The Leadership Ladder Fostering Volunteer Engagement and Leadership at New York Cares

1. New York Cares The Leadership Ladder Fostering Volunteer Engagement and Leadership at New York Cares

2. Overview • You will: • know how to create your own Volunteer Engagement ScaleTM (VES) • be able to create goals for recruitment and retention based on your scale • be able to design a communications plan to foster desired progress on the scale • understand how to use the scale to track success

3. The Organization • Founded in 1987 • Design and manage volunteer programs • Team-based volunteering, led by trained volunteer Team Leaders • 1,000 managed projects every month • 1,000 nonprofits, city agencies, public schools, and other organizations • 43,000 volunteers • 450,000 New Yorkers in need

4. The Challenge • Low Project Sign-up Rates (45%) after Orientation • Many projects with fewer than the ideal number of volunteers (fullness as low as 70% on some)

5. The Strategies • Improved marketing and communications programs • Revamped volunteer orientation process • Ongoing and personalized communication with volunteers • Enhanced leadership development program

6. The Measurement Tool • New York Cares Volunteer Engagement Scale (VES) • Amount of Service (counted in projects) • Length of Service (counted in years) • Amount of Leadership

7. The Measurement Tool • Level 1: Shoppers • Level 2: Episodic Contributors • Level 3: Short-term Contributors • Level 4: Reliable Regulars • Level 5: Fully Engaged Volunteers • Level 6: Committed Leaders

8. The Results • Monthly Calendar email: 32,000 • Weekly Hot Projects: 19,000 • Increase over 2003: 158% and 81% • Increase in full volunteer projects: 181.6%

9. The Results • New volunteers: increased by 76.5% • Project sign-up rates: from 45% to 70% • Average projects per volunteer: 4.5 to 5.3 • 10,000 more filled volunteer slots in 2008

10. The Results • Team Leaders: Increased by 84.3% • Tenure: • 88% in at least their second year of service • 67% in at least their third year of service • New Yorkers served: up from 250,000 in 2003 to 450,000 in 2008

11. Improving our Work • Commissioned survey to address: • Who are volunteers? • What motivates them to volunteer and continue to volunteer? • Do they move to higher levels of engagement? If so, how? • Is there a relationship between volunteering and other forms of civic engagement?

12. The Survey • Administered by email to over 24,000 New York Cares volunteers • 3,367 complete surveys • What we asked: • Background characteristics • Motivations for joining and staying • Satisfaction and other attitudes

13. The Findings • Reasons for starting • Help fellow New Yorkers • Make New York a better place to live • Use free time productively • Reasons for continuing • Same as above…

14. The Findings • Volunteers report generally positive experiences • They are satisfied with their volunteer experience • They feel their work makes a real difference in the community • They often refer friends to New York Cares

15. The Findings • Factors that enhance volunteer engagement • Belief that volunteering makes a difference • Satisfaction with New York Cares • Having lived in NYC for a while • Factors that discourage volunteer engagement • Initiated as part of a group • Started volunteering to meet people • Gender, education, hours worked and income had only small effects on engagement level

16. The Findings More engaged volunteers are also . . . • Happier • More engaged in politics • Register and vote • Write to newspapers • Attend political events • More trusting of others (social capital)

17. The Implications • Implications for the Volunteer Sector: • Offers a typology of different types of volunteers • Focus on volunteer retention • Relationship between volunteering (higher levels) and political participation • Offers structure that encourages retention and leadership

18. Communications • Improve Communications with Potential Volunteers • Revamp Volunteer Orientation • Communicate with Every Volunteer • Move Volunteers Up The Leadership Ladder • Increase Organizational Capacity

19. Volunteer Recognition • After completing Orientation: Volunteers are sent a welcome email thanking them for attending and list quick tips for signing up for projects. • Five projects: Volunteers receive an e-mail thanking them for their commitment and letting them know that they can apply to become a Team Leader.

20. Volunteer Recognition • Ten projects: Volunteers are sent an email from Director of Volunteer Relations, thanking them for their commitment, and asking them to provide feedback or an anecdote about their experience. • Twenty-five projects: Volunteers are sent a letter from the Senior Director of Programs, thanking them for their commitment (including the date of their orientation) and inviting them to share their experience. • Fifty projects: Volunteers are sent a letter from the Executive Director and added to New York Cares’ scrolling honor roll on the Web site.

21. Volunteer Recognition • One hundred-plus projects: Volunteer receives hand written note from Senior Director of Programs with a specific mention of a recent project they have completed. • Five or ten years with New York Cares: Volunteers receive a handwritten card from the Executive Director.

22. The Next Stage • Program • Identify new indicators of leadership • Develop plan for encouraging leadership behaviors • Increase retention rates to 70% • Grow average number of projects from 5.3 to 6.0 • Deliver as many as 15,000 additional filled volunteer slots as a result

23. The Next Stage • Possible Research Directions • Unpacking “Satisfaction with New York Cares” • Replication in other cities • Uses for corporate volunteer programs