Volunteer scheduling software is a needed tool for nonprofits. Organizations that rely on volunteers can greatly benefit from an organized, user-friendly, streamlined solution.
Volunteer scheduling software is becoming increasingly important. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average volunteer donates 52 hours annually to support a cause each year. The report also claims that 62.6 million (about ¼ of the population) people volunteer each year. Based on these findings, it is estimated that nonprofits are responsible for managing over 3.25 billion volunteer hours a year (combined). Talk about a lot of responsibility!
How a nonprofit reaches and manages their volunteer hour share is important and can make a big difference in terms of mission attainment. Nonprofits today need to have a system in place to strategically position their opportunities, reach qualified talent, and organize data.
Even with the demonstrated value of volunteerism, many nonprofits have yet to invest in their recruitment strategies. According to a study, performed by Nonprofit HR, 71% of nonprofits claim they do not have a formal recruitment budget.
The same study revealed that turnover is one of the biggest challenges for nonprofits but 59% believe turnover rates at their organization will remain the same.
The data all points to one conclusion…Nonprofits need access to tools that retain, engage, and recruit volunteers. Volunteer scheduling software provides all of those benefits.
Here are a few valuable benefits of volunteer scheduling software
Software Will Free Up Time
One of the biggest challenges for nonprofit organizations today is time management. Nonprofits have many daily tasks to delegate and little time to invest. Deploying volunteer scheduling software can allow an organization to free-up time by automating the scheduling process. Automating scheduling has the potential to save financial resources.
In fact, 64% of nonprofit CFO’s said that adopting cloud technology would cut operational costs by up to 20%.
Enhances Engagement
In today’s tech-savvy world volunteers want to commit on their terms. In order to appeal, organizations need to make the process of scheduling easy and convenient for supporters. Volunteer scheduling software gives supporters the ability to commit to opportunities when it is convenient for them, increasing engagement. A recent study, performed by Blackbaud, found that 31% of nonprofits cite engagement/communication as a top challenge. Volunteer scheduling software increases engagement and creates a platform to communicate opportunity with supporters digitally.
Integration with Donor Mangement Software
The relationship between volunteers and financial donors is compelling. It is estimated that 70% of volunteers also donate financially to a cause. Implementing volunteer scheduling software and integrating with a donor management system can provide nonprofits with insights and data to cross-pollinate supporter types. According to research, 57% of nonprofits claim they are not getting the most benefit from their donor data. Integrating with a volunteer management solution can increase ROI. Each recruited volunteer presents an organization with an opportunity to impact fundraising and vice-versa.
Easily Accessible
Nonprofits that use a volunteer scheduling solution to promote opportunities, recruit volunteers, and run reports have access to data from anywhere with an internet connection. Ease of system access is beneficial to nonprofits that spend time off-site and need to access data on the go.
The ROI of Volunteer Management Scheduling is Substantial
The return of investment for nonprofits using volunteer scheduling software is substantial. Volunteer scheduling software reduces the amount of time that organizational staff has to invest in program management. This time can be invested in pushing other areas of the program further and increasing impact in the community. We have talked to many organizations that have reduced overhead by implementing a volunteer scheduling solution.
Here are a few case studies demonstrating the benefits.
Takeaways
Nonprofits can reap many benefits from investing in a volunteer scheduling solution. These benefits include freeing up time, enhancing engagement, leveraging data insights, increasing accessibility, and driving higher ROI for their organization.
Want to learn more about the benefits of volunteer scheduling software? Learn more about how VolunteerHub works today.
