Facilitator Guide
Trends & Tips for Engaging
Today’s Volunteers
National Home Office – Talent Strategy
2008
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
Module Overview
Audience:
 American Cancer Society staff, Division Relay For Life Task Force members,
Regional/Metro Relay For Life Council members, and Relay For Life volunteer
leadership.
 Recommended group size: 50
Objectives:
 Knowledge about the changing culture of voluntarism
 Awareness of promising practices and tips to respond to trends
 Applications to Relay For Life specific issues and concerns
 Development of a list of additional Relay For life volunteerism trends
Time Required: 70 minutes
Preparation:
Room Set-Up:
 round tables.
 Table in front of the room for facilitator materials, handouts, etc.
 Flip Chart and Easel. – need # of flip charts as table rounds
Allow sufficient time to:
 Create flipcharts.
 Copy and distribute handouts.
 Decorate the room.
 Welcome participants.
All preparation should be completed at least 30 minutes before the session.
Materials: (insert all additional materials needed for your breakout)
 LCD projector & laptop to show PowerPoint
 Quotes to decorate the walls
 Balloons or other decorations
 Markers (provided)
 Tape (provided)
 Boom box playing music (provided)
 Two flip chart pads (provided)
 Candy (optional)*
1
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
Icons
Facilitator creates a flip chart.
Facilitator shows a video
Exercise performed by participants; or activity lead by facilitator
Information in a PowerPoint slide
Facilitator asks a question of participants.
Indicates a very important point that needs to be addressed
Handout*
*Note—anytime you see this icon it indicates there should be a
corresponding embedded document. When you scroll through this
facilitator guide there is sometimes a slight delay in the embedded
document appearing.
2
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
Prepared Flip Charts:
(Insert the actual text needed for each flip chart page below. This is the resource
that the facilitator will use to prepare his/her flip charts that will be utilized during
the session.)
Welcome
Agenda
Icebreaker
o Today’s Volunteer Looks Like…
o Welcome, Objectives, Introductions
o Create a Relay Nation: Are You Ready?
Re-inventing volunteerism: Better Together Trend 5
 RFL Tips
Plugging the Leaky Bucket (Visual Demo) Trend 4
 RFL Tips
Engaging Across Generations (Handouts here) Trend 3
o Activity: Generations Role Play (Scripts to actors)
 RFL Tips
Providing Short & Long Term Volunteer Opportunities Trend 2
o Activity: Minute Volunteerism
 RFL Tips
Revisiting Community Trend 1
 RFL Tips
Close: Creating a Relay Nation
o Activity: Call to Action
 Action Traction – 1 Take Home
 Relay Today – 1 Added Trend
Objectives
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today's Volunteers
1) Learn about changing trends in Today’s volunteers
2) Turn trends to tips for engaging Today’s Relay volunteers
3) Apply trends & tips using improv activities
3
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
Thank You



Parking Lot
National Summit-- 2008
(Post this Flip Chart in a location that is visible
As participants enter room)
For being on time
Turning off your cell phones
For your participation and enthusiasm
(Post in a visible location and explain to use post
it notes if issue needs to be parked.)
Flipcharts for Icebreaker
Today’s Volunteer
What does today’s volunteer “look like”?
Illustrate today’s volunteer. Add written phrases on people cutouts/flipchart as needed.
Use flipchart papers on wall or cardboard cutout people for table center. Use # of flipcharts or
cutouts as tables in room. 8 tables = 8 flip charts or 8 cutouts.
Flipchart for Objectives
Changing trends in Today’s volunteers
Tips for Today’s Relay volunteers
Apply trends & tips thru Improv
Flipchart Trend Tips 5
Relay Reinvention - “Better Together”
• Recommit to meaningful partnership!
• Create positive relationships from day 1!
• See talent? Grow it! Relay & beyond!
• Capture Relay data then use it!
Flipchart Trend Tips 4
Relay Retention - “Plug the Leaky Bucket”
• “Renew” our best natural Relay resource – volunteers!
