Volunteer Management, Overview of

Materials providing an overview of the elements of volunteer management -- the big picture.

Volunteering New Zealand produced this summary of their identification and development of key competencies for leaders and managers of volunteers. 

, 2013, pp. 12
By the New England Network for Child, Youth & Family Services. A toolkit that takes a clear-eyed look at what volunteers can really do in child- and youth-serving agencies, and how to get started growing or improving your own volunteer program, whatever your setting.
, 2010, pp. 54
By the New England Network for Child, Youth & Family Services -- a toolkit that takes a clear-eyed look at what volunteers can really do in child- and youth-serving agencies, and how to get started growing or improving your own volunteer program, whatever your setting. , 2010, pp. 54

A free publication from the Citizens Information Board (UK) that does a fine job of presenting an overview of volunteer management basics.

, 2008, pp. 72

Tobi Johnson of VolunteerPro provides this free guide for the newcomer to volunteer management -- lots of good context and tips.

, 2016, pp. 57
A series of nine books by Volunteer Northwest Territories and Volunteer Nunavut in Canada for volunteers and volunteer groups in small and large communities. The link here is to book 1, which links to the other 8 booklets of 40 pages each., 2004, pp. 40

From the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Focuses on prevention, treatment, and recovery services for substance abuse and mental illness; however, the principles described apply to any field and may help organizations understand how to start and manage a successful volunteer program.

, 2005, pp. 56
compiled by Ellen Steele, the Volunteer Center at Serve Rhode Island to promote volunteerism and service projects in faith-based communities, 2008, pp. 52
By Nora McClintock for the Canadian Centre on Philanthropy. The manual "is primarily intended for those who are new to the field of volunteer resource management." , 2004, pp. 42
a toolkit for arts volunteer-involving organisations in Ireland from Volunteer Ireland and Voluntary Arts Ireland , 2014, pp. 51
Charity Village Volunteer Engagement

Long list of articles in the "Volunteer Engagement" area of this key Canadian site.

CNIB Volunteer Resources

CNIB (Canadian Institute for the Blind) shares an array of excellent resources to foster a culture of volunteerism within your organization. Under a Government of Ontario grant, CNIB developed a series of resources identifying best practices for partnering with volunteers. The documents – manuals, toolkits, training guides and templates – are posted on the CNIB Ontario website. One goal was to share these resources and best practices with other not-for-profit organizations, and to assist them with their inclusion goals. While these documents have been created with CNIB examples, you can adapt these Word versions for your own purposes. Some of the materials focus on working with volunteers who have vision disabilities.

Digital Collections of IUPUI University Library

Archival material from the IUPUI University Library's Philanthropy Resources Online collection. Search keywords such as "volunteering," philanthropy," etc. Many journals from the 1960s-1990s have been digitized online here, so anyone looking for older material and historical archives can find treasures.

Do Good, Be Good podcasts

The Do Good, Be Good podcast highlights stories of helpful people and the challenges they have faced when trying to be helpful, produced and moderated by Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom. 

Engaging Volunteers (blog)

Excellent blog written by members of the VolunteerMatch team and third-party experts in the volunteering and technology community. Great source for trends in the field.

Free Management Library - Developing and Managing Volunteer Programs

Compiled by Carter McNamara, a long selection of articles throughout the Web on volunteer management.

National Service Knowledge Network

The national service hub for sharing training and technical assistance information among CNCS (Corporation for National and Community Service) programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, VISTA, and NCCC, but with a great deal of freematerial relevant to any leader of volunteers in general.

School Volunteer Management Handbook

This handbook is a resource guide for VISTAs in charge of managing school-based volunteers. Although much of this handbook is site specific (relating only to Sanchez Elementary School in Austin, TX), all of the information should be helpful to anyone managing a school-based volunteering program or working with volunteers in general.

Volunteer NOW - Developing Volunteering

Free downloadable publications, checklists, and tools for volunteer management from this Northern Ireland peak body.

Volunteer Today

Nancy Macduff’s Web site with monthly current material and links for volunteer resources managers.

Volunteering Australia - Volunteer Managers

Range of articles (PDFs) on various aspects of volunteer management.

Volunteering England Good Practice Bank

For volunteers and volunteer managers looking for advice and information about how to support volunteering -- find articles, information sheets, case studies and links to other helpful guidance or external websites

Wisconsin 4-H Volunteer Development and Management

Resources for 4-H volunteer leaders, ideas for recruitment, training, utilizing, and recognizing volunteers in any setting.

Print and e-Books in Our Store

Book cover

A compendium of the best techniques for leading volunteer engagement, proven to work in a myriad of settings.

From the Top Down UK edition book cover

UK Edition of the best-selling book that identifies the critical link between the actions of an organisation’s senior management and the overall success of volunteer engagement.

book cover image

Is managing volunteers only part of your job? Or just not enough hours in a day? Learn to build a management team and and feel some relief from carrying the whole weight of leading volunteer involvement alone.

Volunteer Management for Animal Care Organizations

Geared specifically to the challenges posed by an animal shelter environment but can help any animal care organization build its volunteer program.

Volunteer Management 3rd Edition

The most widely utilized text in the world on the theory and practice of managing a volunteer program.

Ever wondered where volunteers find their inspiration, what makes someone a great leader?  Tonyehn Verkitus, the Senior VP of Nonprofit Engagement at GiveGab, interviews volunteers doing amazing things, leaders who inspire debate, and nonprofits finding creative solutions to problems big and small. "Snapshots" in 7 Questions take a small dip into the lives of people who do big things. New interview monthly. Free archive of all podcasts remains available.

With thanks to Volunteer Canada for this great infographic celebrating International Volunteer Managers Day 2015.