Standards of Excellence
for Host Organizations

Standards of Excellence were created to help articulate and clarify key elements that contribute to mutually successful volunteer experiences.

Keys to Communicating Effectively

• Share the best times and best ways to reach you for normal business and emergencies.
• Learn the goals of the volunteers.
• Describe your organization?s complete process for developing a volunteer project together, including how to share and to adjust to inevitable change.
• Plan for contingencies. When a volunteer is too sick, who does he or she contact by when? If a group must cancel, by when must they do so and how must they handle it? If the staff liaison changes, don?t forget to provide the name and contact info for the new one.
• Host the volunteer leader(s) for a site visit or trial/practice run through.
• Explain how volunteers can make the most difference and can do the most harm to your organization/clients.

I. Preparation

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? (Luke 14:28)

Thorough planning and preparation in advance is crucial for the successful engagement of volunteers to assist your organization in carrying out its mission. The host organization should address a series of issues well before volunteers arrive.

1. Goals and Motivations: Why are we doing this?

• Develop shared goals for the project and for the relationship.

2. The Tasks: What needs to be done?

• What resources are needed for the project?
• What specific tasks can volunteers be reasonably expected to accomplish?
• What skill or proficiencies are needed for each task?
• How many people are needed, maximum and minimum?
• How long should it take to complete from set-up to clean-up?

3. Host Resources: What are we able to supply for the project?

• Do we need a line item in our budget for this?
• What materials, tools, food and drink, and/or lodging should we provide?
• Are we able to give adequate instruction and supervision for the volunteers?
• How can we make the working conditions as pleasant as possible for the volunteers and clients served?

4. Volunteer Resources: What do they need to bring with them?

• Tools and materials
• Type of clothing and footwear for safe task performance
• Food and drink
• Special skills or knowledge
• Financial donation to project
• Their own supervisors
• Age limitations
• Things they should not bring with them (cell phones, iPods, other valuables)

5. The Workday (or longer period):

• Draw up a time schedule, allowing for introductions, prayer, training, work,breaks, meals, cleanup, and reflection.
• Who will be responsible for making sure the work proceeds in a timely fashion?

6. Details: Be as specific and detailed as possible in your planning.

• Compose a list of tasks and instructions if needed.
• Communicate all important details to volunteers in advance: how many people you can accommodate, when they should arrive, clear directions to the worksite, how long you expect them to work, when there will be lunch/other breaks.
• Make clear who they will be working with or serving (e.g., the young, the elderly, the homeless, the mentally or physically challenged) and what attitude they should bring to the project.
• Have all necessary materials and supplies ready when project begins.

II. Implementation

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58)

When the work begins:

1. Welcome the volunteers. Introduce yourself and express your gratitude for their participation.

2. Communicate the heart and passion of your work. Explain briefly the purpose of your mission and its history, the nature of ongoing projects, and give a short tour of the worksite if necessary. Get people excited about becoming a part of it.

3. Begin with Scripture and prayer, when possible, choosing an appropriate reading for the project.

4. Empower the volunteers to succeed

• Convey the particular goals you hope to meet
• Share the schedule verbally, and perhaps give written instructions as well.
• Provide clear expectations about their work.
• Provide guidance and contingencies for observing organizational boundaries.
• Assess volunteer skill levels and assign persons or groups to specific tasks.
• Give a demonstration and any necessary training and safety protocols for each task.
• Make sure there is adequate supervision for all volunteers and staff available to answer questions during the day.

5. Build relationships

• Spend time with the volunteers while they work.
• Work alongside them.
• Give positive feedback on their work: Verbally pat them on the back.
• Have a time of reflection at the end of the day where they can express their observations and reactions to the work experience.

II. Evaluation

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Tim. 4:7)

Take some time to look back and evaluate the volunteer work:

1. Did you accomplish what you had hoped for, your goals? What worked well and what went poorly?

2. How well was the job done? What still needs to be completed?

3. Were there problems with engaging volunteers overall? Were there specific problems connected with this particular group?

4. What do you need to do differently to: a) Make sure you have adequate planning and resources; b) Prepare and supervise the volunteers; c) Obtain feedback from them?

IV. Honor Volunteers

The members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable ? and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect. (1 Cor. 12:22-23)

This attitude should pervade everything you do. You are not just completing tasks; you are building relationships. A successful volunteer project balances people and tasks. There are many ways that this can be accomplished:

• Establishing a relationship in advance with volunteers
• Praying for the volunteers
• Developing rapport at the beginning of the project
• Spending time in Bible study and prayer with them
• Working with them during the day
• Respecting their limitations as workers
• Informal discussions at breaks and meal times
• Eliciting their reactions at the end of the project
• Sending thank you notes

Your goal is to create an ever-expanding network of personal support for your work as volunteers begin to catch your vision for ministry and share it with others.

These standards were developed by a team of representatives from The Boston Project Ministries (www. tbpm.org), People Making a Difference® (www.pmd.org), Pine Street Inn (www.pinestreetinn.org), Park Street Church?s CityWorks Ministry (www.parkstreet.org/ministries/cityworks.shtml) and the Emmanuel Gospel Center (www.egc.org). For PDF- and hard-copies of these standards, or MS Word files to adapt them for your own organization?s use, please contact Michele Mitsumori at CityServe@egc.org or 617-262-4567.

Michele C. Mitsumori, Director, CityServe
Emmanuel Gospel Center
2 San Juan St, PO Box 180245
Boston MA 02118-0994

617-262-4567 ext 212
CityServe@egc.org
www.egc.org
Copyright 2005 Emmanuel Gospel Center