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 |
|---|---|---|---|
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 |
Volunteer Recruitment Activities
Good overview of recruitment ideas in a 3 & 1/2 minute video. Check it out to see if you're missing a piece of the puzzle. |
Staff Training | Recruitment | 2025 |
Volunteers Can Make or Break Your Space: Volunteer Involvement in a Makerspace
In this July 24, 2025 webinar, Makerspace Librarian Trina Camping of the Woodland Public Library (CA) shares what she’s learned about how best to… more |
Engaging High Impact Volunteers, Capacity Building | maker space | 2025 |
How to Engage Gen Zers as Volunteers and Advocates
Trying to attract younger supporters sometimes feels as foreign as deciphering an ancient scroll. Compared to the traditional methods we’re… more |
Capacity Building | Gen Z | 2025 |
Building the Case to Fund Volunteer Engagement
Based on our annual survey of the Get Involved listserv, we find far too many missed opportunities to engage community members as library supporters… more |
Staff Training, Capacity Building | funding, staff buy-in, leadership buy-in | 2025 |
Stop Rejecting Volunteers. Start Redirecting Them.
Redirection communicates helpfulness, preserves dignity, and keeps the door open for future connection. It is the opposite of “thanks but no thanks… more |
Staff Training, Interviewing Volunteers | rejection, interview | 2025 |
Multi-Generational Panel on Volunteering
This March 2025 panel of volunteers from varying generations provides some keen insights into engaging each group. This event was produced by the… more |
Baby Boomers, Staff Training | generations, Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, Millenials | 2025 |
Creating an Effective Volunteer Impact Story
A good volunteer impact story does more than describe what someone did — it shows why what they did mattered. It connects actions to outcomes, and… more |
Staff Training, Capacity Building | public relations, leadership buy-in | 2025 |
Engaging Gen Alpha to the Silent Generation: Volunteer Strategies for Nonprofits
This brief article gives a great description of each generation along with what defines them and tips for engaging each in volunteering. |
Baby Boomers, Staff Training | generations, Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, Millenials, Gen Alpha | 2025 |
Neurodiversity Inclusion Tips
Have you considered neurodivergent applicants in your organization's recruitment strategy? An estimated 15-20% of the world’s population identifies… more |
Staff Training | neurodivergent, neurodiversity, inclusion, diversity, inclusion | 2025 |
Volunteer Recognition Ideas Across Generations
Ways to think about the types of recognition you provide for different generations of volunteers. |
Baby Boomers, Millennials, Staff Training | recognition, generations | 2024 |
A Guide for Creating Inclusive Volunteer Position Descriptions
This is one part of the 2024 "Is Everyone Welcome? Tools to Broaden Volunteer Engagement" toolkit found here: https://www.idealist.org/en/orgs/is-… more |
Staff Training | inclusive, Position Descriptions, job descriptions | 2024 |
Managing Volunteer Risks -- Where Are You Now?
In this blog, Volunteers Insurance Service Association, Inc. (VIS) suggests that to know where you need to be in managing your organization’s risk of… more |
Staff Training | Risk Management | 2024 |
Engaging the Volunteer of the Future
This 1 hour webinar was presented by Jennifer Bennett, Education & Training Director for VolunteerMatch in January 2024. In this webinar you’ll… more |
Capacity Building, Staff Training, Millennials | Millenials | 2024 |
Working Together: Developing Neurodivergent and IDD (Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled) Inclusive Volunteer Opportunities
This webinar was recorded on June 6, 2024. Speakers: Cecily Ponce de Leon, Plano Public Library; Jungwon DeVone, Somerset County Library System; and… more |
Staff Training | neurodivergent, disabilities, special needs | 2024 |
Surveys in Volunteer Engagement
On February 8, 2024, this Get Involved live Zoom discussion focused on Surveys in Volunteer Engagement. The group discussed types of surveys and… more |
Staff Training | surveys | 2024 |
Books and barks: Library pet programs for everyone
This quick read points to a variety of programs libraries have started focused on "furry friends." Take a look! |
Staff Training, Job Specific Volunteer Training | Pet Therapy, dog, reading | 2024 |