I'm working with community alliances (multi-stakeholder collaboratives) in healthcare and am hearing that they are having difficulty building and sustaining a volunteer base (especially consumer/patient advocates). One leader recently asked (I'm paraphrasing)...How do hospital auxiliaries do it? You walk into a hospital and see all these volunteers ready to work...how did they get there? I also hear Goodwill and United Way touted as organizations to emulate (we have nowhere near their market/population base to penetrate).
We're convening a retreat later this summer and would like to provide some assistance/training around how to build a cadre of committed volunteers (this would just be a portion of the program). Project directors will be looking for specific tools and strategies to take home with them. I'm looking to the YAP community for suggestions on speakers/trainers who have expertise in this area (healthcare experience would be ideal) and would be willing to come to the DC area.
I I had a great experience with Peggy Hoffman and Peter Houstle of Mariner Management (http://www.marinermanagement.com/) at MGMA, my former association. They helped us build a new volunteer management program that focused on getting new volunteers on board by offering them more short-term, ad hoc opportunities rather than standard one- to three-year commitments. I left the organization shortly after we got the new program underway, but I've heard from former colleagues that the campaign surrounding the new concept left them with more volunteers than they knew what to do with.
While I do not have a suggestion as to speaker/experts on this subject, I would suggest as a strategy to tap into already existing volunteer organizations. Many volunteer groups, such as local Junior Leagues and Rotary Clubs, are always on the lookout for volunteer opportunities for their members.
Additionally, you might want to contact your local Junior League for information on local experts who can speak to volunteer recruitment and management as they sometimes serve as a clearinghouse in their communities for such information.
I recommend Holly Duckworth (www.hollyduckworth.com) of Leadership Solutions International. I know Holly through her service on the ASAE Component Relations Council over the past two years. She has spoken and led a few of our virtual lunches and I always learn something from her.
I was just scanning YAP and noted your request then saw my name come up. If you haven't seen the ASAE book The Decision to Volunteer this might be a great place to start with developing more volunteers. Creating a fun interactive session sharing this research and case studies directed at your needs would provide the ROI you are looking for. I know from my experience the"new" generation of volunteers is looking for a very different experience that the volunteers of yesterday.
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