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.

Title	Keyword	Tags	Year
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
Revitalizing Library Volunteer Engagement One hour archived recording of a WebJunction webinar: Library volunteerism is evolving. Gone are the days of looking for tasks to keep your… more	Engaging High Impact Volunteers, Engaging Staff and Unions, On-line Volunteer Recruitment		2018
The Essential Guide to Managing Volunteers at Your Nonprofit A free comprehensive overview for volunteer management from VolunteerPro.	Capacity Building		2018
Demographic Trends Shaping America and Service Beth Steinhorn of VQ Strategies takes 2018 Pew Research results and extrapolates them for volunteer engagement professionals by addressing the… more	Capacity Building, Millennials		2018
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 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
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
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
How to Create Your Volunteer Program Budget A format for developing a budget for your volunteer engagement service.	Staff Training, Capacity Building	budget justification	2018
Building Capacity: Strategic Volunteer Engagement In this Points of Light blog post, the point is made that organizations that build a culture of volunteerism, and purposefully embed volunteerism… more	Capacity Building, Staff Training	Strategic	2018
Diagnosing the Causes of Volunteer Recruitment Problems Jayne Cravens provides Questions to diagnose your volunteer recruitment problems.	Staff Training	Recruitment	2018
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
GenerationOn Projects, Ideas and Resources Looking for possible library volunteer projects for kids, teens and/or families? Check out GenerationOn's projects and resources to get some… more	Millennials	Teens, family volunteering	2018
Why Should We Pay Attention to Volunteer Trends? If we could see the coming volunteering trends, we could prepare for them, right? Thirty years ago, were there signs that volunteers wanted more… more	Capacity Building, Engaging High Impact Volunteers	trends, corporate	2018
Successfully Managing Library Volunteer Program Changes What should you do when it’s time to change the policies and procedures that govern or guide the volunteers that work with your organization? How can… more	Capacity Building, Staff Training	change management	2018
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 are the Reputational Assets Your Organization is Overlooking A great reminder in a brief article by Erin Rebecca Spink.	Capacity Building, Staff Training		2017