to bring their friends.

Keeping a steady supply of volunteers is vital for every nonprofit to serve clients in their time of need. As demand for services grows, do you have enough volunteers ready to help? If not, follow these tips to add some new volunteers to replace those who are moving on.

Twitter, the 140-character-limit social networking and messaging service, has been in the news quite a bit lately, especially with the political events in Egypt. When in our history have so many people been connected so quickly and easily in support of a common goal?

That’s the beauty of Twitter—nonprofit groups can use this popular tool to not only communicate quickly with their supporters, they can also raise visibility for their cause, for an event or to raise funds.

Here are 5 tips for nonprofits to use Twitter effectively:

1. Connecting through online social media tools is a great first step to creating a long-term supporter. Don’t neglect the follow up, by inviting the person to visit your website or sign up for newsletters. They might not donate right away, but you can lay the foundation for future support.
2. Be real. People want to know that there is a person behind the tweets, so don’t be afraid to engage in a real conversation or reveal your personality. And use your name or the name of your organization so people feel a connection.
3. Make it easy for donors to donate! If you don’t already have one, add a “donate now” button to your website. When you send out a tweet asking for money, be sure to link to the page that includes this link. Don’t make your supporters click through more than one page to give you money—or you risk losing them.
4. Tell people what the money is for. Share a quick story—in as few characters as possible—of how donations will make a real difference in someone’s life, in the community or for the environment. Make that emotional connection.
5. Make it a two-way conversation: Don’t forget to listen as much as you talk. If you have people asking questions, that’s a sign of success—be sure to respond to what people are saying about your organization. Address concerns and nip in the bud any misconceptions that are floating around.

Nonprofit organizations don’t have it easy these days. From cuts in state funding to lower donations from supporters, many charitable organizations must battle every day just to keep the doors open. And not all have succeeded. With all the difficulties facing NPO directors, they have their hands full. Added regulations and time-intensive requirements can seem unnecessary.

But there is one that is not: conducting background checks on volunteers. “Why should we be required to run background checks?” said one NPO director. “I don’t have the time or budget, and all of our volunteers are model citizens.”

This must be one lucky NPO manager! Others have not been so lucky. Volunteers come from all backgrounds, and just like the general public, there are a certain percentage of honest volunteers, dishonest volunteers, and volunteers with criminal histories—or worse, sex offender status.

Despite a lack of time or budget, nonprofit organizations depending on federal and state funding to serve their clients could be mandated by state and federal governments to conduct background screening. Specifically, those providing day care or child care services, or that bring employees or volunteers into contact with minors or vulnerable adults, are typically required to perform background checks on all employees and volunteers.

In addition, federal programs or those with federal contracts are required to conduct criminal background checks on both employees and volunteers. The same is often true in some states, if any state funds are used by the organization.

Any NPO that plans to conduct background checks must notify the potential volunteer and obtain written consent by way of a signature on a notification page. It’s easy enough to add this document to a volunteer application.

Whether it’s mandated or not, it’s just good practice to conduct background checks on potential volunteers. Why not take this easy step to protect your staff, clients and other volunteers from potential danger of an unknown volunteer’s unknown problems?

It pays to plan before you send a group of volunteers out to accomplish a task. Project planning can make a volunteer’s job more efficient and successful. How do some professional volunteer managers seem to plan their projects with such ease? The answer can be as simple as . Keeping good records helps you establish good procedures for how to accomplish a task the next time.

1. Write it all down

First assess the areas you need help in. This will help you recruit volunteers with appropriate skills. For example, if you need to plan a fundraiser, you might need an auctioneer, an event planner, and a designer. For meal delivery to shut-ins, you’d look for empathetic people who are adept at making connections with others.

Next, look at the project itself. Ask why it needs to be done—that’s the goal that will direct every activity. Is it to raise money for operations, or to buy a needed piece of equipment? Is it to raise awareness of a cause? Or is the project something that falls under your organization’s direct work?

Then figure out the steps it will take to finish the project. Start at the beginning, at the end, or in the middle—you’ll fill in the rest of the steps from there.

Decide how many volunteers  each step will take. What skills are needed during each phase? For a fundraiser, you’d need a designer at the beginning, the middle and the end; you’d need the auctioneer just on the day of the event.

