Volunteers: The Untapped Voice of Your Organization

Volunteers: The Untapped Voice of Your Organization

In this e-Volunteerism feature, the story of volunteers at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo shows how and why your organization can empower volunteers to help tell your story. As writer Karie Hajek explains, volunteers are often referred to as the “heart” of an organization and represent a crucial, untapped voice that can help organizations embody their mission.

“With strategic attention to incorporating your messaging into your recruiting and training process, you can better equip your volunteers to engage your audience and support your cause,” writes Hajek, who is Volunteer Services Specialist at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. “It is through this lens that you can truly see and acknowledge volunteers as an invaluable extension and voice of your organization.” 

To read the full article

Mon, 12/16/2019
hi Karie This is a fabulous article!! Thank you so much for sharing. So many learnings, and so much is relevant to what my organisation is going through now. We have reviewed a critical volunteer role at our hospital to align it with our mission and strategic priorities, as well as to make it more meaningful for our volunteers and service users. Your suggestions for how to embed strategic goals in training is great advice. But I think what I really enjoyed is that you developed a purposeful survey with a clear strategy for how you would use the outcomes. I think sometimes that we conduct surveys or data for the sake of it, without having a plan for why we're collecting it and how we'll use the information we get. I really like that this was really clear for you and your team. And I love that your volunteers are purposefully involved. Sometimes I think volunteers can be seen as a "nice to have," but your team, even if some of them aren't ready, are embedded as a resource to achieve your organisation's goals. Winning! Thanks again for sharing. Loved it! Tracey

Mon, 12/16/2019
Tracey, Thank you so much for taking the time to read my article. It is so inspiring to hear that you found it to be helpful. It certainly is a process and I learn more everyday. Starting in 2020, we will be gearing up for our new volunteer recruiting period and I am already starting to think about how we can help our volunteers better apply the information they learn about our zoo's conservation efforts into their conversations with guests. This year I am hoping to incorporate some interactive exercises into our training. Hopefully doing this will not only make learning fun and interesting but also give our new volunteers a chance to understand how to apply the information. Thanks again for the comment!

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