Training Materials

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.

Title Keyword Tags Year
In Lieu of Money, Toyota Donates Efficiency to New York Charity
This New York Times article provides an excellent example of a company providing their skilled volunteers to address the needs of a volunteer… more
Engaging High Impact Volunteers skilled, Skilled Volunteers 2013
Importance of Meaningful Written Volunteer Job Descriptions
Video clip on this topic from a Get Involved Volunteer Engagement Institute in Oakland California in May 2015. (14 minutes)
Capacity BuildingEngaging High Impact VolunteersStaff Training 2015
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
How to Write Volunteer Recruitment Messaging that Converts
Strategies to enhance your volunteer recruitment.
Capacity Building Recruitment, Volunteer Recruitment 2021
How to Write a Strong Reference Letter for a Volunteer
A reference letter showcases a volunteer’s achievements and the skills they’ve gained through volunteering. It can help a volunteer who is looking… more
Staff Training recognition, reference letter 2019
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 / InterviewingInterviewing VolunteersStaff Training 2017
How to Recruit New Members for Your Association on Social Media
Some good guidelines for making social media work for you from Nonprofit Tech for Good.
Capacity BuildingOn-line Volunteer Recruitment social media, Recruitment, Friends, Friends of the Library 2020
How to Recruit and Retain Gen Z Volunteers
Interesting facts and trends about Gen Z presented by Gen Z members themselves.
Slides available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/… more
Capacity Building Gen Z, Recruitment 2023
How to Prioritize When Everything Feels Important
There's never enough time to do everything you want to do. It's a universal problem. And we all accept that fact and live with its reality until the… more
Staff Training prioritize, priorities, planning 2019
How to Design Volunteer Training that Helps (Not Hurts) Learning
A brief article that provides principles of learning theory in usable form to the design of volunteer training.
Capacity BuildingJob Specific Volunteer TrainingStaff TrainingVolunteer Orientation Training, orientation 2013
How to Build a Truly Inclusive Nonprofit Volunteer Program
In 2023, the Assessing Diversity and Equity in Volunteer Involvement (ADEVI) project started with a survey of 564 individuals with a Certification in… more
Staff Training diversity, equity, inclusion 2023
How to Build a Successful Volunteer Program
This brief guidebook was created by the International City/County Management Association.
Capacity BuildingStaff Training toolkit 2019
How to Align Your Mission with Millennials and Civic Engagement
America’s millennials are poised to reshape society to a greater degree than any generation since the Greatest Generation. As 2 million baby boomers… more
Millennials Millennials 2022
Homework Tutor Training - Huntington Beach
Powerpoint used by Huntington Beach Public Library to train their volunteer Homework Help Tutors.
Job Specific Volunteer Training tutor mentor homework help 2014
Homebound Delivery Volunteer Safety Requirements Sign-Off Sheet - Boulder CO
This list of safety requirements was created for Boulder Colorado Homebound Delivery volunteers returning to service during COVID-19. The volunteer… more
Job Specific Volunteer TrainingCapacity Building Homebound, COVID-19 2020
Help for the Volunteer Engagement Coordinator
This is a 3 minute interview with volunteer Kellie, who came on board as our volunteer Assistant Volunteer Coordinator at the California State… more
Capacity BuildingStaff Training 2015
Grow Staff Volunteer Harmony
Tips from Energize Inc. on helping staff to work more productively with volunteers.
Engaging Staff and Unions staff buy-in 2018
Getting the Highest Visibility on VolunteerMatch – How to RePost Your Listing
Keeping your volunteer opportunity near the top of the list in your zipcode is critical to keep it visible to potential volunteers. One of the… more
VolunteerMatch Tools and Resources RePost 2018
Getting Staff on Board- Story Time Conductors
Former Roseville library director Rachel Delgadillo talks about how she worked with her Children's Librarians to overcome their resistance to… more
Capacity BuildingEngaging Staff and UnionsStaff Training Video, Staff Resistance, Storytime, children's services 2010
Getting Staff Buy-In for Volunteer Engagement - San Jose
Tips for successfully gaining Staff Buy-In for Volunteer Engagement developed by San Jose Public Library.
Engaging Staff and UnionsStaff Training 2010