How to Manage Volunteers at a Community Project


You want to make your community volunteer project such a great experience that volunteers return again and again.

To make your project one that volunteers will love, think about your project from their perspective.

  • What made your volunteers want to sign up for this project?
  • What information did they receive in advance? Was it accurate? Did they understand what they would be doing? What they should wear?  What they should bring?
  • Did they know ahead of time if refreshments would be provided or if they should bring them for themselves?
  • If they had questions was it easy to get accurate and complete answers?
  • Did they feel like their participation was enthusiastically received?
  • When they arrived, what did they see?
  • Did they know where to go when they arrived? Were they greeted?
  • After arriving at the project site, did they receive clear directions on what to do?
  • Did they understand why this work was important to the agency/school?
  • Is what’s being asked of them reasonable? Is it safe and do they have the capability to do it?
  • Was the project well organized?
  • Did the volunteers feel like they accomplished something? Contributed in a meaningful way?
  • Was it fun?
  • Did someone check on them after they started working? Was there someone readily available to answer questions?
  • Was there enough work to do and adequate materials and supplies to complete the work?
  • Was there a place the volunteers could go to take a break, get something to drink, warm up, or cool down?
  • If the volunteers didn’t enjoy what they were doing or felt ineffective, were there opportunities for them to be reassigned to a new task?
  • After the work was finished, did someone thank the volunteers and let them know that what they did was important and effective?
  • Were they thanked for their time and contributions?
  • If they had ideas or complaints, was there an avenue for them to provide input or to make a suggestion?
  • Do they know how to get involved again?  Did you ask them to come back?

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