Gail Nyberg November 2009

Most non-profit organizations rely on volunteers to not only enhance their programming, but run day-to-day operations. At Daily Bread Food Bank the job of distributing over 15 million pounds or food to over 200 food programs would not get done without the hard work of volunteers. Volunteers help to sort food, participate in events, provide information to the public and run community food banks. Last year, 15,521 volunteers helped Daily Bread with over 107,259 hours of work. Volunteers at Daily Bread do great work, and the organization is constantly looking at ways to improve its programs and volunteer opportunities.

At this Five Good Ideas session, participants found out more about what the Daily Bread learned over the years (and is still learning) about how to run a successful volunteer program.

Five Good Ideas

1. Good communications across the volunteer organization
2. Understanding and forecasting your need for volunteers in your organization
3. Clear and concise position descriptions and volunteer attributes required
4. Effective training for staff in volunteer management
5. Formalized volunteer recognition process

Five Good Resources

1. Volunteer Canada Resources
2. ServiceLeader.org: For Volunteer Managers
3. Professional Administrators of Volunteer Resources Ontario PAVR-O
4. Energize Inc.
5. Daily Bread Food Bank Volunteer Handbook (work in progress)