Time is the next issue—how much do you have overall and how much do you anticipate each step will take? If it’s a short-term project, like planting trees along a stream, then figure out how long it will take to gather enough volunteers, obtain the trees, get permission for planting, and pick a day from there.

Is the project going to involve volunteers working with children, handling funds or interacting with at-risk populations? Then be sure to figure in time for background screening for those volunteers.

Finally, what transportation will be needed for volunteers? Whether they can walk to the site, or you’ll need a bus to get them there, don’t make the mistake of deciding you need transportation after all the volunteers have arrived. You’ll be wasting valuable work time—and valuable volunteer time.

2. Fill out a project sheet.

With the answers to the above questions clearly established, you’ll be able to fill out a simple project worksheet:

PROJECT WORKSHEET

Title:       Goal:

Start date:      End date:

Number of volunteers:      Hours per week per volunteer:

Project description:

Volunteer job title:
Volunteer job description:
Number of volunteers we need for this job description:
Background check:      yes      no

Volunteer job title:
Volunteer job description:
Number of volunteers we need for this job description:
Background check:      yes      no

Volunteer job title:
Volunteer job description:
Number of volunteers we need for this job description:
Background check:      yes      no

Total number of volunteers for this project:

Transportation needs:

Other needs (permits, event space, etc.):

For volunteer managers, recruiting volunteers is only step one in a successful volunteer program. The process that includes background screening, matching skills with needs, and training. Sometimes the important step of orientation is overlooked.

Why orientation is so important?

• Orientation helps ensure volunteers are productive and that they stick around. Learning their place, their job, and the meaning of their work helps facilitate a job well done. Feeling productive leads to higher retention, too.
• Orientation helps new volunteers learn your nonprofit organization’s (NPO’s) policies and procedures. It’s frustrating and unproductive for volunteers to find out the dos and don’ts as they go. It can also be stressful for staff to correct the missteps of volunteers who don’t know any better. Just knowing where to park and which restroom to use can be extremely helpful to newbies.
• Volunteer orientation gives new folks a sense of partnership. Feeling like you’re a part of something leads to buy-in. A sense of belonging somewhere is very important—and it’s a big reason people volunteer in the first place. Skipping orientation could lead new volunteers to feel adrift and more like an outsider than an insider.
• Proper orientation for volunteers means the organization’s mission is clearly communicated. Knowing clearly what the organization’s mission and goals are makes volunteers valuable spokespeople in the community.

A Few Quick Tips for Successful Volunteer Orientation

1. Be organized: prepare packets of information ahead of time. Scrambling at the last moment makes you and your organization look unprofessional
2. Recruit a fully-trained staff member or volunteer to lead it: Even worse than being unorganized is leaving volunteers with the thought that they are not being taught well
3. Consider compiling a list of acronyms your volunteers will hear being tossed around. It will help them feel like insiders—not outsiders who aren’t privy to the organization’s activities.
4. Group orientations are a great way to save time and introduce new volunteers to staff and more experienced volunteers.

While training volunteers to do their specific jobs is extremely important, volunteer managers should remember that skipping orientation to get to training could leave volunteers unproductive and heading for the door!

The Volunteering in America report was just published by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Its   2009 findings contain good news: despite the economic downturn, when non profit organizations (NPOs) were especially vulnerable (many on the verge of collapse) volunteers came through in higher numbers. In fact, the increase in volunteers serving in 2009 versus 2008 was 1.6 million! That’s the largest single-year increase since 2003.

• The rate of volunteering was up to 26.8% from 26.4% in 2008
• 8.1 billion hours of service were given by 63.4 million volunteers
• Total estimated dollar value of services volunteered: $169 billion,

Interestingly, the huge increase was because women, married individuals, and people working full-time volunteered in larger numbers than before. The biggest group increase was the full-time worker, so it seems that Americans answered the call to serve, even though their own economic situation might have been affected by the recession.

Women continue to volunteer at higher rates than men—in fact working mothers have the highest volunteer rates. African Americans are also increasing their volunteer efforts, up .9% from 2008 to 2009—and up 1.6% for African American women.

