Giving Compass' Take:

• The author discusses a successful example of strategic planning that is focused on recruiting the best volunteers that will uphold the organizational mission in the long term.

• Is this strategic model replicable for other volunteer managers?

• Read about the benefits and motivations of volunteers.

In volunteer management, where we are doers who spend our time getting things done, it may be hard to believe that creating a strategic plan is worth the time spent to create it.

Even if your team begins the process with a lot of energy, how do you motivate your team to keep going as other demands eventually take priority? And is it even worth the effort?

The short answer is yes, and here’s the example to prove it: Henrico County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) created a volunteer engagement strategic plan and is faithfully following through with it. And less than two years in, the team is already starting to experience positive results.

Jeannine Panzera is the leader behind Henrico CASA’s strategic plan.  As program director, she oversees a staff of five who support more than 100 volunteers who advocate for abused and neglected children in the juvenile court system. Jeannine and her team based their strategic plan on three priorities that align with the traditional “three Rs” of solid volunteer management: recruitment, retention and recognition.

The strategic plan works because it’s realistic. The team expects to fully realize the plan in three to five years, taking a step-by-step approach to the goals. In these first 18 months, the staff have focused on two strategic projects that will inform their work moving forward:

  • First — An Ideal Volunteer Profile. To improve retention, the team wants to understand what their 5+ year volunteers share in common: their age, level of education, professional experience, marital status, experience with children, etc.
  • Second — a Volunteer Motivation Study. The team is using a survey, The Functional Approach to Volunteers’ Motivation,  to gather data on the motivational styles of their volunteers.

Read the full article about volunteers and strategic planning by Elisa Kosarin at VolunteerMatch.