How can volunteers help develop your organization's strategic plan?

2 Assign volunteers to specific tasks or roles

Another way to involve volunteers in your strategic plan is to assign them to specific tasks or roles that match their skills, interests, and availability. For example, you can ask some volunteers to help you with research, data collection, or analysis, while others can help you with writing, editing, or designing your plan document. You can also create a volunteer steering committee or working group that can oversee the planning process, provide input, and monitor progress. By giving volunteers clear responsibilities and expectations, you can increase their engagement, ownership, and accountability.

3 Recognize and reward volunteer contributions

A third way to involve volunteers in your strategic plan is to recognize and reward their contributions. This can be done in various ways, such as sending thank-you notes, giving certificates or tokens of appreciation, featuring volunteer stories or testimonials, or hosting appreciation events. You can also share the results and outcomes of your strategic plan with your volunteers, and show them how their work has made a difference. By acknowledging and celebrating volunteer achievements, you can foster a culture of gratitude, trust, and loyalty.

4 Provide opportunities for learning and growth

A fourth way to involve volunteers in your strategic plan is to provide opportunities for learning and growth. This can be done by offering training, mentoring, coaching, or feedback sessions to help volunteers develop their skills, knowledge, and confidence. You can also create spaces for dialogue, collaboration, and innovation, where volunteers can share their ideas, insights, and best practices with each other and with staff. By investing in volunteer development, you can enhance their performance, satisfaction, and retention.

5 Align volunteer programs with strategic goals

A fifth way to involve volunteers in your strategic plan is to align your volunteer programs with your strategic goals. This means that you should review and revise your volunteer recruitment, orientation, management, and evaluation processes to ensure that they support your vision, mission, and objectives. You should also communicate clearly and consistently with your volunteers about your strategic plan, and how their roles and activities fit into it. By aligning your volunteer programs with your strategic goals, you can create a shared sense of purpose, direction, and impact.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?