How to Develop Bold Volunteer Management Strategies
The Top Line:
What’s the very best your nonprofit could achieve in partnership with volunteers? Too many leaders stop themselves short, held back by fear or limiting beliefs. In this post, we’ll show you how to dream big, invite others into the vision, and focus on the few bold strategies that will truly move the needle — without burning out.
Read on to Discover:
- Dreaming Doesn’t Cost Anything
- Free [Worksheet] Bold Volunteer Vision
- Invite Others to Dream With You
What is the very best your nonprofit can achieve in partnership with volunteers? Have you thought about your volunteer management strategies lately? Or, when you dream of the future, do you stop yourself short, thinking, “I’ll only be disappointed anyway”?
Wrong.
To make a big difference in the world, you have to have the courage to try — and even to fail. Some of the most impactful volunteer programs in existence today were built by leaders who dared to experiment, who tested unconventional ideas, and who learned from what didn’t work.
But what if you’re afraid?
Sometimes limiting beliefs hold us back from our true potential. We hesitate rather than taking daring steps. We reserve our dreams for another day. We don’t even get started because we are certain we will fail.
But how can failure be certain? What if the impossible suddenly became possible?
Dreaming Doesn’t Cost Anything
The truth is, the best solutions often come from a little daydreaming without barriers or self-criticism. It doesn’t cost you anything to dream a little. Some of the most innovative volunteer engagement models — like skills‑based volunteering, micro‑volunteering, and virtual teams — started as someone’s “crazy idea” before they became mainstream.
Big results don’t happen without big dreams. So take a moment to go where your thoughts lead you. Resist the excuses: the “yeah, but’s.” They only serve as artificial barriers to your journey. Dreaming can give you the foundation you need to come up with solid volunteer management strategies and execute actual change.
After all, real, lasting change requires big, bold visions. And here’s the good news: people can get behind big, bold visions. A safe, incremental goal might keep things steady, but it rarely ignites passion. A bold vision — like “end homelessness in our city within five years” or “bring literacy to every child in our county” — attracts supporters, donors, and volunteers who want to be part of something significant.
Muster up the courage to plant a big, eye‑catching stake in the ground. Take the necessary time to dream, develop, and communicate a better, colorful vision for your shared future. And people will most certainly join the party.
Muster up the courage to plant a big, eye-catching stake in the ground. Take the necessary time to dream, develop, and communicate a better, colorful vision for your shared future. And, people will most certainly join the party.
Invite Others to Dream With You
When your coworkers start noticing your changed mindset, they’ll be curious about what sparked that shift. Curiosity can be a powerful catalyst to propel you forward. So don’t come right out and tell them your dreams. Instead, ask compelling questions to fuel the fire.
Here are some ways to get the conversation started around new volunteer management strategies:
- How can engaging community volunteers help our organization meet our mission more effectively?
- What are innovative ways we can partner with volunteers to improve our talent and social capital?
- Where are our most critical gaps that volunteers could uniquely fill?
- What is the absolute best we can do right now, if resources were not a constraint?
- What might we be able to adjust to be even better than we are today?
- If we had zero limitations for one year, what would our volunteer program look like?
Ask your co‑workers, your boss, your volunteers. Keep asking until you see new possibilities emerge. This continual asking builds relational bridges. Asking the right questions prompts a “collective entrepreneurial” approach that inspires buy‑in and collaborative solutions.
Consider holding a “visioning session” with a small group of trusted volunteers and staff. Set aside two hours. Bring sticky notes, markers, and snacks. Ask everyone to write down their wildest ideas for the volunteer program — no filtering, no judgment. Then group those ideas into themes. You’ll be surprised how many practical gems emerge from what initially sounds impossible.
Defeat the Overwhelm
Developing a thorough visioning process can be exhausting. You and your team may come out on the other end with a never‑ending list of ideas. How can you tackle it all without being overwhelmed?
You don’t have to.
Instead of trying to do everything at once, focus on doing the right things at the right time. Focus is your friend and can bring great stamina for the long road toward your new reality. All it takes is a bit of clarity and a little pruning.
Four Keys to Getting the Right Things Done at the Right Time.
If you consider all the volunteer management strategies equally important or urgent, you’ll likely experience more stress than success. So, it’s a good idea to narrow everything down to 3-5 actionable priorities that can get you closer to your true vision of success.
