Resources to Build Strong Volunteer Teams
Expert guidance on everything you need to lead volunteers, including resources for recruiting, retaining, and recognizing volunteers who support your mission.
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Upcoming Webinars
Managing and Supporting Volunteers Workshop Series
How can we ensure that when a volunteer joins our organization they feel respected, valued, and like they belong? In this workshop series we'll explore the role that your organization's environment plays in creating a strong connection with a volunteer. How staff and decision-makers support and view volunteers can make a big difference - in either a positive or negative way. We'll discuss what we can do to ensure that you're creating an organization culture that elevates and celebrates volunteers. We'll also cover how to involve volunteers in decision-making in your organization to be sure that even small changes are expected and respected. And, we'll discuss when - and how - to make the decision to let a volunteer go. Each of these workshops will build on the content in the previous sessions, if you aren't able to attend live please plan on reviewing the previous recordings before attending a session.
Managing and Supporting Volunteers Kick Off
Tuesday, April 7th | 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern
In this first session of a new workshop series Jennifer Bennett, CVA will walk through the questions to answer and the steps to take to successfully support and integrate volunteers into your organization. This session will help you identify where there is support for volunteers, and where colleagues, decision makers, or even the volunteers themselves are preventing meaningful volunteer engagement. This session is the first in a series of workshops.
Please register even if you aren't able to attend live to receive the recording, the slides, and the worksheet for this session.
Creating a Culture of Volunteer Engagement
Tuesday, April 21st | 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern
You can design the perfect volunteer opportunity, and screen and train the perfect volunteer, but if the culture of your organization isn't one that elevates and celebrates the work of volunteers, they probably won't stay. In this workshop you'll have the opportunity to explore where your organization's culture may be limiting, excluding, or even ignoring volunteers. Please plan on attending or watching the recording of the Kick Off session before attending.
Please register even if you aren't able to attend live to receive the recording, the slides, and the worksheet for this session.
Managing Changes and Volunteer Transitions
Tuesday, April 28th | 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern
What should you do when things change? Sometimes it can feel like even small changes create big shocks for your volunteers. In this workshop you'll explore how to plan for and introduce changes to volunteers. We'll also discuss strategies for unexpected or unplanned for changes to keep your volunteers engaged and informed - even when the future is unclear. This workshop is the third in the series. Please plan on attending or watching the first two workshops before attending this session.
Please register even if you aren't able to attend live to receive the recording, the slides, and the worksheet for this session.
When Things Don't Go as Planned
Tuesday, May 12th | 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern
What should you do if you have a volunteer who simply won't follow your policies and procedures? In this workshop you'll have the opportunity to explore when and how you might have to ask a volunteer to leave your organization. It's not something we should take lightly, but sometimes dismissal is the best option and we'll walk through the steps of making this decision, and following through. This workshop is the fourth in the series. Please plan to attend or watch the three previous workshops before attending.
Please register even if you aren't able to attend live to receive the recording, the slides, and the worksheet for this session.
Spring Webinar Series
Join Jennifer Bennett, CVA for a webinar on a special topic, or with special guest presenters. More topics and dates to be announced soon!
Certified in Volunteer Administration: A mark of excellence
Thursday, May 7th | 8am Pacific/11am Eastern
This session is co-hosted with the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration
Join us to learn about the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (CCVA), the Certification in Volunteer Administration (CVA) credential, the process of applying for the exam and what you can do to prepare for the exam. This session is led by volunteers who have obtained their CVA. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and connect with others who are exploring the CVA credential.
This session WILL NOT be recorded.
Impactful - and Ethical - Storytelling for Nonprofits
Learn more about and register for the ongoing Volunteering Redefined webinar series here!
Past Webinars
Join Jennifer Bennett, CVA for an in-depth workshop series to re-envision your volunteer recruitment strategy. Come with a volunteer opportunity in mind and evaluate the existing position description, build a volunteer persona specifically for that role, craft targeted recruitment messaging, use that message to create a volunteer opportunity on Idealist, and finally design a follow up communication strategy to keep interested prospective volunteers engaged. Each session is designed to build off the previous session, so please register and plan to watch the recording if you can't attend live.
Volunteer Recruitment Workshop Series Kick Off
Recording | Slides | Worksheet
Volunteer Recruitment Workshop: Position Descriptions
Recording | Slides | Worksheet
Volunteer Recruitment Workshop: Volunteer Personas
Recording | Slides | Worksheet
Volunteer Recruitment Workshop: Recruitment Messaging
Recording | Slides | Worksheet
Volunteer Recruitment Workshop: Recruiting on Idealist
Volunteer Recruitment Workshop: Follow Up Communications
Volunteering Redefined
Engaging older adult volunteers in student success for 2025
Be a part of a new Learning Community designed specifically for leaders of volunteers engaging older adults in student success.
Is Everyone Welcome Toolkit
Build a more inclusive volunteer program
The Is Everyone Welcome Toolkit? contains best practices for promoting equity in volunteer administration.
The toolkit is an outcome of the Assessing Diversity and Equity in Volunteer Inclusion (ADEVI) project, a partnership between Arizona State University (ASU), and the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (CCVA), with support from AmeriCorps.
