How to Design a Volunteer Program

Volunteer at various events in your community to help run the event smoothly.

Volunteer programs such as community volunteering are common internationally. They are a way of getting involved in an activity, meeting new people and making a contribution to an organization or community. Many professionals and people in your community may volunteer and extend their services to volunteer programs in which they believe. You can design and create your own volunteer program and recruit volunteers for any desired cause with the right procedures.

Things You'll Need

• Advertising material

Instructions

1. Determine what your volunteer program is for, such as supporting a hospital. Common volunteer programs include obtaining help for school bake sales, as well as helping to clean local parks in your community. Compose a list of tasks you want the volunteers to accomplish. This will allow you to obtain an idea of approximately how many volunteers you will need for your program, or if you need any volunteers with specific skills, such as accounting.

2. Design recruiting material in photo-editing software or page-layout software, or obtain a professional's help to design the material. However, using a professional may be costly. Recruiting material such as flyers or advertisements are helpful. Include the available volunteer positions and corresponding contact information.

3. Hand out and post flyers in locations where you expect to find prospective volunteers, such as churches or school campuses. Arrange for an ad in your local newspaper that describes the volunteer program.

4. Perform direct-recruitment by going to schools, senior centers and local service organizations. Organize a presentation about your volunteer organization. State the cause and information about the program.

5. Schedule dates and times to meet with interested volunteers. Ask questions such as what the volunteer can bring to the program when you are interviewing them. Be sure to ask how many hours the volunteer can work and about availability.

6. Acquire the volunteer's basic information such as name, phone number and additional means of contact.

7. Contact the volunteer to let them know they are accepted into the program. Keep in contact with the volunteer to let them know when the program will begin.

References

• Free Management Library: Developing and Managing Volunteer Programs
• New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services: Tips for Setting Up a Volunteer Program