Thanks to the Internet and handheld computers like smart phones, it's never been easier for nonprofits, schools, libraries, government programs and other mission-based initiatives to keep volunteers feeling supported, informed and valued. But how do you communicate all you need to without overwhelming volunteers? How do you appeal to the many different communications styles among volunteers? How do you keep your messages from being drowned out from the growing volume of online "noise" and landslide of information and Internet memes? And how do you integrate online communications with your many different other priorities? This lively discussion will explore all this and more! Jayne Cravens is an internationally-recognized trainer, researcher and consultant. She is a pioneer regarding the research and practice of virtual volunteering, and she is a veteran manager of various local and international initiatives. She has been quoted in articles in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press, as well as for reports by CNN, Deutsche Well, the BBC, and various local radio and TV stations. Resources from her web site, coyotecommunications.com, are frequently cited in reports and articles by a variety of organizations, online and in-print. She is currently based near Portland, Oregon in the USA. A recording from PDXTech4Good, a free monthly gathering of nonprofits, techies and activists in Portland, Oregon. More information: PDXTech4Good.org

1. TechTools 4 Good:
Using Internet &
Smartphone Tools
to Engage & Support Volunteers
For
Jayne Cravens, MSc
http://www.coyotecommunications.com

2. Today's modus operandi
● There are no stupid questions.
● Please clarify jargon du jour.
● Everyone in this room has knowledge worth
sharing. Let's hear about it.
● Everyone in this room is doing something well.
Let's hear about it.
● Not offering concrete, absolute blueprints. YMMV.
● Conflict is healthy!
● I don't have all the answers. No one does.
● Please be present; please participate.

3. Tech During the Workshop
You are free to tweet & micro-blog during
presentation. HOWEVER, in the interest of
respecting everyone in this room.
● Please turn your phone off or to vibrate.
● If you get a call during this presentation, or an
email that you need to respond to, please leave
the room to talk/respond.
Please be present during the presentation. We love
to see your eyes.

4. All of today's resource materials
Found throughout:
http://www.coyotecommunications.com/

5. Why listen to me?
● I read & research re: volunteer/community
engagement, talent management,
communications, and anything that might be
related to such.
● I regularly write & train on volunteer
engagement, including using the Internet to
support and involve volunteers.
● I'm considered a pioneer!
● I support and involve volunteers.
● I volunteer.

6. What are volunteers?
Volunteers are people who undertake tasks for
your organization but are not paid:
● board members
● committee members
● pro bono consultants
● employees on loan
● people who are assigned community service
● people who contribute to your online community
● ushers
Your definition can be different, but this
presentation uses this definition for volunteers.

7. Why involve volunteers?
Say why, but with this restriction:
You can't say it's to save money.

8. Why involve volunteers?
● Involving volunteers -- representatives of the community -- can help
educate the community about what the organization does.
● Volunteer involvement demonstrates that the community is invested in the
organization and its goals.
● Involving volunteers can help your organization reach particular
demographic groups -- people of a particular age, in a particular
neighborhood, of a particular economic level, etc., especially groups who
might not be involved with your organization otherwise.
● Volunteers can provide additional evaluation of your organization's
operations and services
● Involving volunteers can be a reflection of your organization's mission.
● Volunteers may become, or refer, financial donors.
● Volunteers may become, or refer, clients.
● Volunteers may have connections at companies or organizations you want
to work/partner with.
● Volunteers may be the best people for the task.

9. Why not say volunteers save $$?
Why do you think saying that you involve
volunteers in order to save money is a bad
idea?

10. Geesh, Jayne,
when are you
going to talk about
TECH?!

11. Single most important element to
keeping volunteers & to their doing
quality, much-needed work:
great support

12. Volunteer support means:
● Volunteer opportunities are easy for potential volunteers
to review and apply for.
● Expectations of the volunteer are clear to everyone.
● Expectations of the organization are clear to everyone.
● Tasks are detailed and well-communicated.
● Questions are welcomed, responses are rapid.
● Volunteer contributions are frequently recognized.
● Volunteers see their contributions make impact.
Volunteer Engagement fails without proper
support.

13. Techtools can be used for every step
of volunteering process
● Identifying tasks/opportunities/roles for volunteers
● Recruiting volunteers
● Expressions of interest from potential volunteers
● Screening volunteers
● Orienting/training volunteers
● Scheduling volunteers
● Volunteers engaging in the task or role (virtual
volunteering)
● Volunteers communicating/working with staff (and even
with each other)
● Tracking volunteer progress
● Recognizing volunteer contributions

14. However...

15. Think beyond "Is there an app for
that?"
Your techtool choice is less important than:
● the support you have for staff & volunteers to
understand how volunteer engagement is
supposed to work at your organization
● the ways you create commitment among
staff & volunteers regarding communications
& support
● your understanding of the essentials of
successful volunteer management

16. Bad news: not everyone is online
Even in Oregon.
Not everyone has a smart phone either.
The less flexible you are in terms of two-way
communications with volunteers, the less
diverse your volunteer corps will be.

17. Differences among volunteers
● What different demographics do they
represent?
● Do they all do the same things at your org?
● Do they all like the same kinds of
assignments?
● Do they all communicate the same way?
● Do they all have the same kind of computers
and smart phones?