• Ensure a high quality and consistent volunteer experience.
• Provide a designer menu of choices tailored to your volunteer.
Flipchart for Trend 3 Activity – Minute Volunteerism
Draw clock image on 3 flip charts and put on 1st chart - 15 minutes, 2nd chart - 30 minutes, third
chart - 60 minutes. 1/3 of group will work with 1st flip, 2nd, 3rd respectively. Put on wall near
respective groups.
Flipchart Trend Tips 3
•
•
•
Sell skill-based opps for young and experienced professionals
Create cross-generational leadership opps for Gen Y and Boomers.
Tailor communication strategies to the generation.
Flipchart Trend Tips 2
4
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
•
Promote short term “episodic” and long term opportunities for Relay
• Develop a “minute” volunteer strategy.
• Create new list of short term volunteer opportunities.
Flipchart Trend Tips 1
•
•
•
•
Dream up the next creative Relay “community”.
Mobilize On-line & Virtual Volunteers.
Create corporate citizens.
Engage influential leaders in “neighborhoods” where today’s cancer disparities exist.
Flipcharts for Call to Action
2 flipcharts
First =
Action Traction – 1 Take Home
Second =
Relay Today – 1 Added Trend
Facilitator Agenda:
(Adjust times as appropriate to fit your needs and your schedule)
Note: it is also suggested that within the body of the facilitator guide that the time for
each agenda topic be broken down further to assist the facilitator in knowing how much
time should be spent on content for that section, how much time for exercises and
activities, etc.
This PowerPoint is for facilitator’s reference:
Trends & TIPS for
Today's Society Vol Relay .ppt
The one that will be shown to attendees is in the handout section of this guide.
________________________________________________________________
Icebreaker
o Today’s Volunteer Looks Like…
o Welcome, Objectives, Introductions
o Create a Relay Nation: Are You Ready?
Pre plus 5 mins
3 mins
5 mins
Re-inventing volunteerism: Better Together
5
 RFL Tips
3
Plugging the Leaky Bucket (Visual Demo)
3
 RFL Tips
3
Engaging Across Generations (Handouts here)
3
o Activity: Generations Role Play (Scripts to actors) 10
 RFL Tips
3
5
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
Providing Short & Long Term Volunteer Opportunities
o Activity: Minute Volunteerism
 RFL Tips
3
10
3
Revisiting Community
 RFL Tips
3
3
Close: Creating a Relay Nation
o Activity: Call to Action
 Action Traction – 1 Take Home
 Relay Today – 1 Added Trend
10
________________________________________________________________
Welcome / Introductions
Facilitators will introduce themselves.
Agenda Review
Facilitator will review the agenda items listed on the agenda flipchart.
Agenda (insert agenda items here)
Icebreaker
o Today’s Volunteer Looks Like…
o Welcome, Objectives, Introductions
o Create a Relay Nation: Are You Ready?
Pre plus 5 mins
3 mins
5 mins
Re-inventing volunteerism: Better Together
5
 RFL Tips
3
Plugging the Leaky Bucket (Visual Demo)
3
 RFL Tips
3
Engaging Across Generations (Handouts here)
3
o Activity: Generations Role Play (Scripts to actors) 10
 RFL Tips
3
Providing Short & Long Term Volunteer Opportunities
o Activity: Minute Volunteerism
 RFL Tips
3
10
3
Revisiting Community
 RFL Tips
3
3
Close: Creating a Relay Nation
o Activity: Call to Action
10
6
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers


National Summit-- 2008
Action Traction – 1 Take Home
Relay Today – 1 Added Trend
Objectives
Facilitator will review the objectives listed on the objectives flipchart.
Objectives (insert objectives here)
1) Learn about changing trends in Today’s volunteers
2) Turn trends to tips for engaging Today’s Relay volunteers
3) Apply trends & tips using improv activities
Notes:
7
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
Trend #5: Reinventing Volunteerism: Better Together
________________________________________________________________
Key Points, include speaking points for each:
Trend Reinventing volunteerism requires rethinking of volunteers as our most valuable Society
resource alongside staff and financial resources.
