Training Materials | Get Involved! Resource Clearinghouse

Learn more about best practices in volunteer recruitment and engagement, and how to get the results you need.

NOTE: These are examples from public libraries and should be reviewed and modified to ensure fit with local policies and culture.

Title	Keyword	Tags	Year
Volunteer Background Checks: Giving Back without Giving Up on Privacy How do nonprofit organizations screen volunteers? There are several options. The choices depend largely on the volunteer job involved and the… more	Volunteer Screening / Interviewing, Capacity Building, Staff Training	background checks, screening	2018
Three Things We Know About Engaging Millennials in Your Cause A quick read on what Millennials are interested in to help you in your recruitment efforts.	Millennials	Millennials	2018
Getting Staff Buy-In for Volunteer Engagement Video clip on this topic from a Get Involved Volunteer Engagement Institute in Oakland California in May 2015. (26.5 minutes)	Engaging Staff and Unions		2018
Can We Reject a Volunteer? What do you do when someone applies to volunteer and you realize they will not work out? How can we justify rejecting anyone who steps forward and… more	Interviewing Volunteers, Staff Training	Fire, reject, complaints	2018
You Can't Fire Me, I'm a Volunteer! This quick read from Blue Avocado focuses on addressing volunteer dissatisfaction points to the right way to handle disgruntled volunteers.	Staff Training	Fire, disgruntled	2018
Building Capacity: Strategic Volunteer Engagement In this Points of Light blog post, the point is made that organizations that build a culture of volunteerism, and purposefully embed volunteerism… more	Capacity Building, Staff Training	Strategic	2018
Are You in a Volunteer Management Silo? A classic piece by Susan Ellis describing why we need to get out of our comfort zone and expand our thinking once in a while.	Staff Training	Professional Development	2017
Volunteers are the Reputational Assets Your Organization is Overlooking A great reminder in a brief article by Erin Rebecca Spink.	Capacity Building, Staff Training		2017
Checklist to Minimize the Most Common Volunteer Risks A good basic list of issues to consider and how to approach them.	Capacity Building, Staff Training	Risk Management	2016
Why Company Sponsored Volunteer Programs are Keeping Millennials Happy at Work What motivates millennials to stay in a job is having an impact on corporate social responsibility.	Volunteer Recruitment, Millennials	Millennials, high-impact volunteers, Recruitment	2016
Help for the Volunteer Engagement Coordinator This is a 3 minute interview with volunteer Kellie, who came on board as our volunteer Assistant Volunteer Coordinator at the California State… more	Capacity Building, Staff Training		2015
Skilled Volunteer Interview: Public Relations Strategist Watch this 6 minute interview with Dan, a highly skilled Public Relations volunteer who came aboard to create a statewide PR campaign for California… more	Graphic Design, Marketing and Publicity, Capacity Building, Staff Training		2015
A Few Pointers on the Unpleasant Topic of Firing Volunteers Sarah Jane Rehnborg, Ph.D. discusses some of the "whys" and "hows" on this important topic.	Staff Training	Fire, dismiss, problem	2015
Inclusive Volunteering: Recommendations for Volunteer Coordinators on how to Develop a More Inclusive Volunteer Programme This booklet consists of two parts. Part I covers general aspects of inclusive volunteering and Part II includes recommendations for volunteer… more	Capacity Building, Staff Training	disabilities	2015
Target Market Success Story: Teen Volunteer This 5 minute success story is an interview with a library teen volunteer coordinator and one of her awesome teen volunteers talking about what makes… more	Millennials	Teen	2015
Disability Etiquette: Tips on Interacting with People with Disabilities A pamphlet created by the United Spinal Association.	Staff Training	disabilities, diversity, equity, inclusion	2015
Target Market Success Story: Volunteers with Full Time Jobs Ever wonder how and why someone with a full time job would be willing and able to volunteer at the library? Here's a 5 minute video clip of one… more	Engaging High Impact Volunteers		2015
Virtual Volunteer - 4 minute interview This 4 minute interview is with a volunteer who couldn't come to the library to volunteer, but still wanted to help with her high level social… more	Capacity Building, Staff Training	virtual volunteer	2015
Today's Volunteer: The Shift from Management to Engagement Video clip on this topic from a Get Involved Volunteer Engagement Institute in Oakland California in May 2015. (9.5 minutes)	Capacity Building, Engaging High Impact Volunteers, Staff Training		2015
Importance of Meaningful Written Volunteer Job Descriptions Video clip on this topic from a Get Involved Volunteer Engagement Institute in Oakland California in May 2015. (14 minutes)	Capacity Building, Engaging High Impact Volunteers, Staff Training		2015