How to Take Your Nonprofit’s Volunteer Management to the Next Level

Your nonprofit’s volunteers are highly valuable. They not only help your organization accomplish more, but they also tend to donate more. That’s why your approach to volunteer management is so important. 

The current estimated national value of each volunteer hour is $31.80. And half of volunteers say they give more financial support because they volunteer (opens as a pdf). 

With this kind of value at stake, it makes sense to streamline your volunteer recruitment efforts to get more people volunteering and give your volunteers a great experience to keep them coming back. So, it’s surprising that many organizations still manage volunteers using only spreadsheets and manual processes. It’s also unnecessary because there are software solutions on the market today that can help you manage volunteer opportunities, attract and engage volunteers, and make the entire experience more convenient and enjoyable for your staff and your volunteers. 

What Is Volunteer Management Software?

Volunteer management software essentially makes it easier to manage the full volunteer cycle and deliver a smoother volunteer experience. It can help you do things like:

• Recruit and communicate with volunteers to get them on board and keep them engaged.
• Manage opportunities to keep your volunteer program moving forward.
• Schedule volunteer shifts to deliver a smooth volunteer experience.
• Report on key volunteer data to track the health of your volunteer program.

What Volunteer Management Tools Are on the Market Today?

There are multiple volunteer management tools on the market today. Some nonprofit software solutions and platforms include a volunteer management module within their suites of tools, and some also have the option to integrate with standalone volunteer management solutions. You can find these types of solutions/platforms from software vendors including Blackbaud, Bloomerang, Charityproud, EveryAction, Neon One and Salesforce.

If your organization relies heavily on volunteers, then the following volunteer-specific solutions should be on your short list to review. While they offer many similar features, you might find that one offers unique functionality that makes it the right fit for your organization. Here are a few options:

• Golden. This is a robust volunteer management platform that has been around since 2015. It integrates with many customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. Pricing starts around $1,200 per year.
• Volgistics. This solution has been on the market since 2004. Volgistics offers a 30-day trial option and various pricing options.
• VolunteerHub. This solution has been around since before the turn of the century. It offers pricing that starts at $150 per month. 

How Is Volunteer Management Software Helping Nonprofits?

Growing your nonprofit’s volunteer program isn’t always easy. That’s why some nonprofits are using volunteer management software to simplify volunteer recruitment, engagement and management. Hands On Atlanta is a great example.

I recently sat down with Tim Adkins, director of marketing and communications with Hands on Atlanta, and Sam Fankuchen, founder and CEO of Golden, to discuss volunteer management software. Tim shared how Hands On Atlanta has used the Golden volunteer app, which integrates with the Salesforce CRM solution the nonprofit uses, to engage 5,000 more volunteers and clock 18,000 more service hours year over year. As a nonprofit that mobilizes the Atlanta community to tackle the city’s most pressing needs, the organization has also seen partners posting more volunteer project opportunities. 

The preceding blog was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.