39. The 4 Corner Pieces of the Volunteer Engagement Puzzle - Lindsey Percival

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Lindsey Percival, Volunteer Specialist, Make-A-Wish America

“The better you know your volunteers, the better you can serve them, and the better they can serve your mission.”

— Lindsey Percival, Volunteer Specialist, Make-A-Wish America

The 4 corner pieces to the volunteer engagement puzzle: onboarding, training mentality, engagement plan, values focus
The mission and history of Make-A-Wish
The story of the first wish granted
Make-A-Wish has over 34,000 volunteers. Hear how they keep them engaged and inspired
Use volunteers to help your volunteers. Build a community
Lindsey’s One Good Thing: Learn from others. Build a habit of discovery within the nonprofit field
Get involved with Make-A-Wish

“Make-A-Wish is the largest wish granting organization in the world.” -Lindsey

“Our volunteers are so highly trained in getting to know the heart of the child and the most meaningful part of the wish for them.” -Lindsey

“You can apply all of these step so seamlessly with how we engage with our donors, board members, and more.” -Becky

“Meet volunteers where they are at. Everyone learns, engages, and communicates differently.” -Lindsey

“The better you know your volunteers, the better you can serve them, and the better they can serve your mission.” -Lindsey

“Convey the mission’s need, and give consistent reminders why doing what they do is so pivotal.” -Lindsey

“There is always so much to do. It is really easy to experience compassion fatigue.” -Lindsey

“This to me shows the best in humanity. Our company wants to create an “impact uprising”. Make-A-Wish has been doing this since the 80s.” -Becky

The way we introduce individuals into our missions sets the tone for their experience
How are your volunteer roles designed? Do they need a refresh?
Do you have an inclusive tone on your website? Is your language clear?

2. Training Mentality

Make-A-Wish teaches about the mission and general knowledge, and then they have “role specific” trainings
do you have a manual volunteers could keep?
How and where are your trainings? Is it difficult for people to get there? Do you have a virtual option?
Put yourself in your shoes of an incoming volunteer: from the moment they discover the opportunity to through the training process
Follow through with the first impression
Continuous training needs to be interwoven into the organization. Point towards innovation and continued improvement and education

3. Engagement Plan

Make a calendar and map out your various communications plans (meet everyone where they are)
Ongoing communication is a priority
Build relationships with your volunteers. Organize a plan by the start of your year. The better you know them, the better you can serve them, and the better they can serve your mission.

4. Value Focus

Infuse the organization’s values into the entire volunteer process. This is your north star.
Find a healthy balance between pace and quality
This helps have values based conflict communication
Convey the mission’s need, give consistent reminders why doing what they do is so pivotal