Projects are most successful when everyone is on the same page, and one of the simplest and most effective ways to ensure your volunteers successfully support your nonprofit is creating a volunteer handbook.
The Importance of Volunteer Handbooks
A comprehensive volunteer handbook serves as an organizational manual, encompassing procedures, policies, and contact information. It is a valuable tool that reduces training time and cost and can remain a resource well beyond the onboarding phase.
The volunteer handbook streamlines processes by anticipating many frequently asked questions and making sure that volunteers fully understand your organization’s mission. Having a reliable written resource with all the information that volunteers need to fulfill their positions also makes volunteers feel more supported, resulting in improved satisfaction and retention.
Volunteer Handbook Writing Tips
Effective volunteer handbooks start with effective writing. Begin by considering the format of your document. Will you be sharing the volunteer handbook as an electronic resource, printed book, or both? Web-hosted handbooks are much easier to access on the go, and they also offer opportunities for video content and direct links; however, hard copies are more conducive to thorough reading. Determine what is best suited to your organization’s needs.
You may find it simplest to compile the document in a word processing software and then save it as a PDF, which allows for both easy printing and uploading. You can also use templates for a more polished presentation; however, avoid distracting colors and fonts. Keep the focus on the information you are presenting.
Once you have decided on your format, it’s time to start writing.
- Be clear and concise: When conveying information, simplicity is best. Avoid unnecessary words, overly long sentences, and complicated vocabulary. You can introduce some personality (after all, you want the handbook to be engaging), but try to keep the prose focused on content rather than stylistic flourishes.
- Organize the information: Give your volunteer handbook a table of contents and page numbers so that information is easy to find. While new volunteers will likely read the handbook all the way through, it will be more useful in the long term if they can quickly locate the information they need.
- Keep a narrow scope: A volunteer handbook shares important information from your organization’s leadership; however, you must make sure that everything is relevant to the volunteer experience. Only include the information that they need.
- Encourage accountability: You may want to require volunteers to sign something acknowledging that they have read the handbook thoroughly and understand your organization’s policies.
- Edit thoroughly: Your volunteer handbook represents your organization. Make sure that it is free from spelling and grammar errors and that all the information is accurate.
- Update regularly: In order for your volunteer handbook to be useful, it will need to be updated as your organization’s procedures change. It is good practice to review the handbook every year, but if your nonprofit is growing rapidly, more frequent updates may be needed.
What to Include in a Volunteer Handbook
When you’re creating a volunteer handbook, the exact content will vary depending on your organization’s unique needs. However, there are certain sections that many volunteer handbooks benefit from:
Table of Contents: Outline all the sections in the handbook with page numbers and/or clickable links.
Introduction: The introduction should be a personalized letter that sets the tone for the organization-volunteer relationship. It can be written by the volunteer manager, president, or another organizational leader. Welcome the volunteers, express how important they are, and thank them for their support. While other sections of the volunteer handbook are focused on information, the introduction can be more focused on emotion.
About Us: This section declares your organization’s mission statement and values. Provide some background on your history, current initiatives, and future goals. You can also use this space to share specific examples of how your nonprofit makes a difference.
Programs: Outline all of your organization’s programs and campaigns, showcasing the purpose and impact of each. You can also briefly discuss the roles that volunteers play in each program.
Volunteer Positions: Provide detailed job descriptions for each volunteer position. Outline the skills and time commitment necessary for each role so that volunteers can choose the jobs that fit them best.
Training: Give an overview of the training process, including the schedule, requirements, and goals. You should also provide access to relevant training materials, such as online resources, videos, and documents.
Volunteer Operations: Discuss the details of how volunteers get involved. Outline the procedures for sign-up, schedules, work, and reports. If you use any volunteer management software, you can also give a brief tutorial.
Volunteer Policies: Clearly communicate volunteer expectations and the code of conduct. Include your violence, non-discrimination, and harassment policies, as well as your incident reporting procedure. This section outlines the guidelines that all volunteers agree to in order to work with your organization and can be referenced should an issue arise.
Safety: Describe emergency procedures and safety considerations, including ways to mitigate any risks associated with events. You can also include copies of your volunteer waiver, release forms, and site maps.
Confidentiality: Protecting your community is important. Outline your policies for how both your volunteers and your organization handle privacy and confidentiality so that sensitive information remains private.
Social Media: Social media is an effective way to spread your message, and many of your volunteers may be excited to post about their activities. Offer guidance on the type of content that is acceptable (and unacceptable) to share about the organization on social media, as well as the hashtags your nonprofit uses.
Directory: List your staff members and their contact information. Outline each member’s role and identify points of contact for volunteer concerns.
Enhance the Volunteer Experience with VolunteerHub
Creating a volunteer handbook is just one part of improving volunteer satisfaction and retention. VolunteerHub’s comprehensive volunteer management software streamlines your processes with a centralized platform that caters to all of your volunteers’ needs.
VolunteerHub allows volunteers to self-register and self-schedule, and the platform helps them keep track of their commitments through automated emails and texts. VolunteerHub also provides resources for event check-in, hour tracking, reporting, waivers, and one of the most important elements of volunteer retention: rewards and recognition.