The four most popular activities for volunteers:

• Fundraising 26.6%
• Collecting or distributing food 23.5%
• Providing labor or transportation 20.5%
• Tutoring or teaching 19%

For the fifth straight year, Utah topped the list of volunteers by state:

• Utah 44.2%
• Iowa 37.8%
• Minnesota 37.5%
• Nebraska 37.4%
• Alaska 37.3%

The Corporation for National and Community Service and the White House launched a huge volunteer-recruiting effort, including the http://www.Serve.gov website, to make it easier for individuals to find volunteer opportunities in their communities.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that hosts a comprehensive website at www.NationalService.gov. The Volunteering in America report is a partnership between the Corporation for National and Community Service, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Bureau for Labor Statistics. At www.VolunteeringInAmerica.gov, you can find loads of data and detailed information about volunteer activities in all 50 states and 200 metro areas.

A recent survey of U.S. companies showed that planning for community involvement, including contributions, has “moved out of crisis mode and into a recovery mindset.” In other words, drastic budget cuts in charitable giving have slowed among these companies, and they are again thinking about helping their communities.

What does this mean for non profit organization (NPO) executives and volunteer boards? Perhaps some breathing room. If your NPO made it through 2009 intact, you may see increased corporate support in the rest of 2010.

Still, according to the report, 20% of the 114 companies surveyed in December 2009 and January 2010 are planning on reducing their budgets for charitable giving. But that’s a significant drop from 53% in the same survey taken in 2008-2009.

The good news on the volunteer side is that most of the surveyed companies plan to increase the resources devoted to volunteer programs. Event sponsorship, however, will continue to take a hit. Corporations will want to help with personnel hours instead of dollars. Continue developing relationships with corporate leaders and let them know how their employees can help your organization.

Capital campaigns and arts and culture organizations will continue to be hard hit, since more companies plan to focus resources on education and environmental causes.

But the positive news is that the companies surveyed overwhelmingly say they are less likely to reduce their contributions-related administrative budgets (down from 34% last year), and less likely to cut grant size (8% this year, 21% last year). Another bright spot: only 11% of surveyed companies plan to make fewer grants in 2010, compared to nearly 34% in 2009.

So, while non profits will continue to work hard for contributions, there could be pleasant surprises along the way in 2010!

Chevron is a massive energy company, with operations in every corner of the globe, thousands of employees, and retail outlets from Canada, to China, to Colombia.

Residents of countries and communities where Chevron employees work benefit from the company’s commitment to sustainability and long-term socioeconomic benefits, like health care, water, sanitation, volunteers, and disaster response.

Chevron partners with North Star Foundation, which operates roadside health clinics at truck stops and border crossings in Africa and Asia. Their center for HIV/AIDS testing, education and wellness care is located in a “hotspot” area, where drivers and people from the surrounding communities can access services, leading to a 17% decline in sexually-transmitted infections in five years.

Chevron was the first Corporate Champion of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, using its financial power, as well as its ability to leverage medical experts from around the world, to work on eradicating these devastating diseases. Chevron is giving $30 million to the fund.

In the Gulf Coast of the U.S., Chevron is a major employer and presence. After Hurricane Ike in Port Arthur, TX, volunteer employees of the local lubricants plant assisted the elderly and others who needed help with clearing debris and trees, removing flood-damaged flooring and installing temporary roofs.

In addition, Chevron launched a three-year effort to support public education in school districts affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. From new whiteboards and computers to leadership training, the program was deemed a great success for the children, their teachers, families and communities.

Chevron Humankind is a community-based program that matches employee and retiree contributions to non profit organizations, funds grants for volunteer time and sponsors volunteer programs. In 2008, the program recorded more than 110,0900 hours of volunteering, and $20 million in contributions to NPOs.

Chevron’s efforts to improve lives both in the U.S. and around the globe are seeing real, measurable results.

All images courtesy of Chevron

As promised, we continue to offer some best practices tips for volunteer managers. Increase efficiency and stay organized with tips from both the for-profit business sector and other nonprofit organizations.

