5 types of Volunteers

I am a Volunteer Manager. It means it’s my job to manage volunteers and feel happy about being able to make a difference through them. But more often than not I’m at the phone coordinating between the NGO and the volunteer or trying to find the best possible role for an over enthusiastic volunteer, or trying to avoid another whom I know is all talk and no work. Very seldom the ideal volunteer will come by and I will praise the lord for them. As rightly said by Charity Executive, the relationship between a non-profit and a volunteer is, at times, best described as a love-hate relationship.

But we can’t live without them. A better understanding of different types of volunteers can help NGO managers be better prepared in getting the best out of their volunteers and in turn ensuring that the volunteers get the best!

Abigail Harmon of Mersky, Jaffe & Associates aptly describes the five different types of volunteers in her post. Here’s a quick pictorial representation of the same:

Does your non-profit engage with volunteers regularly? We would love to hear and learn from your experience in working with volunteers.

Credits:

• Colourful hands image adapted from Volunteer Match
• Original Article: five different types of volunteers by Abigail Harmon on Mersky, Jaffe & Associates website