Running Head: AMAZON PROMISE.
A CASE STUDY OF THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM Amazon Promise A case study of the volunteer program Eric J.
Wynn University of Central Florida 1.
Table of contents .......................................................................................2 2.
Introduction.............................................................................................3 3.
Executive Summary .........................................................................................5 4.
History of Amazon Promise...........................................................................7 5.
Structure of the volunteer program..................................................................12 6.
Volunteer recruitment.................................................................................14 7.
Risk management......................................................................................30 8.
Conclusion..............................................................................................33 9.
References...............................................................................................35 a.
Appendix...........................................................................................40 b.
Donations graph...................................................................................40 c.
Risk management plan...........................................................................41 d.
Sample job descriptions...........................................................................43 e.
Federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997.....................................................49 Introduction I first became aware of Amazon Promise while perusing Cable News Networks (CNN) Heroes website.
I was fascinated at the nonprofits chosen to be highlighted by CNN and was thoroughly impressed with the devotion of the founders to their chosen causes.
However, one nonprofit stood out from all the others; that of Amazon Promise and its founder, Patty Webster.
What Ms.
Webster is accomplishing in the jungles of Peru, is nothing short of amazing.
Organizing volunteers to venture into the jungles of the Amazon to provide medical care and in the process winning over the hearts and minds of the indigenous peoples of the jungle, Ms.
Webster is accomplishing a feat that is envious of the most accomplished governments. These Indigenous people of Peru endure a hard scrabble life where daily survival is a reality and not something watched on a "Survivor" show.
These Indians endure a daily barrage of exposure to hazards that include diseases, malnutrition and threatening animals.
Clean drinking water is in short supply.
Waste disposal is au natural.
An injury or sickness in the jungle, however slight, can quickly become life threatening.
Doctors in the jungle do not exist, however the village Shaman does.
If someone wants to see a professional doctor, it can mean a hazardous journey of hours by boat.
There is no ambulance service, no one to call for a quick evacuation.
Bear Gryllis does not tape his show here.
And yet, Ms.
Webster and her volunteers return here monthly delivering aid and winning over the hearts and minds of these people. In comparison, the United States Army has a unit that performs the same mission that Amazon Promise and Ms.
Webster and her volunteers do.
Their called the "Special Forces".
However, two things separate the "Special Forces" from Ms.
Webster and Amazon Promise, and this is what makes Amazon Promise so amazing.
First, the US Army "Special Forces" have the full backing and financial support of the United States.
Therefore, money is no object to the prevention of the Special Forces mission.
And second, they carry guns,"Big guns", and, they like to use them. This case study would not have been possible without the help and patience of the staff of Amazon Promise and in particularly, Ms.
Kristina Server.
My endless barrage of questions, more questions and "damn he's asking more questions" was getting old and time consuming and took away from real efforts at saving people.
Hopefully, this work will be worth all the questions asked and will serve as a mechanism for increasing Amazon Promises profile among the less informed. Thank you! Executive Summary In accordance to the course requirements of the University of Central Florida, College of Business, and the graduate course PAD 5145 Volunteerism in Nonprofit organizations, a case study of Amazon Promise's volunteer program was undertaken.
Working in conjunction with Ms.
Kristina Server, who provided immeasurable assistance and guidance the following recommendations are being put forth to Patty Webster, President and founder of Amazon Promise. Recommendations: 1.
Social Media Coordinator- In response to the explosive growth of the social media network, it is recommended that one volunteer be asked to take responsibility with expanding the current Amazon Promise Facebook and YouTube profiles.
In addition, this Social Media Coordinator would be responsible for coordinating and developing additional Amazon Promise exposure through the coordination and use of other organizations web exposure. 2.
Volunteer Coordinator- Currently Amazon Promise does not have a volunteer coordinator and it is recommended that a volunteer or a employee be hired to fulfill the position.
Currently, Amazon Promise volunteer development responsibilities are shared among staff members, who in turn are already responsible for other responsibilities. 3.
Volunteer protection- United States volunteers and volunteer organizations have limited liability protection through a federal statue known as.
Peru does not have such a federal statue and it is recommended, that Amazon Promise initiate, through their Peruvian legal counsel, a legal initiative to get a similar statue in place in Peru.
A copy of this federal regulation is included as back up material. 4.
Volunteer Handbook- Currently, Amazon Promise does not provide a copy of any policies, procedures or guidelines to their volunteer's.
It is recommended that Amazon Promise develop a set of procedures, guidelines and policies, and maintain this handbook on online and have the volunteers read this and sign a memorandum of understanding and adherence. 5.
