Practice area 6
Celebrate volunteer impact
Principles
- Volunteer contribution and impact are acknowledged and celebrated in ways that are meaningful to the volunteer.
- Organisations recognise the role of the volunteer and their contribution and impact.
Why this practice is important
Volunteer impact is a way to measure the effect that your volunteers have on their community and organisation they serve. Celebrating volunteer impact shows volunteers how their efforts make a meaningful difference. It motivates volunteers to be their best and supports retention.
Volunteer impact data helps to put numerical values on the effectiveness of your volunteers’ time and efforts, and it demonstrates the value of the work of volunteers, assisting with applications for funding.
What volunteers need
- To see the impact of their work inside and outside the organisation
- To know the value of the work of volunteers is measured and reported on
What good practice looks like
Ensure the impact of the work of volunteers is visible inside and outside the organisation
- Ensure volunteer impact is a core part of Board reporting
- Ensure volunteer impact is highlighted and evaluated in the Annual Report
- Ensure senior managers are aware of and communicate the value and impact of volunteers
- Celebrate the contribution and impact of individual volunteers
- Profile volunteers and the impact of their work in newsletters
- Have testimonials and “A day in the life of a volunteer” on the organisation’s website
- Use social media to show video interviews with volunteers talking about their work and motivation to increase the visibility of volunteers and engage the community
- Invite volunteers to present and share their stories at external events e.g. webinars, community meetings
Ensure the value of the work of volunteers is measured and reported on
- Ensure the value of volunteers’ work is measured and included in the organisation’s accounts and annual report
- Budget for the cost of managing volunteers
- Advocate for the budget and costs for managing, training, recognising, supporting, and retaining volunteers to be viewed as an investment
- Have a fair and robust volunteer reimbursement policy
- Ensure the organisation recognises the return on investment in training and the growth of volunteer