For two years, your nonprofit has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 cases may not fully go away, but, new data suggests that we are nearing the end. Is your volunteer program prepared?
If your nonprofit is like many others, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and adjusting your volunteer program has been challenging. Many organizations have had to adjust to restrictions, reduce volunteers, and provide virtual volunteer opportunities in order to continue to serve their communities. The good news is, new data suggests that we may be approaching the end of the pandemic. In fact, COVID-19 cases in the United States have dropped 77% in the last six weeks ,and daily cases continue to fall. The chart below, found on healthdata.org, projects that COVID-19 cases will continue to drop in April and approach endemic levels.
Source: https://covid19.healthdata.org/
Lifted Restrictions in Most US States
Based on declining cases, most states are lifting restrictions. You can check the COVID-19 restrictions associated with your state here. According to an article published on USA Today, restrictions have been lifted or eased in 94% of the United States. Below is a state-by-state visual provided in the article.
Source: https://www.usatoday.com/storytelling/coronavirus-reopening-america-map/
Where should your volunteer program go from here?
With restrictions being lifted in most states and daily cases dropping nationwide, your organization may be asking “where do we go from here?” If your individual state has lifted restrictions and your organization is prepared, it may be time to bring your volunteers back.
Here are a few things questions to ask:
- How will your organization utilize volunteers moving forward? Will you provide in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities?
- How will you communicate with volunteers and let them know about new opportunities?
- How will you overcome any concerns that volunteers have about fulfilling in-person opportunities? Remember, this will be an adjustment for many volunteers.
- How will you convert volunteers to donors and vice-versa?
- How will you engage lapsed volunteers?
Implementing volunteer management software can help you address these questions and formulate a plan.
Implement volunteer management software
If you determine it is time to revamp your volunteer program and bring volunteers back safely, investing in a volunteer management solution is a must. Volunteer management software, like VolunteerHub, can help your nonprofit effectively engage, recruit, and manage volunteer constituents.
VolunteerHub provides a plethora of features to help you gain the most value from your volunteer program including landing pages for volunteer registration, waiver tracking, contactless check-in, rewards and recognition, communication, and integration with industry-leading CRM systems.
Here are some additional resources about VolunteerHub:
