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Developing your volunteer vision
and strategic plan

Chapter 1:
Getting your organisation volunteer ready

Develop a purpose for volunteer partnership

A volunteer management programme begins with your organisation’s vision and strategic purpose for involving volunteers.

What is the purpose of a clear vision and strategic plan?

  1. Helps your organisation to put together a purposeful volunteer programme 

  2. Helps connect volunteers to opportunities that your organisation provides

  3. Helps your plan how you can achieve your goals

STEP 1

Identify your volunteer vision statement

STEP 2

Articulate your vision clearly

STEP 3

Develop a strategic purpose and plan to achieve your vision

Step 1: Identify your volunteer vision statement

A vision statement is a one-sentence statement that articulates the desired end state that the organisation aspires to achieve. 

 

A good vision statement should: 

  1. Be clear and simple

  2. Be written in the present tense, not future tense

  3. Describe your organisation’s desired outcome 

  4. Evoke emotion and seek to inspire

  5. Build a common picture in everyone’s mind

  6. Easily explained by those involved

 

How to identify your vision statement? 

  1. Review your organisation's vision, mission and goals. Understand why your organisation needs volunteers.

    1. How will your organisation benefit by partnering with volunteers? 

  2. Understand what value your organisation can give to potential volunteers

    1. What are volunteers’ needs and expectations? 

    2. What are the benefits that volunteers get from partnering with your organisation?

    3. How would you like your staff and volunteers to interact with one another?

  3. Draft your volunteer vision statement with inputs from some staff in the organisation.

  4. Finalise vision statement 

 

To see this in a template form, click here!

Step 2: Articulate your vision clearly 

The vision statement should be clearly articulated, widely shared and openly discussed throughout the organisation. This will inspire volunteer leadership for staff and create a goal that volunteers can strive to achieve.

Step 3: Develop a strategic purpose and plan to achieve your vision

Creating well-developed strategic plans enables agencies to: 

  1. Optimise resources

  2. Stay true to their vision

  3. Provide high-quality services to their staff and volunteers. 

 

With strategic planning, you will be able to identify and find ways to achieve shorter-term goals to bring your organisation towards your volunteer vision.
 

What is the strategic planning process?

  1. Facilitate an initial planning meeting (between who?) to determine the logistics of the planning process. 

  2. Create a planning team made up of staff, board leadership and volunteers. 

  3. Create and finalise a comprehensive plan. ​

    • Identify measurable goals that can be attained through your volunteer programme

      • Increase in capacity 

      • Increase in types of services provided

      • Increase in volunteering programmes offered 

    • Decide on actions to be taken so as to achieve the goals 

    • Formulate a timeline for implementation 

    • Assign person(s)-in-charge of the implementation 

    • Identify critical issues and success factors 
       

  4. Monitor the implementation of your strategic plan. 

  5. Evaluate your strategic plan at regular junctures (e.g. annually). 

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Need help drafting your strategic plan? Check this out! 

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