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Best Practices for Optimal Volunteer Retention: How it Translates to the Little Guy

Best Practices for Optimal Volunteer Retention: How it Translates to the Little Guy. Leslie Leonard Sponsored by Professor Leslie Lenkowsky School of Public and Environmental Affairs 2010 Honors Thesis. The Reason for Study. Volunteer turnover rate is high Turnover

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Best Practices for Optimal Volunteer Retention: How it Translates to the Little Guy

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  1. Best Practices for Optimal Volunteer Retention: How it Translates to the Little Guy Leslie Leonard Sponsored by Professor Leslie Lenkowsky School of Public and Environmental Affairs 2010 Honors Thesis

  2. The Reason for Study • Volunteer turnover rate is high • Turnover • Factors that make it high • Volunteer Management • What is it? • Effectiveness • Resources • Turnover can be wasteful

  3. The Reason for Study • National Research • Application to small local nonprofits • Application in Bloomington, IN • Case Study • Best Practices • Similar or different from larger nonprofits • Documentation • Implementation

  4. Literature Review • Looking at the National Research • Five groups chosen • Sources cited • Findings • CNCS • CCVA • UPS • Stanford • Points of Light • Application to the Case Study

  5. Case Study Organizations Middle Way House (MWH) Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC) Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) Backstreet Missions, Inc (BSM) Pinnacle School (PS) Camp Kesem (CK)

  6. Methods • Choosing the organizations • Criteria grid • Contacting the organizations • Conducting the Research • Multiple interviews with each organization • Documenting the interviews and answers • Organizing and coding the answers • Connecting the answers to the literature

  7. Findings • Volunteer Coordinators CPC

  8. Findings on Turnover • Turnover is expected • Retention defined by CNCS • College students • Turnover is beneficial • Training is educational • Prevention • Gaps • Spring Break and Summer • Midterm and Finals Weeks

  9. More Findings • Scheduling is tough • When one person misses a shift… • Hard to give people leadership roles • Hands on volunteer management is possible • The organizations are small • Relationships are built • The closer the “volunteer coordinator” the better

  10. Literature Comparison Findings “Charities interested in increasing retention of volunteers should invest in recognizing volunteers, providing training and professional development for them, and screening volunteers and matching them to organizational tasks.” –Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

  11. Analysis • Recognition • Contradicted literature? • Not interpreted the same • More about interaction • Choice • Supported literature • Flexibility • Adapted practices cost • Money • Time and Staff Support “As we might expect, the size of a charity matters in whether most practices have been adopted or not.” Urban Institute, 2003

  12. In Conclusion • Finish Research • More! • Continue in my graduate work at SPEA • Trends so far • The National practices do apply to Bloomington • They apply in unique ways though

  13. Questions?

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