Effective Volunteer Management: Recruitment, Training, Retention, Committees & Managing Difficult Volunteers
Upcoming Training Dates
Select a date and time that works for you. All sessions are held live and include time for questions.
Workshop Description
Volunteers are essential to advancing a nonprofit's mission, but building a strong volunteer program requires more than recruiting people to help. Effective volunteer management is a connected system that includes intentional recruitment, clear role design, onboarding, training, supervision, recognition, leadership development, and retention. When these elements work together, organizations create meaningful volunteer experiences that strengthen programs, build community, and increase long-term engagement.
In this interactive workshop, participants will explore practical strategies to recruit volunteers based on organizational needs, design volunteer roles that create clarity and commitment, develop effective onboarding and training experiences, and build volunteer leadership pipelines that support organizational sustainability. We will also discuss approaches to volunteer appreciation, mentoring, program structures, and managing challenging situations with confidence and consistency. Whether your organization relies on one-time volunteers, recurring volunteers, committees, leadership volunteers, chapters, affinity groups, or highly skilled volunteers, you'll leave with practical tools, templates, and strategies to strengthen every stage of the volunteer experience.
Who Should Attend
Individuals and organizations that manage volunteers.
What the Training Will Cover
Volunteer Recruitment & Role Design
Develop recruitment strategies that align outreach methods, volunteer motivations, and organizational needs while creating clear volunteer role descriptions that attract and match volunteers to meaningful roles.
Volunteer Onboarding, Training & Support
Design volunteer onboarding, training, mentoring, and support systems that build confidence, clarify expectations, prepare volunteers for success, and reduce volunteer challenges before they occur.
Volunteer Program Structures
Evaluate volunteer program structures including committees, micro-volunteering, mentoring, and skills-based opportunities to increase engagement, flexibility, and organizational capacity.
Volunteer Leadership Pipeline
Create a volunteer leadership pipeline that identifies future leaders, develops volunteers over time, and strengthens long-term organizational sustainability.
Volunteer Retention, Appreciation & Engagement
Implement strategies to strengthen volunteer retention through meaningful appreciation, community-building, recognition, volunteer feedback surveys, and ongoing communication that fosters belonging and commitment.
Managing Challenging Volunteer Situations
Apply practical approaches to prevent, address, and resolve challenging volunteer situations through clear expectations, coaching, role alignment, documentation, and consistent decision-making, including when to reassign, retire, or remove volunteers.
Volunteer Systems & Resources
Identify tools, templates, dashboards, handbooks, recruitment plans, and training resources that create consistent volunteer experiences and support effective volunteer management.
Registration Type & Fee
Non Members: $375
Additional Information
Effective Volunteer Management: Volunteer Recruitment, Training, Retention, Leadership Structures & Managing Difficult Issues in the Moment is capped at 30 attendees. This is an interactive workshop and must be restricted due to online training capacity. Each workshop session is live. Registrants receive slides & handouts. It is expected participants will be able to be on camera and able to unmute for some portions of the training to participate in discussions. Full recordings are not provided. This training must be done sequentially. If you miss a session, please reach out to program@nonprofitlearninglab.org
Looking to register 3+ people? Email us at program@nonprofitlearninglab.org to receive $5 off per registration!
Please Note:
We do not offer any other discounts for this training other than the member rate. Upon registration, you will receive a link to participate in the training. Please check your inbox or spam folder.
About the Trainer
This training is led by Dr. Leah Weiner who has a doctorate in education and psychology from Pepperdine University. Leah Weiner is the Founder and CEO of the Nonprofit Learning Lab. Leah’s approach to training focuses on making sure that the information provided helps participants solve a problem or create a solution related to their professional work.
CFRE & CAE Credits
WE OFFER CFRE & CAE CREDITS | 1 hour of training = 1 credit hour
Certificate of attendance available upon request
Resources Related to: Effective Volunteer Management: Recruitment, Training, Retention, Committees & Managing Difficult Volunteers
Our Favorite Volunteer Management & Volunteer Recruitment Tools for Nonprofits| Read
New Ways to Show Gratitude to Volunteers | Read
Volunteer Recruitment & Building a Leadership Pipeline | Read
Volunteers Training Volunteers: How the Train the Trainer Model Enhances Training and Volunteer Leadership Development in Nonprofits | Read
Past Participating Organizations List