Volunteers are the Society’s unique capacity and competitive advantage that sets us
apart from other organizations.
Changing demographics (boomer retirement, and diversity of nation’s population) will
create the competitive demand for volunteers to support non-profits to supplement staff,
and for increased involvement in more diverse communities.
Across the United States, this new perspective of volunteers as critical human capital
deserving of equal attention as financial capital is of growing nationwide interest.
Your ACS is viewed as leading in this renewed focus on people strategy, with a new
NHO Talent Strategy Office designed to develop nationwide strategies for more
effective ways to attract, develop and retain our people resources – both volunteers and
staff – together.
Expect to see more nationwide strategies and pilots on people management strategies
that include volunteers and staff being oriented, trained, developed and recognized
together and by one another…for both efficiency and for emphasizing the renewed
commitment to the importance of the v/s partnership.
Tips Relay Reinvention - “Better Together”
• Recommit to meaningful partnership (It’s not what you do. It’s how you do it!)
Volunteers implement. Staff mobilize volunteers.
• Build early success. Establish positive relationships from day 1! Ask volunteers
to orient, train & mentor new staff and volunteers.
• See talent? Grow it for the future…within Relay and Beyond! Let volunteers
know about “career” path options
• Capture Relay Data then use it! Garbage in. Garbage out.
8
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
Trend #4: Plugging the Leaky Bucket
________________________________________________________________
Key Points, include speaking points for each:
Trend –
Partner 1. Ask Partner 2 - “What are you doing?” Training partner 2 is trying to fill up a
leaking bucket.
Partner 2 states: Well, this bucket is my “pool” of volunteers and I am trying to keep my
pool filled with volunteers so I can sustain my volunteer base and maybe even grow it
for Relay.
Partner 1: Umm…I think you are losing more volunteers than you are keeping. Why
don’t you just plug your leaky bucket? Wouldn’t that be more efficient, save you time,
money and effort?
_____
If national volunteer retention rates rose from 65% to 66%, there would be 600,000
more people volunteering this year.
1 out of every 3 volunteers drops out of service from year to year (20.9 million
Americans stopped volunteering between 2005 and 2006).
Retention is the greatest threat to volunteerism, requiring effective volunteer
management and new strategies for engagement of today’s volunteers
Another key retention strategy is to view Today’s Volunteer as consumers. They are
shopping for volunteer opportunities. The term ‘Cafeteria style volunteering” was coined
to define this very trend where volunteers want a menu of options that meet their time
demands and personal interests. You probably have seen a lot more web sites listing
volunteer opportunities and matching services like Volunteer Match.
And just like other consumers, organizations like us must sell the value exchange of
volunteering for their organization on a personal level to today’s volunteer. For
example, for many people volunteer experience is viewed as a skill building and
networking opportunity.
Participation in skilled volunteer activities leads to higher volunteer retention.
• 73.5% of volunteers in professional or management positions continue
volunteering.
Ask Volunteers to use their skills to plug the leaky bucket!
9
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
Tips • Relay volunteers - natures best “renewable” resource! Develop a plan to keep
volunteers…specific plans for leadership volunteers.
• Ensure a high quality and consistent volunteer experience. Timely response to
questions, training & resources needed for success, personalized recognition &
thank yous, flexibility & visibility of the volunteer’s role.
• Provide a designer menu of choices tailored to your volunteer. Personalize!
Make meaningful to the volunteer…skills needed by the Society!
Trend #3: Engaging Across Generations
________________________________________________________________
Key Points, include speaking points for each:
Trend Currently, we have four generations volunteering and working in the Society.
Show of hands – which generation are you?
One of the growing partnership challenges between and among volunteers and staff
has to do with differing expectations generations have of work and volunteering.
