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
Library Express - Frequently Asked Questions - Indianapolis IN
Prepared by the Indianapolis Public Library for their home delivery program, Library Express.
Job Specific Volunteer Training Homebound, Home delivery, delivery 2022
Consequences of Good v. Bad Volunteer Experiences
A brief article detailing a couple of ways to make your volunteers have a good experience, or to respond to situations where someone's had a bad… more
Staff Training 2022
5 Tips for Recruiting Volunteers
Five recruitment tips for volunteer management consultant, Rob Jackson.
Capacity Building Recruitment 2022
Sticky Situations: Applying Ethics to Your Work with Volunteers
We all encounter ethical dilemmas in our daily work.  But rarely do organizations focus on ethics related to volunteer engagement.  This… more
Staff Training Ethics 2022
The Virtual Volunteer Life Cycle: A Complete Guide
A good overall guide for recruiting, screening and managing remote volunteers.
Engaging High Impact VolunteersCapacity BuildingStaff Training virtual 2022
Volunteer Orientation and Training: The Ultimate Guide
A 2022 article from Wild Apricot on what to consider when planning volunteer orientation and Training.
Capacity Building volunteer training, orientation 2022
Preparing Co-Workers to Lead Volunteers Online and On Land
Ideas for training staff to engage with volunteers.
Staff TrainingCapacity Building Staff Resistance, staff buy-in, staff training 2022
Rethinking Retention: Understanding Strategic Volunteer Relationships
This one hour webinar was presented as part of the Get Involved: Powered by Your Library initiative on September 29, 2022 by Jennifer Bennett,… more
Capacity BuildingInterviewing Volunteers retention, attrition, Recruitment 2022
Research and Case Studies Regarding Virtual Volunteering
Research on virtual volunteering compiled and updated in March 2022 by Jayne Cravens of Coyote Communications.
Capacity BuildingEngaging High Impact Volunteers virtual, virtual volunteer 2022
Fun Volunteer Teambuilding Activities That Will Keep Your Remote Team Engaged
This article from Tobi Johnson about Volunteer Team Building activities includes instructions for both in-person and virtual activities.
Capacity BuildingEngaging High Impact Volunteers team building 2022
First Day Volunteer Orientation Checklist - Kitchener Public Library
This checklist is used by the Kitchener Public Library for a volunteer's first day of orientation/training.
Volunteer Orientation checklist, orientation, Training 2022
Changing the Frame: Civic Engagement Through A Racial Equity Lens
Since Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital came out in 2000, policymakers, nonprofit funders, and pundits have sent… more
Capacity BuildingStaff Training diversity, equity, inclusion 2022
Closed Captioning Volunteer Job List - Cedar Rapids IA
During the global pandemic the Library shifted to sharing more programs online and wanted to ensure the programs were accessible to those who utilize… more
Job Specific Volunteer TrainingCapacity Building virtual, virtual volunteer, remote, closed captioning, COVID-19 2021
Co-Creating Racial Equity in Volunteer Engagement - MAVA
The Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement has been conducting research and education on race equity in volunteerism for 5 years. This is the… more
Staff Training diversity, equity, inclusion 2021
Where Do I Go From Here? Engage Volunteers in New Ways
Jennifer Bennett, CVA, Senior Manager of Education and Training for VolunteerMatch presented this webinar for the Get Involved Initiative on February… more
Staff TrainingCapacity Building Webinar 2021
22 Simple Tips for Managing Virtual Volunteers
Help with planning for, implementing and managing volunteers who work remotely.
Engaging High Impact VolunteersStaff Training virtual, virtual volunteer, remote 2021
Strategies for Attracting Today's Volunteers - DOVIA Sacramento Webinar
This archived webinar was presented by Carla Lehn for DOVIA Sacramento in February 2011. Learning Objectives for the session:
Participants in this… more
Staff TrainingOn-line Volunteer RecruitmentEngaging High Impact Volunteers Recruitment, online recruitment, Volunteer Job Description, Webinar 2021
Safety While Volunteering - COVID 19 Policies/Procedures - San Jose CA
Powerpoint presentation used by San Jose Public Library to share COVID-19 policies and procedures with volunteers.
Volunteer Orientation COVID-19 2021
Volunteer COVID-19 Protocol Training - Huntington Beach CA
Protocol training for volunteers returning to the library during/after COVID-19 pandemic
Volunteer Orientation COVID-19 2021
Insights & Impact 2020: Measuring the Social Impact of Volunteerism
This report describes new ways to calculate the value of volunteer time. These approaches rely on data from Independent Sector and from the U.S.… more
Capacity Building ROI, Reporting, annual report 2021