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HomeShorter-Term Volunteering
Responding to the Trend of Shorter-Term Volunteering
Strategies to Try
  • Design some volunteer roles that are specifically for shorter-term commitments.
  • Restructure roles for shorter-term commitments by: volunteer job sharing, dividing long term volunteer positions into multiple shorter-term positions, and splitting shifts.
  • Simplify the application, training and scheduling for shorter-term positions to keep investment of time proportional to the amount given by volunteers. Use technology to reduce time for scheduling, orientation, and training. Involve middle management volunteers in onboarding and training of other volunteers.
  • When possible, build in flexibility to meet the volunteer’s needs.
  • Often it is only the volunteer manager who knows that change is needed. It will take staff buy-in to support a model of shorter-term volunteers and to develop time-limited volunteer positions. Train staff to have a new perspective on the value volunteers can bring in a shorter period of time and in skills to work with shorter time commitments.
  • To make efficient use of your time, schedule specific times for one-time volunteer projects, or office hours for volunteers to drop in.
  • Take steps to make shorter-term group projects work better such as building ongoing relationships so the same groups return regularly, asking the sponsoring organization for more training, and limiting groups to projects that have been identified as needed.
  • If you decide shorter-term volunteers cannot help meet your mission, clearly communicate that to the prospective volunteers so that they understand why your organization does not accept volunteers for shorter than the identified time period.

Thank you to the F.R. Bigelow Foundation for funding the work on this initiative in the east Twin Cities Metro Area.

Survey Report: Shorter-Term Volunteer Commitments: The Trend and How Organizations are Responding

 

View Report

Read this report to learn what volunteers are discovering about this trend and about top strategies developed to address the trend. Released August 2015.

Resources: 

 

 Case Stories on Trying New Shorter-Term Roles 

 

 Focus Group Report on Shorter-Term Volunteering 

 

 Readiness Assessment for Shorter-Term Volunteers