Guidelines on how to
build sustainable
volunteer programs for
(sport) events
‘Sustainability is an ability of a
program to continue engaging
citizens to meet the needs of the
community (…)’
Stage 1. Before volunteers are brought into the program
- Planning
- Recruitment of volunteers
Stage 2. During the time volunteers are part of the
program
- Induction, orientation and training of volunteers
- Motivation of volunteers
- Supervision, support and management of volunteers
Stage 3. After volunteers leave the program
- End of the Program
- Continues improvement of the program
Stage 1. Before volunteers are
brought into the program
General planning
Volunteering landscape
• What is volunteering tradition in your country?
• What should be still done to further promote,
develop and support volunteering in your
country?
• How your volunteer program (and the event)
can support volunteer development?
• How the strengths of volunteering landscape
in your country could help you to deliver the
objectives of your program?
Sustainability goals
• What do you want to achieve?
• What do you think the program should
leave as heritage for your organisation?
Volunteers? Your country? Civil society? ...
Collaboration map
• How active are the volunteer organisations
in your country?
• Do you foresee any partnerships?
• Which local organizations and local
authorities could and should support your
work to achieve your goals?
Internal planning
• What vision and mission do you have of
the program?
• How will you cooperate with other
departments to achieve the goals of the
program?
Recruitment
Profile of a volunteer and your
target groups
• Who is a ‘usual volunteer’ in your
country?
• Would you like to address those ‘usual
suspects’ or you want to encourage new
groups of people to volunteer? How
would you do it?
• If you do not have sufficient resources to
do it – which external partners could help
you to achieve that?
Communication campaign
• What image of volunteering do you
want to promote?
• How it can contribute to the promotion
of volunteering in general?
• Which external partners could help you
to reach to your target groups?
Application, Interviewing &
Selection
• Do you outsource the collection of
applications or do it by yourself?
• Who will be interviewing volunteers –
professionals or other volunteers?
• How do you select volunteers? Do you
value experience or do you give a chance
to those who do not have much
volunteering or professional experience?
Rejection & Managing
disappointment
• How do you manage disappointment of
rejected candidates?
• What can you do to prevent those
rejected from leaving the world of
volunteering for ever? Who can help you
with it?
Stage 2. During the time that
volunteers are part of the program
Induction, orientation and training
of volunteers
• How can you organize trainings to
maximize sustainability of the program?
• Would you involve external partners to
organize volunteer trainings? What
would be the benefits of such solution?
Motivation of volunteers
• Which benefits volunteers should get?
• Do you organize motivational program for
volunteers?
• With whom you need to collaborate to deliver
different benefits?
• How to make public opinion aware of what the
volunteers have achieved?
Inspiration: UEFA EURO 2012
motivational program
•
The UEFA EURO 2012 Volunteer Culture
Programme was a program of dozens of
entertaining, social and sport events designed
for volunteers to thank them for their time,
sustain their motivation, raise awareness on
certain social issues and - finally - to create
links
between
volunteers
and
local
organizations.
•
In the frame of the Program volunteers e. g.
participated in a series of workshops and
games on disability, community leadership and
conflict solving.
Supervision, support and
management of volunteers
•
How do you deal with volunteers who
want or need to leave (resign or are
dismissed?)
•
What do you do not to discourage
them from volunteering?
Stage 3. After volunteers leave the
program
End of the program
• How do you encourage volunteers to stay in
volunteering?
• How can you ease their transfer from your
program to other existing volunteer
opportunities?
• How can you involve external partners in
ensuring that volunteers continue with their
voluntary engagement?
Continuous improvement of
volunteer programs
•
•
How can you plan the evaluation so it
supports sustainability e. g. supports your
future events, civil society in your country
etc.?
How can you respond to evaluation? How do
you maximize transferability of experience to
the next events and other organisations?