Establishing Outcome Measures for Volunteer Involvement

Executives develop strategic plans with goals and objectives for all organizational programs, projects, and services and should expect volunteers to work toward those just as employees do. But it is helpful to consider exactly what you expect volunteer involvement to accomplish in any period. There is no reason to let abounding gratitude for donated volunteer time restrain an organization from setting standards of achievement. In fact, volunteers usually prefer to have some way to assess their service contribution.

In developing initial and then ongoing goals and objectives, bigger is not always better. Having “more” volunteers this year than last year does not self-evidently mean better service delivery or greater impact. Some organizations would actually be better off cutting their volunteer corps in half and holding those remaining to higher standards! The number of volunteers needed is a strategy determined by expectations of productivity….

Recognize, too, that the body count of how many people are in your volunteer corps does not translate into a standard number of hours contributed. Fifty volunteers each giving two hours a month provide the same output as five volunteers who can give twenty hours. The amount of effort necessary to recruit and support the larger number of volunteers is clearly much more intense, without the payback of more service. On the other hand, if your programmatic goal is community education, you may feel that getting fifty people to participate is more beneficial than just five. See? It depends.

Focus instead on the outcome and impact of volunteer activity. What results do you want volunteers to produce? As with employees, it is possible to monitor and measure the accomplishments of volunteers by stating goals and objectives at the beginning of a period—and then assessing whether these were achieved….

Outcome measures set for the volunteer component should correlate with the overall goals and objectives of the agency. I once conducted a management retreat with the department heads of a large hospital system, in preparation for which the CEO sent me an impressive eighty-page “Five-Year Strategic Plan” for the institution. I dutifully read the entire document, and when I arrived at the retreat, asked why—despite the current participation of almost six hundred volunteers—there was not one word about volunteers in the strategic plan. After much consternation, it became clear that neither the administrators nor their outside consultant had considered it possible to “plan” for volunteers!

As with every other aspect of organizational life, the amount of time you spend determining what you want volunteer involvement to be will directly affect the quality and creativity of what you get. Ignore this aspect of your organization, and maybe you’ll get lucky. But, if you incorporate planning for volunteers into overall agency planning, you will naturally take the steps necessary to assure that you reach those goals.

Author Info

Excerpted from From the Top Down: The Executive Role in Successful Volunteer Involvement, 3^rd edition, by Susan J. Ellis, © 2010, Energize, Inc. Found in the Energize, Inc. Online Bookstore at http://www.energizeinc.com/store/1-102-E-3.

By Susan J. Ellis

National Council on Citizenship reports Civic Depression

Although this study was released in August 2009, the information gleaned from this survey is as relevant as ever.

A study released in August 2009 by the National Council on Citizenship (NCOC) indicates that Americans began reducing their volunteer hours when the unemployment rate hit 9 to 10 percent.

According to David B. Smith, NCOC executive director, “Prior recessions have prompted an increase in volunteerism, but only to the point that the unemployment rate reaches a “threshold.”  Smith said, “People have moved from saying, ‘this is the time to rise up and help my community,’ to ‘times are really tough and I need to focus on making sure my family has what it needs to get through this hard time.’”

This study is  in contrast to information reported earlier in the year by the Corporation for National and Community Service which indicated a rise in volunteerism.

Smith said, “Growing need usually encourages more engagement. But when economic pressures on individuals and organization become too great, people turn inward.”

• 72% of individuals surveyed said that they cut back on time spent volunteering.
• 66% said that people are responding to the current economic downturn by looking out for themselves.
• 19% said people around them are responding to the recession by helping each other more.

The economic crisis has triggered civic foreclosure,” said Michael Weiser, NCoC Chairman, “The good heart of Americans is still very evident, though, as they refocus on basic needs.” Even though they are disproportionately affected by the economic downturn, low-income Americans are still finding ways to give back. Thirty-nine percent of individuals with an income less than $50,000 reported helping others by providing food or shelter, compared to 27% of Americans with a higher income.

Overall, 50% of Americans gave food or money to someone who was not a relative, while 17% allowed a relative to live in their home.  More than one-in-ten took in non-relatives.

Unemployment is one reason for the decline in volunteerism. The study also indicates that funding cuts in nonprofit organizations and agencies that provide opportunities for civic engagement may also be a contributing factor. Agencies are often cutting back on the very staff that coordinate volunteers.

Related Articles:

Recession Prompts Many Americans to Stop Volunteering, Study Finds, by Caroline Preston, Chronicle on Philanthropy, Aug 26,2009
Civic Health Index Finds America in the Midst of Civic Foreclosure,  EarthTimes, Aug 27, 2009
Job Lows Don’t Mean Volunteer Highs, Marketplace, National Public Media, Aug 27, 2009
A Gift of Time:  Many start giving of themselves in these tough times, Courier-Journal.com, December 29, 2009