18. Making decisions on tech tools
● Know how your volunteers prefer to communicate
● Know how those that work with volunteers prefer to
communicate
● Look at what's working well offline, & think about how to
replicate that online
● Have a plan for introducing the tech tool that sells it to
volunteers and staff
● Have a plan for ongoing support, rewarding adopters,
etc.
● Have a plan for evaluating the success of the tech tool
& identifying problems
● Know your budget

19. Getting everyone to use a tech tool
● You may require volunteers to use certain
communications tools (online group, text messaging
on a phone, Twitter) regularly (note there are
consequences of doing this).
● YOU have to use all tools you want others to use.
● In addition to requiring volunteers to use certain tools,
you should reward them for using such.
● Continual show VALUE of the tool (real, not just
abstract).
● Training & support, training & support, training &
support.

20. Essential: online group(s) for your
volunteers
● Allows anyone to communicate, anytime
● Allows for easy, quick sharing of
communications
● Allows volunteers to reference documents
anytime
● Creates an automatic, ongoing record of
exchanges

21. Options for online
groups/collaboration abound
● YahooGroups (my fav)
● GoogleGroups
● Google docs/drive
● MiniGroup (also a fav - very affordable)
● Ning
● Basecamp
● Huddle
● Wikispaces
● Microsoft Sharepoint
● & on and on....
Which is "best"? Depends on YOU!
What do you use?

22. Tools for screening potential
volunteers
● Email
● LinkedIn profiles (but maybe not Facebook)
● Skype, iVisit & Google Hangouts
● Online tools for criminal background checks
● Whether or not the candidate signs up for
your online group
What do you use?

23. Tools for orienting/training
volunteers
● Email
● Web-based material
● YouTube
● WebEx, AnyMeeting, other webinar software
● Volunteer looking at something online while
you talk on the phone
What do you use?

24. Tools for Scheduling Volunteers
● GoogleDoc spreadsheet
● Google or Yahoo Calendar
● Twitter
● Specialized software (http://www.coyotecommunications.
com/tech/volmanage.html)
What do you use?

25. Virtual Volunteering
● It's a practice that's as old as the Internet
● Volunteers undertaking assignments, in whole
or in part, via their computers, tablets, smart
phones, etc.
● Includes telementoring, microvolunteering,
crowd-sourcing, pro bono telecommuting, etc.
● Can be long-term assignments,
microassignments, ongoing, short-term, require
lots of screening & training or none at all
● Boundaries between online volunteering and
traditional volunteering are pretty much GONE

26. What do online volunteers do?
● translate documents
● research subjects
● create web pages
● edit or write proposals,
press releases, articles,
etc.
● develop curriculum
● design a database
● design graphics
● provide legal, business,
medical, agricultural or any
other expertise
● counsel people
● tutor or mentor students
● moderate online
discussion groups
● write songs
● create a podcast
● edit a video
● monitor the news
● answer questions
● tag photos and files
● offer opinion or feedback
● manage other online
volunteers

27. Let online volunteers decide which
device they will use
● No need to say that an assignment is best
via a computer versus a smart phone or
tablet; offer the assignment and let
volunteers choose which they will use.
● No need to ever say the word "virtual
volunteering" or "microvolunteering" -
volunteers just want to VOLUNTEER. They
respond to the organization's mission and
the task (type of work, amount of time
needed, etc.)

28. Virtual Volunteering - what are you
doing?

29. Social Media / Friend-to-Friend
Networks
Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc. can be used for:
● Recruitment
● Communicating with volunteers & hearing
from volunteers
● Reminders to volunteers
● Volunteer recognition
What do you use?

30. Volunteers sharing criticism is
easier than ever!
● There's no way to avoid it.
● If you aren't seeing/hearing criticism, you need to be
VERY worried.
● If you are seeing/hearing it, be glad - it means
communication lines are open.
● How you handle criticism will either build or reduce trust.
● See "How to handle online criticisms / conflict" for ideas
that work offline as well.
(I could do an entire workshop JUST on this
subject!)

31. "I hear you"
Volunteers may talk to you -
but how do they know
they are being heard?
How can use tech to let them know they are
being heard?

32. Communicating without
overwhelming
● IMO, the more messages you send in a week, the less
impact each message has.
● People need to hear critical messages numerous ways
(email, onsite meetings, etc.), but NOT every message
is critical.
● People will almost always say they are receiving too
many messages.
● Look at RESULTS of your messaging to determine if it's
too much or too little, adjust accordingly.
● Adjustments must be made regularly.

33. Other volunteer support with
TechTools
● Using the Internet to Recognize Volunteers
& Their Contributions
● Using TechTools to Recruit Volunteers
(recruitment is the easy part!)
● Online safety, confidentiality, security, etc.
● Evaluating volunteer contributions/impact
● Evaluation your support for volunteers
Please see my web site:
http://www.coyotecommunications.com/

34. REMINDER: Getting everyone to use
a tech tool
● You may require volunteers to use certain
communications tools (online group, text messaging
on a phone, Twitter) regularly (note there are
consequences of doing this).
● YOU have to use all tools you want others to use.
● In addition to requiring volunteers to use certain tools,
you should reward them for using such.
● Continual show VALUE of the tool (real, not just
abstract).
● Training & support, training & support, training &
support.

35. Resources to check out
See their web sites, follow them on Twitter &/or
Facebook, sign up for their email newsletters:
NOVAA
http://www.novaa.org
Energize, Inc.
http://www.energizeinc.com
TechSoup Online Community Forum
(let's continue the discuss here!)
http://www.techsoup.org

36. Stay in Touch!
My web site: coyotecommunications.com
Links there to my:
● blog
● Facebook page
● Twitter feed (jcravens42)
● email newsletter (Tech4Impact)
Also, see you on the TechSoup.org
Community Forum for further discussions!