Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/JeffreyLBrudney

This report is the fourth in a series of briefs on a 2003 survey of volunteer management capacity among public charities in the United States. It introduces an organizational level measure of the challenges and advantages of mobilizing volunteers called net benefits. Challenges include recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers. Advantages include better or more service delivery, cost savings, and access to specialized skills. Survey results indicate that net benefits varies by investments in volunteer management and the extent and nature of volunteer involvement. The brief includes a worksheet that charities can use to calculate their own net benefits score and compare themselves to organizations with similar characteristics.

This report is the second in a series of briefs on a 2003 survey of volunteer management capacity among public charities in the United States. It focuses on charities' adoption of nine volunteer management practices: supervision and communication, liability coverage, screening and matching, regular collection of volunteer numbers and hours written policies and job descriptions, recognition activities, measurement of volunteer impacts, training and professional development, and training for paid staff in working with volunteers. We report on the extent of adoption of these practices by charities with different characteristics, and the relationship between volunteer management practices and retention of volunteers.

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