ORG405: Volunteer Management

Instructor & Contact Information

The People tab in Canvas provides information on the course instructor and you can send a message to your instructor following these instructions. Faculty are expected to: 1) grade and return assignments, with feedback, within 7 days from the date of submission; 2) reply to your Canvas messages within 72 hours; 3) reply several times each week in total in the discussion forums (not to each individual student); and 4) demonstrate the core values of City Vision University.

Course Description

Volunteer management is stewardship. In this course you will learn the principles of effective volunteer management across the lifecycle of the volunteer’s involvement with the organization. You will learn how to recruit and retain volunteers in a way that is informed by their motivations and fosters the development of the volunteer as well as the fulfillment of the mission. You will learn to assess an organization’s need for volunteers, craft job descriptions to meet those needs, and effectively screen, train and evaluate volunteers. You will also learn how to manage risk in a volunteer program and how volunteer programs often help support organizations fundraising and development programs. The final project for this course will be to develop a comprehensive volunteer management plan and procedures manual for your organization.

Please Note: In order to complete the assignments for this course, the student needs identify an organization to work with on a volunteer management plan.

Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) Certification Credit
This course has been approved to count as 45 continuing education credits for Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) Certification.

Course Outcomes

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe how your organization processes in managing volunteers as well as the value they provide to the organization.
2. Develop recruiting, onboarding, retaining, developing,  evaluating and exiting volunteers.
3. Establish risk management practices for your volunteers to limit risk to volunteers, clients and staff. 
4. Develop a comprehensive volunteer toolkit providing a synthesis of all components needed to run an effective volunteer management program.

Degree Program Outcomes

Degree outcomes are the overall skills and knowledge we expect you will have after successfully completing a degree program at City Vision University. After completing the degree, you will be able to do the following in each of the domains listed below. This course supports the outcome marked with an asterisk (*).

1. Nonprofit Foundations. Describe the key competencies of effective nonprofit managers and develop a career development plan across four competency domains including: Collaborate (HR & Relational Skills), Control (Governance, Financial & Operations Skills), Create (Innovation & Entrepreneurial Skills) and Compete (Business & Funding Skills).
2. Finances. Apply basic accounting and budgeting principles in order to successfully manage the finances of a nonprofit organization.
3. Fundraising/Marketing. Apply basic marketing, communication and fundraising strategies in operating a successful nonprofit organization.
4. Innovation. Develop strategies and plans to effectively use technology and innovation to achieve organizational goals.
5. Human resources. Apply the essential elements of nonprofit human resource management including volunteer management, hiring, firing, supervision and legal considerations. *
6. Vocation. Create a synthesis of a reflective life vision and plan to enable 24/7 ministry based on God’s purposes for work and their own unique calling.
7. Cross-Cultural Ministry. Develop plans to apply cross-cultural principles toward effective ministry across diverse cultures.

Required Texts

Students are required to purchase these texts before the first day of classes. 

• McKee, J., McKee, T. W., Resources, G. Y. M., & Publishing, G. (2012). The New Breed: Second Edition: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer (New edition). Simply Youth Ministry. ISBN: 978-0-7644-8619-7
• Sakaduski, N. (2013). Managing Volunteers: How to Maximize Your Most Valuable Resource. Praeger. ISBN: 978-1-4408-0364-2

Guidelines for Written Work

All written work must follow our Writing Format and Forum Requirements. You must read these to understand how to cite sources appropriately.

Critical Policies to Read for This Course

Note: These policies are critical for all students to read. In case of change, we have linked to the versions on our website to make sure you have the latest version.

• Grading Scale 

• Deadlines to Drop Courses

• Attendance, Late Policy and Extensions

• Technology Requirements for Courses

• Standards of Academic Integrity & Plagiarism Policy

• What plagiarism is and how to avoid it 

• Credit Hour Policy, Grading Policy and Other Academic Policies

• ADA Policy, Learning Accommodations & Disabilities Services
• Student Code of Conduct 

• Library Services

Additional Policies:

• Privacy Policy

• Consumer Disclosures
• Additional policies are listed in our catalog

This syllabus is subject to change without notice up until the first day of the semester. Last updated: September 29, 2022