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Skills-based Volunteering

Volunteers are not a program… they are a business decision. Volunteer engagement is the #1 organizational strategy for the new economy

Skill-based volunteering is service by individuals or groups that capitalizes on personal talents or core business skills, experiences or education.

The Volunteers with Impact and Purpose (VIP) Program is Metro Volunteers’ skills-based volunteer program. The VIP Program can help your entire organization shift from a culture of traditional management where volunteers are placed in positions based on predetermined staff needs to a model of engagement where skilled volunteers partner with staff to build organizational capacity and sustainability.  Learn to empower volunteers as a vital force for your organization.

To begin the process of skilled volunteer engagement, Metro Volunteers offers two options.

Engaging Skilled Volunteers: An Introduction to Skills-Based Volunteering

To get the basics, you can enroll in the “Engaging Skilled Volunteers” course. This interactive workshop is most appropriate for nonprofit agencies that have had some experience with volunteerism and are ready to develop a strategic plan that best meets their organization’s needs.

The “Engaging Skilled Volunteers” course concentrates on the best ways to effectively utilize skilled volunteers including defining project goals and success measures, dedicating resources and ensuring “two-way” value.  You will learn to conduct an organizational needs assessment, develop a work plan and write compelling job descriptions.  Register online to attend this class March 29th or September 7th.  Once you have completed the course you can log in to your agency profile to submit your skilled position.  Metro Volunteers’ Placement Advisors will contact you to start the process of finding a volunteer to match your needs and/or you may be contacted directly by a volunteer interested in your position.

VIP Facilitated Custom Program

The Volunteer Facilitator track is most appropriate for agencies that may be having difficulty with conceptualizing a skills-based volunteer program for their organization and need to explore the possible advantages with decision makers and stakeholders.

Selecting the option to work with a trained VIP Facilitator, your nonprofit will follow a process for organizational capacity building outlined in the guidebook authored by Jill Friedman Fixler, Boomer Volunteer Engagement:  Collaborate Today, Thrive Tomorrow.  Your organization will develop a sustainable capacity to involve volunteers directly in accomplishing your mission.  The program includes training, coaching, project development and implementation.  To find out whether the VIP program is right for your organization, contact Sandie Eichberg at sgeichberg@msn.com.

*The VIP program was developed in partnership with JF Fixler & Associates with generous support from VolunteerMatch, the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation, and Boomers Leading Change, an initiative of Rose Community Foundation.