We believe this diversity issue has had a direct impact on our volunteer attraction,
development, and retention.
These generational clashpoints in the v/s relationship range from such issues such as
differing views on wearing flip flops to varied perspectives on customer service,
communication preferences, and work/life balance issues.
Yet each generation brings enormous opportunities for the Society and our challenge is
to appreciate this diversity and learn to work more effectively work together.
We need to engage volunteers across generations, leverage their strengths, and
strengthen relationships between generations.
To illustrate this point, let’s ask for help from a few actors in our audience. (do skit #1)
Relating Across
Generations Skits1208.doc
10
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
Begin role play of 1 typical generational clashpoint – Gen Y & Boomer. Have
scripts for 2 volunteers for the audience to do.
Tips –
• Sell Relay opportunities as skill-based for Today’s young and experienced
professionals. Elevate prestige of key positions by identifying skills, limited # of
positions available, and the networking & leadership benefits of the role. Label
skilled positions - “project manager job” or “marketing expert”.
• Create opportunities for cross-generational skills & leadership development for
Gen Y and Boomers. Mentoring & reverse mentoring, coaching, shared “jobs”,
orientation & training.
• Tailor your attraction, development, recognition & communication strategies to
the generation. (Hand outs - clashpoints & tips)
Insert your handouts that support the above key points:
Trends for Today’s Volunteers PowerPoint
Clashpoints handout
Generational Tips PowerPoint
Trend #2: Providing Short & Long Term Opportunities
________________________________________________________________
Key Points, include speaking points for each:
Build volunteer capacity for short term episodic and long term professional
volunteerism.
Short term volunteerism is growing rapidly while other types of volunteerism are on the
decline.
In 1989, 40.1% of volunteers served 100+ hours a year, compared to 34.9% serving
100 + hours today
67.9% of teenage volunteers participate in episodic volunteering and 57.7% of adults
ages 45 to 64 serve 99 or fewer hours per year.
11
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
Contrast this to the other recent statistics on long term volunteerism just out from the
Council for National and Community Service. The more hours a volunteer serves per
year, the more likely they are to continue volunteering the next year. Specifically,
1-15 hours: 50.6% retention
500+: 82.9% retention
The emergence of a variety of “volunteer vacations” suggests that people want to
choose their volunteer experiences in very personal and meaningful ways. The market
is responding in ways both short term and long-term.
In response to the need for short term opportunities, I have termed the phrase, “Minute
Volunteerism” to describe the “Giving unpaid minutes of your time, 15- 30, 60 minutes
or less, on-line or off-line to do good that can save lives from cancer, prevent cancer,
and improve quality of life of cancer patients and their family.” Minute volunteerism
• Takes minutes if not seconds
• Responds to barrier of “no time”…”too busy.”
• Reward for doing good is immediate: plus ACS thanks you!
• Volunteer from your chair. Great for homebound or elderly!
• Responds to today’s younger generation.
Let’s create some minute volunteer activities together…
Interactive activity to support your key points:
A little time. A lot of good exercise on “Minute Volunteerism”. Groups will
compete to come up with opps that can be done in 15, 30, 60 minutes or less within
Relay, online or off line. Divide room into 3 large groups. One group gets 15 minutes,
another 30 minutes, another 60 minutes. Using respective flip chart and one sticky per
idea, the group competes to see who can come up with the most opps. For fun – you
may wish to have one person write one idea on the sticky, run and post to flip, and then
hand off sticky to next table member, who repeats by writing another idea and running
and posting and handing off, etc. Do this for 5 minutes. Look to see who gets the most
opps listed. Give prizes to winning team.
Supporting flip charts for key points:
12
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
Need 3 flip charts for each team. 3 pages with clock on each page.
Clock & 15 minutes; clock and 30, clock and 60.
Tips –
• Promote short term “episodic” and long term opportunities for Relay. Use
episodic opps to entice “trying out” of “flexible” Relay volunteering. Then
encourage repeat episodic involvement. Sell long term opportunities as
leadership development. Attract, develop and recognize short term and long
term volunteers differently.
