Sample Work Plans – MAVA Cohort RFP

These are three samples of work plans for projects that would fit within the MAVA RFP.  Each work plan focuses on a different aspect of restructuring the volunteer program to meet expectations of today's volunteers and tapping their talents to serve the organization's mission. 

Work Plan 1 - Expanding Volunteer Positions

Goal: Increase the range of volunteer positions at X Nonprofit and add more skills-based positions to better fit the expectations of today's volunteers.

Activities:

1. Hold staff (or staff and board)  in-service on trends in volunteerism
2. Conduct a brainstorming meeting to identify new roles for volunteers in the organization, including identifying some new positions that involve volunteers in skills-based or higher responsibility roles
3. Develop position descriptions for new roles
4. Develop skills inventory to give volunteers to learn skills they have that would be useful to organization.
5. Select 2-3 of current volunteer positions and see how they could be redesigned to include shorter term volunteers, project based volunteers and/or appeal to another trend in volunteerism.
6. Develop work plan for what else needs to be done to be ready to add the volunteer positions (staff training, volunteer interview process, set up work space, design recruitment, update recognition, etc.).
7. Implement work plan and start recruiting and bringing on new volunteers.

Outcomes:

At the end of grant period,

• A minimum of 40% of volunteer positions at X Nonprofit include elements to appeal to volunteers seeking opportunities to use skills or shorter term opportunities.
• 80% of staff can articulate the trends in what today's volunteers seek and can identify ways for X Nonprofit to involve volunteers that capitalize on those trends to meet the mission of the organization.
• 80% of surveyed volunteers brought into the new positions agree their volunteer position taps what they would like to offer X Nonprofit as a volunteer.

Work Plan 2 - Adding Project Volunteers

Goal: Build capacity of X Nonprofit to engage volunteers in project management roles

Activities:

1. Hold staff (or staff and board) in-service on trends in volunteerism.
2. Form a Taskforce composed of volunteers and staff to lead effort to engage more volunteer-led projects.
3. Seek input from overall staff on ideas for volunteer projects that could ease their work load and/or could accomplish projects they have dreamed about.
4. Taskforce develops work plan of what needs to be done within the organization to be prepared for more project volunteers (develop project agreement form, plan to recruit volunteers, training for staff, addressing liability or risk management issues, evaluation, etc.)
5. Implement work plan.

Outcomes:

• At end of grant period,
• Four volunteer-led projects in process or completed.
• 80% of volunteers leading the projects report the project contributes to X Nonprofit reaching its mission.

Work Plan 3 - Redesign of Volunteer Interview and Assignment Process

Goal: To better serve X Nonprofit's clients through more thoughtfully interviewing and assigning the talents of volunteers.  

Activities:

1. Form work committee composed of staff and volunteers to guide the process.
2. Do internal audit to assess how current intake process for volunteers taps talents. Do volunteer satisfaction survey.  Ask staff through survey or discussion how they see process working.
3. Redesign process developing new tools: interview questions, skills inventory, process for staff to identify skills and talents useful for volunteer positions, etc.
4. Add volunteer position(s) to assist with interviewing and assignment of volunteers.
5. Evaluate process.

Outcome:

• 70% of volunteers report that they feel their talents are tapped to accomplish the mission of X Nonprofit.