Standard E2 Explained

Why does my organization need to designate at least one person to be responsible for volunteer involvement? Over the past two decades, changes in patterns of giving and volunteering in Canada have prompted nonprofit and charitable organizations to increasingly incorporate management principles into their volunteer programs.¹ Recruiting, coordinating, and managing volunteers is a complex responsibility that requires a particular skill set,² including knowledge of human resource management principles and an understanding of the value of volunteering.³ The National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations found that having a designated paid employee responsible for volunteer involvement was the most significant variable affecting an organization’s ability to effectively engage volunteers in its work.¹

Individuals responsible for volunteer involvement often play a role in:¹

• Volunteer recruitment
• Matching volunteers with volunteer opportunities
• Volunteer orientation and training
• Interviewing and screening volunteers
• Assessing the risks involved in an organization’s volunteer program
• Supervising volunteers

From "Accreditation Preparation Workbook Section E: Volunteer Involvement,"  Katharine Zywert, Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo at the University of Waterloo, 2013.

1. “Managers of Volunteers: A Profile of the Profession,” Fataneh Zarinpoush, Cathy Barr, and Jason Moreton, Imagine Canada, 2004.
2. “The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement: Values, Guiding Principles, and Standards of Practice,” Volunteer Canada, 2012.
3. Noble et al., 2003 cited in “Managers of Volunteers: A Profile of the Profession,” Fataneh Zarinpoush, Cathy Barr, and Jason Moreton, Imagine Canada, 2004.