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 |
|---|---|---|---|
From Nice to Necessary: Unleashing the Impact of Volunteering Through Transformative Investment
Points of Light believes volunteering is one of the most powerful tools we have to strengthen communities. They commissioned this report in 2025 —… more |
Staff Training, Capacity Building | funding, investment | 2025 |
The Volunteer Engagement Leader’s Playbook: Building Influence, Credibility, and Impact
Too often, volunteer involvement is treated as a program—a siloed effort managed by one department—rather than as a strategy that can transform an… more |
Staff Training, Capacity Building | 2025 | |
Why Your Library Needs a Reading Dog
In 2010, the University Of California - Davis completed a study on reading dog programs, which found that readers who participated in a 10-week… more |
Staff Training, Job Specific Volunteer Training | Pet Therapy, dog, reading | 2025 |
Hands-On Help and Generous Giving: How Volunteering and Donations Fuel Each Other’s Impact
Studies show that giving and volunteering work collaboratively to support each other and that volunteers are 14.5 percentage points more likely to… more |
Capacity Building, Staff Training | fundraising, giving and volunteering | 2025 |
Resources for Internship Programs - Idealist
Several articles on interviewing, hiring, and training interns, as well as managing an internship program. |
Interviewing Volunteers, Capacity Building | intern, internship | 2025 |
Volunteering: An Antidote to the Epidemic of Loneliness
In this webinar, experts and global leaders explore how volunteering serves as a powerful antidote to the growing epidemic of loneliness. The… more |
Capacity Building, Staff Training | loneliness | 2025 |
20+ Volunteer Survey Questions to Improve Your Program
This guide covers the ins and outs of volunteer surveys, from the best questions to ask to top tips for making the survey process a success. |
Staff Training, Capacity Building | surveys | 2025 |
Let’s Make Volunteering Accessible to All
In this episode of Volunteer Nation, Tobi Johnson is joined by Allyson Ferrari, Director of Connections at Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually… more |
Staff Training, Capacity Building | diversity, equity, inclusion | 2025 |
If Volunteers Were Yelp Reviewers: Would You Get 5 Stars?
Imagine if volunteers could rate their experience with you like they rate restaurants . . . what would they say? This article suggests 5 ways to… more |
Staff Training | recognition, impact, appreciation | 2025 |
6 Ways to Make Your Volunteer Opportunities Appeal to Short-Term Volunteers
Short-term volunteers bring invaluable fresh energy and a diverse skill set, contributing significantly to the success of initiatives. However, to… more |
Engaging High Impact Volunteers, Staff Training | short term, job descriptions | 2025 |
8 Volunteer Recognition Ideas to Show Your Gratitude
A few new ideas mixed in with some old ones . . . worth a look. |
Staff Training | recognition, appreciation | 2025 |
6 Ways to Make Your Volunteer Opportunities Appeal to Short-Term Volunteers
The shift towards shorter volunteer commitments is no longer a passing trend; it's a lasting change. Short-term volunteers bring invaluable… more |
Capacity Building, Staff Training | Recruitment, job descriptions | 2025 |
Success with Idealist
This webinar was recorded on December 3, 2025. Jennifer Bennett, Director of Education and Training for Idealist helps us make a successful… more |
On-line Volunteer Recruitment, Staff Training | Idealist, Recruitment | 2025 |
Revitalizing Your Friends
Here’s the link to the recording and slides from our July 8 2025 webinar - Strategies for Revitalizing Your Friends presented by Isabella… more |
Staff Training, Capacity Building, Engaging High Impact Volunteers | Friends, Friends of the Library, Teens | 2025 |
Recruiting Multilingual Volunteers
This is a 7.5 minute video from consultant Dana Litwin with some excellent tips on reaching out to potential volunteers with language skills. |
Staff Training, Capacity Building | Recruitment, equity, diversity, inclusion, outreach, translator | 2025 |
Engaging Youth Volunteers: How Young People are Showing up in Service
2025 Galaxy Digital webinar on youth volunteers. |
Millennials | Youth, Teens, young adult | 2025 |
Ask an Exec: What Execs Really Think About Volunteer Programs
Recording of July 2025 webinar from the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement dealing with executive director and leadership team support (… more |
Staff Training | leadership, staff buy-in, Director | 2025 |
Volunteer Retention: How to Foster Long-Term Loyalty
Includes why we should care about volunteer retention, how to calculate volunteer retention and retention strategies. |
Staff Training, Capacity Building | retention, Recruitment | 2025 |
Neither//Nor: Stories of Life Beyond Binary Gender
More and more people are negotiating gender beyond the binaries of Male/Female/Man/Woman/Boy/Girl. This 60 minute webinar from the Human Rights… more |
Staff Training | equity, diversity, inclusion, Gender | 2024 |
Inspiring Action: How Volunteer Stories Can Drive Recruitment & Engagement
Including the story and impact of volunteers in recruitment messages can help recruit more volunteers and can help build stronger connections and… more |
Staff Training, Capacity Building | Recruitment, public relations, social media | 2024 |