Background Screening of Volunteers

How does your organization screen and select safe volunteers to work with kids? If you rely on a background check, join Oregon Mentors staff to learn why volunteer screening goes way beyond the background check.

During this six-hour training based on SAFE: Screening Applicants for Effectiveness, there will be a review of your organization’s current screening practices and an in-depth dive into 21 tools you can use to screen out child predators.

The training and lunch will be provided in Redmond on February 28. RSVP right away, as space is limited. One person per organization, please.

Due to the nature of the discussion, we recommend that the staff member attending the training is at management-level.

RSVP at: https://oregonmentors.wufoo.com/forms/safe-training-rsvp/. For questions or comments, please contact us at info@oregonmentors.org or 503-517-8990.

Four Practical Strategies for Volunteer Training

As promised, here is an article about volunteer training. As discussed last Tuesday, training can make all the difference is whether someone persists as a volunteer.

The article is written by Tobi Johnson and is titled, “How to Design Volunteer Training That Helps Not Hurts Learning.” She used brain studies and learning theory to create some best practice strategies that help volunteers navigate a training program without being overwhelmed by it. The strategies are:

• Integrate Practice Into Training.

• Feed the Right Emotions.

• Reduce Cognitive Overload.

• Support Metacognitive Skill Building.

Click here for this “must read.”

The New Volunteer Work Force-Report

It is the time of the year when many people feel like giving their time to worthy causes. The problem can be that they don’t persist. Why is that? Many reasons are given but what is really going on?

An Australian report provides four reasons why volunteers actually leave. They are:

• Failing to Recognize Volunteers’ Contributions.

• Not Measuring the Value of Volunteers.

• Failing to Train and Invest in Volunteers and Staff.

• Failing to Provide Strong Leadership.

Read a synopsis of the report here.

Next Tuesday’s post will suggest some training strategies.

The Impact of Volunteering

Dana, a reader of our blog, asked for an article about the impact of volunteering. We researched the idea and found two items that addressed the impact and also had an application in writing grant proposals.

The first was published in 2011 by Points of Light and was titled, “Social Impact of Volunteerism.” It took a global view of the economic, social and personal volunteerism. It provides valuable insights and references, particularly for the background or need section of a grant proposal. Read it here.

The HandsOn Network provided the second item. It is a calculator that helps determine the dollar value of individual volunteer time. The calculator addresses the issue that not all volunteer activities have the same monetary worth. So, rather than using the general $22.14 per hour for volunteer assistance, it allows for identifying specific jobs and their compensation. Called “Economic Impact of Volunteer Calculator,” it is free, easy to use and provides a more accurate picture of volunteer worth, another factor when applying for grants. The calculator is here.

Changing a Mission Statement

Sarah Bronson has written an article titled, “Why does an Organization Change Mission Statements?.” She indicates that there are four major reasons for a revision. They are:

To broaden the mission.

To be more specific.

To address changing times.

To address a merger or split.

Read the entire article here.

In addition, it could be that the organization has drifted from its original mission. If you suspect that it has drifted, Richard Male in his article, “How to Recognize Mission Drift,” sets out 10 signs that may indicate mission drift. They are:

Putting dollars first and programs second.

The mission has become blurred.

Too much time spent chasing publicity and media.

High rate of staff/board member turnover.

Being in crisis mode.

Questioning if organization should be in business.

Concern over violation of ethical standards.

Loss of creativity and effectiveness.

Moving away from the mission statement.

Justifying stagnant growth.

Read the article here.