Training Materials

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
NextGen Nexus: A Peek Inside the Millennial Mind
What if you could have a young person authentically share their viewpoint about your social issue and cause? What would they say, and how can you… more
Millennials 2019
Beware of These 6 Trends Lurking in Your Volunteer Program
This brief article from November 2019 delineates troubling trends about volunteer engagement programs gleaned from the most recent Volunteer… more
Capacity Building 2019
How to Build a Successful Volunteer Program
This brief guidebook was created by the International City/County Management Association.
Capacity BuildingStaff Training toolkit 2019
Arizona's Buckeye Library Shares it's Experience with Get Involved
In this 6 minute video, Krista Cornish, Buckeye Library's (AZ) Volunteer Engagement Coordinator shares her library's experience and best… more
Capacity BuildingEngaging Staff and Unions 2019
How to Write a Strong Reference Letter for a Volunteer
A reference letter showcases a volunteer’s achievements and the skills they’ve gained through volunteering. It can help a volunteer who is looking… more
Staff Training recognition, reference letter 2019
Could Volunteers Replace Paid Staff?? Have No Fear!
An organization’s decision to bring in volunteers may spark fears that volunteers could eventually replace staff. After all, volunteers can do many… more
Staff TrainingEngaging Staff and Unions Staff Resistance, staff buy-in 2019
Shelving with Dewey - Illinois
This 1 hour self-paced course from LibraryU, a program of the Illinois State Library and the regional library systems is archived by WebJunction. It… more
Job Specific Volunteer Training shelve, book shelving, shelver 2019
Recruitment Success Story - Flagstaff Arizona
In this 4 minute video, Claudine from the Flagstaff library talks about her successes in finding a volunteer to serve as her assistant volunteer… more
Capacity BuildingEngaging High Impact Volunteers online booksales, Book sale 2019
Volunteer Appreciation Guide
is Volunteer Appreciation Guide is a free resource developed by Wild Apricot to offer tips and advice for volunteer programs just getting started… more
Capacity Building recognition 2019
A Peek inside the Millennial Mind
Tips to better engage the next generation of supporters for your organization.
Millennials young volunteers, Millenials, Millennials 2019
How to Prioritize When Everything Feels Important
There's never enough time to do everything you want to do. It's a universal problem. And we all accept that fact and live with its reality until the… more
Staff Training prioritize, priorities, planning 2019
Playing by the Rules: Creating an Effective Volunteer Handbook.
This one hour archived webinar was presented by Jennifer Bennett of VolunteerMatch in conjunction with the 4 state Get Involved: Powered by Your… more
Volunteer Handbooks policies, handbook 2019
Successfully Managing Library Volunteer Program Changes
What should you do when it’s time to change the policies and procedures that govern or guide the volunteers that work with your organization? How can… more
Capacity BuildingStaff Training change management 2018
The Essential Guide to Managing Volunteers at Your Nonprofit
A free comprehensive overview for volunteer management from VolunteerPro.
Capacity Building 2018
Revitalizing Library Volunteer Engagement
One hour archived recording of a WebJunction webinar: Library volunteerism is evolving. Gone are the days of looking for tasks to keep your… more
Engaging High Impact VolunteersEngaging Staff and UnionsOn-line Volunteer Recruitment 2018
How to Create Your Volunteer Program Budget
A format for developing a budget for your volunteer engagement service.
Staff TrainingCapacity Building budget justification 2018
Demographic Trends Shaping America and Service
Beth Steinhorn of VQ Strategies takes 2018 Pew Research results and extrapolates them for volunteer engagement professionals by addressing the… more
Capacity BuildingMillennials 2018
Gaining Staff Buy-In for Volunteer Engagement
This chart created by Carla Lehn identifies the common reasons that staff are resistant to the idea of engaging volunteers in their work, and… more
Capacity BuildingStaff Training staff buy-in 2018
Diagnosing the Causes of Volunteer Recruitment Problems
Jayne Cravens provides Questions to diagnose your volunteer recruitment problems.
Staff Training Recruitment 2018
Volunteer Management: How to Get it Right
A 2018 study by MAVA (Minnesota Association of Volunteer Administrators) showed a lack of understanding about the essential nature of volunteers and… more
Capacity Building volunteer coordinator 2018