Safe Food For the Hungry -- II
Participant's Workbook Part 3: Volunteer Management
Learning Center Activity 6: Developing an Effective Volunteer Program
Volunteerism Fact Sheet
Why do people volunteer?
People volunteer for a wide variety of reasons. If you would ask 100 different people
why they volunteer, you would get 100 different answers.
Top Five Reasons for Volunteering:
(Based upon data collected by the Gallup Organization)
- To do something useful to help others.
- Enjoy doing the work.
- Have an interest in the work or activity.
- Felt those with more should help those who had less.
- Gained a feeling of personal satisfaction from giving and volunteering.
Who volunteers?
In many ways, the statistics show us that there is no clear "profile" of the American
Volunteer. However, there are several trends that can be helpful when attempting
to identify potential volunteers. Refer to the next page for information about today's
volunteers.
Be sure to ask!
The fastest and most significant way to increase volunteerism is to ask more people
to help. People are more than four times as likely to volunteer when asked than
when they are not. Among the 45% of respondents who were asked to volunteer in the
past year, 82% actually did.
Make use of under utilized groups
Certain demographic groups are asked to volunteer less often: African-Americans
and Hispanics; families with household incomes under $20,000; single people; people
who are divorced, widowed or separated; and persons who are not employed. But, when
asked, these groups volunteer at a similar or even higher rate than the national
average.
Who Are the Volunteers of Today?
- Attracted to issues
- Married (52%)
Single (39%)
- Largest Age Category
35-49 (54%)
- Attracted to a cause
- Employed (62% full or part time)
- 54% of parents in households with children under 18 years old do some volunteering.
- 38% of Seniors over 65 volunteer
- Likely to make short term commitments
- Likely to prefer on-the-job training
- Approximately 52% of the U.S. population volunteers on a regular basis for a wide
variety of causes
ISOTURES-A Volunteer Management System
Volunteers are the key to successful programs. The processes implied by ISOTURES
are not done in sequence. Rather, all are important as a part of an effective volunteer-led
program. Each part of the ISOTURES system can be thought of as a piece of a puzzle.
All pieces are necessary to complete the puzzle.
Pieces in the ISOTURES Puzzle
I - Identification
Finding people who have the competence and attitude to fill specific
positions.
S - Selection
Placing motivated volunteers.
O - Orientation
Orienting those recruited for the positions they will fill.
T - Training
Preparing volunteers to be successful.
U - Utilization
Providing opportunities to increase knowledge and skills.
R - Recognition
Recognizing and rewarding volunteer performance.
E - Evaluation
Giving useful feedback.
S - Supervision
Helping leaders obtain the results they wish to accomplish.