• Develop a “minute” volunteer strategy. Consider team goal setting for
accomplishing multiple minute opportunities over a set period of time. Can do
online or offline. Reward for individual or team minutes. Engage home bound in
Relay volunteering. Create self-mobilizing e-communities!
• Create new list of short term volunteer opportunities. Break up existing activities
into smaller chunks. Brainstorm new ideas with the help of volunteers from those
“markets”.
Trend #1: Revisiting Community
_______________________________________________________________
Key Points, include speaking points for each:
Revisiting community means to revisit basic community mobilization principles but with
a twist…community is defined by the volunteer, not by you…and Today’s volunteer
does not limit community to the town or city they live in, but to the many “community”
groups they engage with!
Busy volunteers are looking beyond traditional methods of volunteering, and for ways to
multitask volunteerism by fitting it into already existing group activities with their alumni
associations, social clubs, school events, exercise clubs, online networks…you name it!
More than 1,000 organizations in the U.S. alone are involving online volunteers
VolunteerMatch reports 14% of listed volunteer opportunities as on-line activities,
compared with 1% in 1998.
Corporate communities are actively involved in exploring new ways to work with
nonprofits for community citizenry that matches their specific business mission. They
want to be more “hands on” or else they will engage their employees and customers
directly without the nonprofit involved at all! New pro-bono volunteerism models are
currently explored in the United States and abroad.
No matter how it is defined, leveraging community systems is most effective if we
mobilize the influential leaders, the trusted individuals within the neighborhoods, we
13
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
wish to serve…and let those volunteers or neighborhood partners mobilize their
community network directly.
Tips
• Dream up the next creative Relay “community”. For today’s volunteers,
“community” goes beyond geography. It includes temporary alliances with
groups sharing like interests. Partner with volunteers to think up the next miniRelay, Second Life Relay, alumni Relay, singles Relay, nudist Relays?*!
• Mobilize On-line & Virtual Volunteers. Attract, develop and retain Relay
volunteers on-line for virtual engagement or for recruitment to traditional opps.
• Create corporate citizens. Help build corporate citizenry through new models for
creative employer and employee engagement. Reconsider Relay pro-bono
volunteerism. Match to corporate interests.
• Engage influential leaders in “neighborhoods” where today’s cancer disparities
exist. Set a goal for establishing X# of new leadership relationships in
neighborhoods with highest cancer burden. Create trust & give “ownership”
away to leaders. Mobilize the Relay Nation one neighborhood at a time.
CALL TO ACTION/Interactive activity to support your key points:
Do Relay For Life Circle Improv Game where group stands in one large circle or 2
circles depending on size of group, or if very large size, you may choose to stay in seats
and just pass a “talking stick/item” through audience and invite people to speak on 1 of
two issues. If the speaker has a unique response it gets listed on the flip chart or they
are asked to “pass”.
The 2 questions are:
What is one take home Action you will use – Action Traction
What is one additional trend not mentioned about Today’s Relay Volunteer.
This activity is done with speed. You must respond immediately or pass.
Supporting flip charts for key points: Call to Action: Create a Relay Nation!
Flip chart:
Action Traction – Take Home Action
Flip chart:
Relay Today - Additional Trends
14
Trends & Tips for Engaging Today’s Volunteers
National Summit-- 2008
For ease in printing the entire guide, please insert handouts here in their entirety
(Handouts should also be embedded or listed within the body of each agenda topic so
that the facilitators know which handouts are for which section).
(Click on “Insert” then select “file.” Choose filename and click “insert”)
________________________________________________________________
Please copy both PowerPoints as handout pages (three slides to a page with note taking
space in the right column):
To open the embedded PP right click on the document and then click on “Presentation
Object” and then click “Open”
Relay handout
across Generations.ppt
Trends for Today's
Society Vol Relay .ppt
Generational
Clashpoints.doc
15