Post any Volunteer management questions here for the group!

Thanks,

Rachelle & Molly

Over the next week I will post a few resources & details on the best practices we've discovered while using Raiser's Edge to manage Volunteers.  I've organized these into the Volunteer Management Lifecycle.   Feel free to ask more in-depth questions!  ~ Rachelle, Assistant Manager, Volunteer Services at the Vancouver Aquarium, volunteer@vanaqua.org

Needs Assessment/Recruitment:  We use the Volunteer Type and Status to show all our Volunteers are either In-Training, Active, Emeritus, On Leave or Inactive.  We use the job assignments to show which Volunteer roles they are filling at any given time.  It is easy to query our Volunteers to see how many have deactivated since our last recruit and how many have ceased jobs or changed jobs to spot the Volunteer gaps in our programs!  When recruitment starts, we can communicate that to other individuals (members, donors, patrons) and constituents (organizations who may be interested in corporate Volunteering) who already support our organization's mission.

Screening/Interviewing:  We use the Volunteer Tab's Checklist to track forms & fees that new Volunteers have handed in (ie fee paid, registration form in, photo release signed, interview completed).  We've managed to streamline our Volunteer registration form to the basic information that we need and use.  We then created a simple New Constituent Batch that includes all relevant information (including lots of defaulted fields that can be hidden) that ensures all our Volunteers are entered properly & easily by our Admin Volunteers!  A text version of it is below:

 Name (first & last): ________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________
City: _______________________        Postal Code: _________________
Home Phone: _______________  Office/Cellular Phone: ________________
E-mail address: _____________________________________________
Emergency contact: __________________________________________
Phone:____________________  Relationship: ____________________
Birth date m/d/yr (yr is optional):_______________________________

Do you have valid medical insurance?       Yes ________   No _________                   
List any medications, disabilities or health issues that we should be aware of: _________________________________________________________________
Have you volunteered with the Vancouver Aquarium before? Yes___ No ___                   
If yes, why did you discontinue volunteering with us? ____________________
_________________________________________________________________
Languages spoken fluently: ______________________________________

Special Skills
Describe any training, skills, hobbies and/or volunteer experiences that might be relevant to volunteering at the Aquarium.  (e.g. Scuba Certification, First Aid, etc.)

For office use only:   Start Date:  _______  / May 1, 2008
   
Y / A     |     M / F     |     Entered into RE by: __________

q    Volunteer, Exception Reason:____________________________
q    Intern, Placement Department:___________________________
q    Other, Clarification: ____________________________________


Availability
Indicate the typical weekly days and times you are available to Volunteer.  
_________________________________________________________

Education & Employment/Volunteer Experience
Please indicate your last completed high school grade, university degree(s), college certificate(s), and programs/courses you are currently enrolled in and/or your current or past Volunteering or Work Experience (e.g. self-employed – electrician; Health Canada – data analyst).
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Release of Personal Information
I hereby allow the Vancouver Aquarium to perform, at their discretion, a police criminal record check.  I understand that I do not have to agree to this background check, but that refusal to do so may exclude me from consideration for a Volunteer placement. I extend my permission to the staff of Volunteer Services to conduct this check at any point of my involvement within the Volunteer program at the Vancouver Aquarium.  
In addition, I allow the Vancouver Aquarium to contact and verify my character references. I hereby extend my permission to those individuals or organizations contacted for the purpose of this background check to give their full and honest evaluation of my suitability for the described volunteer work and such other information as deemed appropriate.

Commitment
I understand that I must commit to a minimum Volunteer Services of 6 months of weekly shifts or the equivalent 100 hours of service in a shorter amount of time.  I agree to abide by the policies and procedures of the Vancouver Aquarium as outlined in Volunteer training and/or the Volunteer Handbook.

Signature of Volunteer*: _____________________Date: __________
                 *Signature of Parent or Guardian if Volunteer is under 18 years old

References:
Please provide contact info for two character references (no immediate family):

Name: ____________________         Name: __________________________
Relationship: ________________        Relationship: _____________________
Contact Number: _____________    Contact Number: __________________    
                                  

Is there a Blackbaud site location where we can go to view shared forms?

Grace and Peace

Kym Brown

Hey Kym, if you go to the main Forums page and click on "client document" in the Popular tags panel on the right side of the screen, it will take you to all of the shared forms.  Hope that helps!

 Kym - I've uploaded the pdf document now (assuming that is what you were looking for).

~ Rachelle