1. Develop a Volunteer Acquisition Plan: Plans help you keep on goal; your volunteer recruitment efforts will be much more effective if you plan carefully. First, determine how many volunteers you need for each project, ongoing tasks, and events you have in a typical period—one month, six months, one year. Then decide the level of experience you need from your volunteers. Do you need special training, like food service, catering, accounting, truck driving, or traffic control? Or is the project something that is suitable for a family with small children?

Next, make a list of former volunteers, current supporters, and even your friends and business contacts who possess the desired training or expertise. Contact them and ask for their help. Be sure to clearly define your needs, expectations, and their time commitment.

2. Protect your Organization from Legal Harm: As a volunteer manager, you must be as aware of employment laws as any human resource manager. If you lack training in this area, research training opportunities or enlist the help of an HR Law professional for guidance. Some of the applicable federal land state laws are the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (which covers volunteer background screening and credit checks), and anti-discrimination legislation like Equal Employment Opportunity.

Keep staff, served populations and other volunteers safe and your organization out of legal trouble by carefully screening all volunteers. Review insurance policies annually to be sure volunteers are covered when working for your organization. Don’t wait until after a volunteer suffers an injury to find out you are under-insured.

3. Keep Excellent Records: Many organizations are required to track volunteer time. If you are not required, it is still a good idea to do so. Whether you obtain specialized computer software to help, or use simple spreadsheets, it’s vital to keep track of volunteer contact information, interests and abilities, projects assigned and completed, and notes regarding successes and challenges. These notes  will come in handy when conducting evaluations or when your organization is required to report to state or federal officials. If you are challenged for time to track volunteer activity, assign the task to a volunteer.

4. Be Flexible: The ability to switch hats, courses of action, and gears is a valuable one for volunteer managers. If a volunteer is having trouble with a project, losing interest in the organization, or not working out as well as you’d hoped, be ready to communicate, evaluate, and act accordingly. If your volunteer recruitment plan isn’t working as well as you need it to, double your efforts, ask a mentor for help, or simply change your approach. Try spreading the word with social media or free online ads like Craigslist.

Borrowing good management practices from others is an easy way to implement procedures that really work—and can save you valuable time!

Keep It Professional

Potential volunteers may be knocking on your door in larger numbers than you expect. Volunteerism is on the rise, not only because the spirit of giving back in the US is strong, but because the economy is weak. Whether they want give back to their community or remove gaps in their resume, how do you handle an increase in volunteers?

If you’re in the position where you have more potential volunteers than you have work for, then you’ll need to screen prospective volunteers carefully to ensure you make a good match. Here are a few tips when considering volunteer candidates.

Treat the Process Like a Job Interview
Because it is! Your organization has work to do; whether it is handled by paid or volunteer workers, it must be done properly and efficiently. So review the prospective volunteer’s credentials and experience. Ask the tough questions, like:

What is your interest in our organization?
What do you hope to accomplish here?
What do you hope to get out of the experience?

Fit the Volunteer With the Right Position
Here’s where the process differs from a job interview. Your volunteers don’t always apply for a specific position—many will offer to do whatever needs to be done.  Don’t take the easy route and have Mary, a laid-off computer programmer, start revamping the donor database. And Jason, the college student, might not be the best choice for repainting the restrooms.  Drill down a bit to find out not only what they would be good at, but what they want to do. Perhaps Mary needs a break, and would much rather drive elderly clients to the Senior Center. Jason might rather be outside cutting grass and edging sidewalks than inside with a paintbrush. Try these questions:

What gives you the greatest satisfaction at work?
What would you like to do here?
What would you like to avoid? 
What do you do for fun?

What NOT to Say
Now we go back to treating it like a job interview! Protect yourself and your organization by complying with employment laws. Avoid being too personal. You may have a genuine rapport with your potential volunteer, but until they have been properly screened, you need to keep it professional. Remember to steer clear of illegal questions, such as race, national origin, sexual identity, age, and marital status. Religious and family questions are also inappropriate. If or where someone goes to church, and how many children they have, can come up in friendly conversation if they initiate it later, but not during the interview.

Volunteer Screening
Failing to properly screen potential volunteers could have negative consequences for your NPO and the population it serves, from damaging the organization’s reputation to legal or criminal issues. Background screening is the best way to ensure you are introducing qualified individuals to your organization, its employees and those you serve.