The Law of Disproportionate Effect says: In any system, a few inputs always produce a higher level of outputs than the rest of the inputs to the system. For example, a small number of your volunteers produce a higher percentage of your program results.
Productivity is nothing more than doing the right things at the right time. Anyone can be busy. But, people who focus on goals are productive.
In order to effectively focus on goals, you must have clarity as to which ones are most important. Remember when you say “yes” to one thing, you say “no” to at least one other thing.
Strive to focus on the 20% of your responsibilities that generate 80% of the results by choosing 3-5 priority goals. The more proactive you can be, the less stress you will feel
Planning Reduces Stress: Urgent vs Important Activities
Urgent activities demand immediate attention and are often associated with someone else’s goals. We tend to spend a lot of concentration on urgent activities. They demand attention because not dealing with them causes immediate consequences.
Important activities, on the other hand, lead to achieving your goals – whether professional or personal.
So, ask yourself: What is the single thing I need to do now that will have a big payoff for myself, my program, department, or organization?
Just Say No: The Art of Letting People Down (Gracefully)
If you thought visioning and goal setting were exhausting, maintaining focus on your chosen volunteer management strategies is even more challenging. But you must protect your time in order to achieve your vision. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself quickly losing momentum.
So it’s imperative you master the art of letting people down — gracefully. You must learn how to say “no” to things that don’t contribute to your goals.
Being assertive without being disrespectful is key. Say no, then give one honest reason why you can’t help. Recognize that the other person’s reaction is their right, but it’s not a reason to sacrifice your focus. You may also offer alternatives, but only if it makes sense and doesn’t knock you off your game.
You can also ask your boss to help rate your priorities. But if you do, make sure you’ve let them in on your vision and communicated why it is so important to achieve now. You’ve got to paint a compelling vision that your boss can get behind, or they will put your priorities at the bottom of the list.
Here’s a simple script for saying no: “I’d love to help with that, but right now I’m fully committed to [your top priority]. Would it be okay if I revisit this next month?”
If you thought visioning and goal setting was exhausting, maintaining focus on your chosen volunteer management strategies is much more challenging. But, you must protect your time in order to achieve your vision. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself quickly losing momentum.
Maintain Good Mental Hygiene
As you move toward realizing your bold vision, find your supporters. Don’t let naysayers or deterrents get in your way. And reward yourself for staying on point.
Set up ways to remind yourself of your goals and vision, especially when things seem chaotic. Schedule a weekly appointment with yourself — 30 minutes on Friday afternoon — to plan your work week and review your progress.
What you tell yourself often affects your energy and enthusiasm for your work. If you are feeling victimized because you are not making progress toward your vision, change your internal storytelling. Try looking at the situation from a different perspective by asking one of these three questions:
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What’s one small win I can achieve this week? (Small wins build momentum.)
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What would I tell a friend who was in this situation? (Often we give better advice to others than to ourselves.)
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What’s actually within my control right now? (Focus there, not on what you can’t change.)
These questions also work wonders when coaching volunteers who are feeling disempowered or stuck.
Turn Bold Vision into Daily Action
Bold volunteer management strategies don’t just live on a vision board — they require consistent, focused action. Here’s a simple weekly rhythm to keep your priorities front and center:
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Monday morning: Review your top 3‑5 goals for the quarter.
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Daily: Block time on your calendar for one important task before you check email.
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Friday afternoon: Reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and adjust for next week.
Remember, progress doesn’t have to be dramatic. Small, steady steps taken consistently will outpace sporadic bursts of effort every time.
Change Your Inner Monologue With These Wise Questions
Note: This also works when coaching volunteers who are feeling disempowered!
Build Bold Volunteer Management Strategies With Our Free Worksheet
How can you raise the bar on volunteer services? The first step is to create your vision. This worksheet will help you develop a clear picture of the future that’s both exciting and doable.
Download the Free Bold Volunteer Vision Worksheet
This time‑saving tool will help you:
- Define your big, bold “moonshot” – Get specific about what you want to achieve.
- Focus your efforts on things that have significant impact on your mission.
- Brainstorm WOW! factors for every step of the volunteer lifecycle – from recruitment to recognition.
Don’t let another planning cycle pass you by. Grab the worksheet, gather your team, and start building a volunteer program that dares to dream big.
