The coronavirus pandemic has seriously impacted both nonprofit organizations and their volunteers. It has changed the way volunteers are engaged and supported and the roles they can perform. Some organizations have reduced services while others have increased them; Beth Steinhorn, president of VQ Volunteer Strategies, says she has seen many do both.
“People had to switch things up by canceling events but also found creative ways to deliver services in safe ways for staff, volunteers and the communities being served,” she explains.
Those changes included shifting to virtual roles and adding safety measures like handwashing stations, social distancing and new protocols. But as states start to reopen, organizations should be considering volunteers as they make plans to resume services, says Steinhorn.
Continue to engage volunteers virtually. Steinhorn says remote volunteering has been around for decades but the pandemic provided more opportunities to leverage this approach. “For those few organizations that had not been engaging volunteers remotely but who have piloted such engagements as a result of the COVID‐19 restrictions, this is a great opportunity to continue making volunteering accessible to a wider array of volunteers so that you can continue to build capacity to deliver mission.”
Develop online orientations and trainings. If new to presenting orientations and trainings online, Steinhorn suggests focusing first on developing information sessions or orientations that traditionally rely less on interaction. Whether piloting online orientations or diving into training or continuing education, make sure you train yourself or a staff member on how to use technology effectively online for teaching.
Reach out to inactive volunteers. Don't let volunteers who stayed home for safety reasons feel like they were “gone.” Invite them to trainings, especially if policies have changed, and loop them in on social events like virtual meetings and potlucks. “We need to recognize that all our volunteers may not have been able to engage actively, but they still care very much about the mission. It's vital we keep in touch with them to keep them apprised of what's happening with the organization and what their options are for in‐person or remote volunteering.”
Develop a response plan and track engagement. It's not too late to develop a volunteer engagement plan for response and/or reopening. In doing so, consider your pre‐pandemic state of engagement and assess your organization's volunteer engagement assets. Also, identify community needs and anticipated challenges around engaging volunteers, says Steinhorn, whose company helps organizations with these plans. Track this data to measure the impact volunteer engagement has had on your response. “Only by tracking impacts and losses are we going to have the data we need to continue to advocate for engagement as a strategy,” she notes.
Take considerations when reopening. While reopening is a case‐by‐case decision, Steinhorn says organizations should, of course, comply with government guidelines on gatherings and events. She adds that criteria needs to be established to determine which events and services should be delivered in‐person again, cancelled or offered virtually. Start by basing criteria on the safety of all persons, feedback, availability of volunteers and PR implications. Lastly, get everyone on board with reopening, including the volunteer engagement team, and let volunteers know they can always opt out of active volunteering or remain on hiatus without penalty.
Source: Beth Steinhorn, President, VQ Volunteer Strategies, Centennial, CO. Phone (303) 699‐1708. E‐mail: Beth@VQStrategies.com. Website: https://vqstrategies.com/