Training Materials | Get Involved! Resource Clearinghouse

Learn more about best practices in volunteer recruitment and engagement, and how to get the results you need.

NOTE: These are examples from public libraries and should be reviewed and modified to ensure fit with local policies and culture.

Keyword

Title	Keyword	Tags	Year
Gaining Staff Buy-In for Volunteer Engagement This chart created by Carla Lehn identifies the common reasons that staff are resistant to the idea of engaging volunteers in their work, and… more	Capacity Building, Staff Training	staff buy-in	2018
Volunteer Background Checks: Giving Back without Giving Up on Privacy How do nonprofit organizations screen volunteers? There are several options. The choices depend largely on the volunteer job involved and the… more	Volunteer Screening / Interviewing, Capacity Building, Staff Training	background checks, screening	2018
Three Things We Know About Engaging Millennials in Your Cause A quick read on what Millennials are interested in to help you in your recruitment efforts.	Millennials	Millennials	2018
Getting Staff Buy-In for Volunteer Engagement Video clip on this topic from a Get Involved Volunteer Engagement Institute in Oakland California in May 2015. (26.5 minutes)	Engaging Staff and Unions		2018
Volunteer Management: How to Get it Right A 2018 study by MAVA (Minnesota Association of Volunteer Administrators) showed a lack of understanding about the essential nature of volunteers and… more	Capacity Building	volunteer coordinator	2018
Can We Reject a Volunteer? What do you do when someone applies to volunteer and you realize they will not work out? How can we justify rejecting anyone who steps forward and… more	Interviewing Volunteers, Staff Training	Fire, reject, complaints	2018
You Can't Fire Me, I'm a Volunteer! This quick read from Blue Avocado focuses on addressing volunteer dissatisfaction points to the right way to handle disgruntled volunteers.	Staff Training	Fire, disgruntled	2018
A Different Kind of Volunteer Work: More companies are encouraging employees to donate their professional expertise This brief September, 2017 Wall Street Journal article speaks to societal factors leading to the increase in corporate pro bono programs.	Capacity Building, Engaging High Impact Volunteers		2017
How to Turn Away Volunteers and Still Have an OK Day In this August, 2017 article, Elisa Kosarin shares her basics for making this difficult experience manageable.	Volunteer Screening / Interviewing, Interviewing Volunteers, Staff Training		2017
Small Library VolunteerMatch Success -- Johnson City TX In this 4 & 1/2 minute video, Johnson City Texas Library Director, Maggie Goodman, shares her successful experience in posting a need for IT… more	Capacity Building, Engaging High Impact Volunteers, On-line Volunteer Recruitment, VolunteerMatch Tools and Resources	rural, small, maker space, LinkedIn, VolunteerMatch	2017
Small Library VolunteerMatch Success Story - Brownwood Texas In this 2 minute video, Brownwood Texas Library Director, Becky Isbell, shares her successful experience in posting a need for a skilled graphic… more	Capacity Building, Engaging High Impact Volunteers, On-line Volunteer Recruitment, VolunteerMatch Tools and Resources	rural, Skilled Volunteers, VolunteerMatch	2017
Are You in a Volunteer Management Silo? A classic piece by Susan Ellis describing why we need to get out of our comfort zone and expand our thinking once in a while.	Staff Training	Professional Development	2017
Volunteers: More Work? or More Work Force? - Idaho Commission for Libraries This is a 30 minute archived webinar, presented May 15, 2017 by Sheila Winther, Volunteer Coordinator for the Idaho Commission for Libraries. This is… more	Staff Guides for Working with Volunteers, Capacity Building, Staff Training	volunteer coordinator	2017
Volunteers are the Reputational Assets Your Organization is Overlooking A great reminder in a brief article by Erin Rebecca Spink.	Capacity Building, Staff Training		2017
If Your Board Looked Like Your Community While written by an Arts organization, the 4 “Hurdles” described, along with strategies to consider and actions to take are relevant to all… more	Staff Training	diversity, inclusion, inclusive	2016
Why Company Sponsored Volunteer Programs are Keeping Millennials Happy at Work What motivates millennials to stay in a job is having an impact on corporate social responsibility.	Volunteer Recruitment, Millennials	Millennials, high-impact volunteers, Recruitment	2016
Checklist to Minimize the Most Common Volunteer Risks A good basic list of issues to consider and how to approach them.	Capacity Building, Staff Training	Risk Management	2016
Disability Etiquette: Tips on Interacting with People with Disabilities A pamphlet created by the United Spinal Association.	Staff Training	disabilities, diversity, equity, inclusion	2015
Brave New World of Engaging Skilled Volunteers Have you thought about how volunteers with specific skills could help ? This 50 minute webinar by VolunteerMatch and LinkedIn For Good to learn why… more	Volunteer Recruitment, Capacity Building, Millennials, On-line Volunteer Recruitment, VolunteerMatch Tools and Resources	VolunteerMatch, Volunteer Recruitment, LinkedIn	2015
Inclusive Volunteering: Recommendations for Volunteer Coordinators on how to Develop a More Inclusive Volunteer Programme This booklet consists of two parts. Part I covers general aspects of inclusive volunteering and Part II includes recommendations for volunteer… more	Capacity Building, Staff Training	disabilities	2015