USING SKILLS-BASED
VOLUNTEERS
Nancy Long
501 Commons
 Consulting services, cohort programs including the
Volunteer Impact Program for UWKC, Information and
Referral Services and the Statewide Nonprofit Resource
Directory
 Visit at www.501commons.org
 Executive Service Corps of WA
 26 ESC in US
 375 members in WA State
 All ages and backgrounds
 Both nonprofit and business expertise
 Work with 100+ organizations each year
Purpose
Provide tools and resources that help
you successfully tap into the
professional skills of volunteers
By the end of the session
 What is different about working with skilled
volunteers?
 How do I find skills-based volunteers?
 How can I match the right person to the role?
 How can I successfully direct a volunteer?
 Is my organization prepared to use skilled
volunteers successfully?
Skilled Volunteers
All volunteers have skills. What distinguishes
skills-based volunteerism is that the volunteer
is using specific skills, credentials, and
experience that is not available in the general
population.
What’s different?
“You don’t need to know where
you are going. Just keep walking.”
What’s Different?
 Individually based (not a program)
o Project-based—Driven by scope of work
o Like an unpaid staff or consultant
 Volunteer participants in designing the role
o Agency describes the outcome
o Volunteer contributes to how the outcome is
reached
 Enhanced experience if:
o Paired with learning
o Diverse/Intergenerational
What are some possible benefits
of using skilled volunteers?
What are some possible benefits
of using skilled volunteers?
Benefits
 Skills you cannot afford to pay for
 Complete work that is on the back-burner
 Can teach staff new skills
 May bring a new perspective to the
organization
 May become a donor
 May bring in new donors
 May become a high value board member
What professional skills might be useful
to your organization?
Database
Research
Training
Bookkeeping
Photography
Human Resources
Where do you find those
skills?
Step #1 Finding skilled volunteers
 Be clear about the work that needs to be done
 Define the skills you need
 Write a position descriptions that focus on skills
needed and describes the impact of this work on
the people you serve
 Post it on listings sites with the skill in the
position title
 Send it to professionals who have the skill for
might know someone who does.
Step #2: Matching Volunteers
Square peg in a round hole?
Determining a good “fit”
A good fit
 Set up a discussion with the potential
volunteer
 There are 3 positive outcomes
 The person is a good fit for this role
 The person is not a good fit for this role
 Agree to do some more work to determine
if it would be a good fit.
What makes a good fit?
Matching Volunteer Requirements
with Organizational Needs
Volunteer
Organization
Volunteer’s values about
who they want to help
Focus/mission; staff/board
diversity; who is served
Volunteer’s values about
workplace culture
Organizational culture
Volunteer’s preferences
about using/developing
their skills
Volunteer’s preferences
about the structure and
benefits of a volunteer
opportunity
Organizational needs (what
needs to be done; what
expertise is needed)
Structure and benefits of the
volunteer opportunity
Challenge: Cross walking skills
From the corporate to…
the nonprofit sector
Competencies Map
 www.taprootfoundation.org/leadprobono
/state/competencies_map
 Taprootfoundation.org>lead
probono>Resources>competencies map
 Lists 75+ opportunities and the occupations that
can have the needed competencies
 Select
 By project
 By occupation
Exercise
 Choose a partner
 One plays the role of the volunteer
 One plays the role of the organization
 Read the description of the nonprofit’s
project and the profile of the volunteer and
attempt to determine if there is a good
match
Matching Volunteer Requirements
with Organizational Needs
Volunteer
Organization
Volunteer’s values about
who they want to help
Focus/mission; staff/board
diversity; who is served
Volunteer’s values about
workplace culture
Organizational culture
Volunteer’s preferences
about using/developing
their skills
Volunteer’s preferences
about the structure and
benefits of a volunteer
opportunity
Organizational needs (what
needs to be done; what
expertise is needed)
Structure and benefits of the
volunteer opportunity
Step #3: Developing an agreement
with your volunteer
 Defining the project
 Scope of Work (what, how, to what end?)
 Deliverables (products/outcomes)
 Timeline
 Resources needed
 Accountability/Evaluation process
Things to watch for
 Time sensitivity risk : Do they have the time
to do the project when needed?
 Scope creep risk - can you keep the work
within a clearly defined scope?
 Sector knowledge risk - does the volunteer
have the sector knowledge needed for this
role?
Developing a written agreement
 Scope of work:
oProblem to be solved
oWhat will be done/ by when
oGenerally how it will be done
oWhere will the resources come from
 Deliverables
oProducts of the work, incl. interim products
oOutcomes
 Accountability/Evaluation
Agreement Exercise
 Scope of work
 Problem to be solved
 What will be done
 Generally how it will be done
 Where will the resources come from
 Deliverables
 Products
 Outcomes
Assessing Readiness
We insure that specialized volunteers are given
the staff support and resources needed to
accomplish their projects.
We have developed long-term goals for
engaging skilled volunteers.
Be aware of generational
differences
 Volunteers in 20/30s
 Volunteers 50+
Working with SBV in their
20s/30s
 Give options
 Be flexible but clear about expectations
 Engage in smaller projects to build
commitment
 Be open to how the work gets done
 Appreciate their technology knowledge and
experience
Working with skilled volunteers
over 50
 10,000 people turn 60 each day; Approximately
25% of the population are boomers
 Highly educated
 Prefer project work
 Want to know expectations
 Want to see the impact
Are you more prepared?
What is your biggest barrier?
Using Skilled Volunteers
 Nancy Long, Executive Director, 501 Commons
nancy@501commons.org 206.682.6704
 Visit www.501commons.org for copies of this
presentation and resources on volunteer
management
 Search for “skills-based volunteering” and
“volunteer management resource”