Non-profit organizations are diving into data points, finding opportunities to do better for the causes they serve. Technological advancements in the way records are stored and reported on are helping non-profits cover more ground with the same resources.
One such technology helping non-profits discover new opportunities is a volunteer management system. Integrating seamlessly with other systems like fundraising and donation management software, volunteer management systems are used to understand who our volunteers are and how they can bring the best of themselves into their volunteer roles.
Here are four reasons non-profits should adopt a volunteer management system to help them better understand a critical stakeholder: their volunteers.
Getting to know your volunteers
Knowing your volunteers means supporting their interests and abilities to put them into meaningful and fulfilling volunteer roles. Building a genuine relationship with your volunteers can go beyond these basic understandings, as well.
When you learn about someone’s ambitions and interests in personal growth, you can help them level up their skills while giving them an environment to implement those skills. Fostering professional development in your volunteers is a great way to bring new skills into the organization. And it all begins with communicating and keeping records of these details in a volunteer management software.
The admin advantages of knowing your volunteers
When we use a system to keep track of volunteers, we can quickly access volunteers suited for events, public speaking opportunities, support groups, media appearances, etc. It allows us to use our time and resources most efficiently – something that is always of the utmost importance when operating on donations.
Leveraging a volunteer management system to quickly generate reports also allows us to see where we have a need for more volunteers with specific skillsets, making recruitment a more tactical and streamlined effort. These are just two of many administrative tasks that simply wouldn’t be performed as efficiently without the help of a volunteer management system.
Communicating with our volunteers
Volunteer management systems are the perfect place to keep track of volunteer feedback and communication preferences to enrich how we as an organization communicate with volunteers. The more we know about our volunteers, the more we can serve their interests and bring us closer together as partners in Parkinson’s.
The value a volunteer holds far surpasses the role they fill. They’re a part of this community and bring themselves and their families into the lives of Canadians impacted by Parkinson’s, and they also offer important questions and feedback. We learn so much about what new resources the community needs, what we’re doing well and what we should consider doing more of.
From the emails and newsletters we send, to the blogs and resources we publish, to the webinars we host, and everything in between, volunteers help make them possible and help make them better.
Seeing volunteer impact by the numbers
Personal stories about the ways people’s lives have changed since connecting with Parkinson Canada touch our hearts and solidify our purpose as an organization. The lived experience, dedication and expertise volunteers bring to an organization, makes them an integral part of creating impact and change for people living with Parkinson’s.
Adding a volunteer management platform to gather quantitative information on volunteer impact, along with the health and potential of a volunteer engagement program, creates opportunities to grow and recognize the contributions of volunteers.
We love learning personal impact stories from support groups, SuperWalks and advocacy initiatives, to name a few. What a volunteer management system does is amplifies these stories to show just how many people experience a life still possible with Parkinson’s because of our volunteers. Seeing the impact on this scale changes the conversations we have with our stakeholders and garners growth in funding and our ability to expand our impact in the coming years.
Parkinson Canada has onboarded VolunteerHub!
For these reasons and so many more, Parkinson Canada has made the leap to upgrade our volunteer management system. The future excites us as we look to grow our volunteer network and deepen our connections with those who have already lent their time to Parkinson’s alongside our team.
Interested in volunteering with Parkinson Canada? Learn more here!