Rotate advertising in different search engines that provide for those people looking for a travel volunteer experience. 6.
Recommend screening of medical personal through the use of National Practitioner Data Bank. 7.
Amazon Promise, 1993 to present. Ms.
Webster had been working as a tour guide in the Amazon jungle escorting adventure tourist through the wonders of the Amazon jungle.
During these tourist excursions, Ms.
Webster would introduce these adventure tourists with the indigenous peoples of the jungle who traded their craftworks with the tourists.
These indigenous peoples live in extremely remote jungle locations, and access to healthcare providers is an extremely difficult undertaking.
Under these circumstances, even a simple injury can be life threatening.
These natives recognized in Patty someone who cared about their plight and began to approach her asking for help with their medical needs.
Ms.
Webster, moved by the difficult circumstances of these people, began to provide what aid she could from her limited first aid supplies.
Recognizing the need of these people and seeing an opportunity to help, Ms.
Webster began gathering what medical supplies that she could and found people who would were willing to venture into the jungle with her to deliver this aid.
From these austere beginnings, the idea for Amazon Promise was born (Cousteau, 2009). In 1993, Ms.
Webster organized her relief efforts into Rainforest Relief Project, which later became Amazon Promise, a registered 501.C (3), based in Massachusetts Server (personal communications, October 10, 2010; Cousteau, 2009).
From these simple beginnings, Amazon Promise has organized missions into the Peruvian Amazon Jungle with one simple mission objective: to provide medical care and health care education to those in need.
From its inception, Amazon Promise has provided aid to over fifty five thousand inhabitants through its volunteer medical missions.
Currently, 36 interior Amazon villages have requested, and are receiving, ongoing aid from Amazon Promise (Webster, personal communications, July 26, 2010).
Building on an all volunteer network, with the vast majority serving as episodic volunteers (Macduff, 1999), Amazon Promise has organized these medical missions each year.
In 2010, 6 medical missions were planned and executed for a total time in country of 16 weeks.
For 2011, eight medical missions are currently being organized and volunteers recruited for a total time in country of 17 weeks (Amazon Promise [AP], 2010). In 2006, Patty Webster began to conceive of establishing a permanent clinic in Belen, a suburb of Iquitos, Peru.
Belen is an interior Peruvian city with a population of 74,000 persons who live predominately in squalor.
Iquitos/Belen has no road access to other parts of Peru or South America and the only access to these cities is by air or by riverboat up the Amazon River.
Effectively cut off from the rest of Peru and other established South American cities, the economic base is very limited and the poverty rate very high.
Amazon Promise is currently operating a temporary clinic in the city, and providing as much care as possible to the residents as their budgetary and volunteer abilities allow.
Preliminary plans have been developed by Engineers Without Borders for a permanent clinic.
Working in conjunction with the administrators of Belen, the city has donated land for the clinic while Amazon Promise seeks out funding for construction (Cousteau, 2010) Studies have estimated that 64.5 million Americans participate in volunteer activity (Strigas, 2006).
Within this vast group of people, a small number of volunteers have come together and form the core of Amazon Promise and are the chief asset of the organization.
Without these volunteers, Amazon Promise could not function in its current form, as Amazon Promise maintains no paid administrators and fortunately these core volunteers are not motivated by bureaucratic incentives (Ashcraft & Kedrowicz, 2002).
Amazon Promise volunteers can be described as meeting the definition of "Modern volunteering" as opposed to the "Traditional volunteer" (Rehberg, 2005).
These "Modern volunteers" are people who have the opportunity and the ability to participate in a volunteer project that does not meet traditional concepts.
Their motives are primarily rooted in unselfish giving (Mowen & Sujan, 2005).
Amazon Promise's mission ensures that the volunteers will not meet traditional concept.
Amazon Promise volunteer experiences involve extensive travel, poses a degree of risk to the participant, and extensive manual labor, all at a cost to the volunteers.
These trips are generally of short duration and often result in immediate gratification for the participants efforts (AP, 2010). Amazon Promise maintains no paid staff in the United States and instead relies exclusively on a continuous influx of these "modern volunteers".
These "modern volunteers" perform either in one or two volunteer roles; "Policy volunteers", those individuals who provide regulatory and professional guidance and direction to Amazon Promise.
Or, they serve as "service volunteers", those individuals who provide and deliver the needed medical services and interaction with the client base of Amazon Promise (Brudney, 1995). 1.
Policy Volunteers- Amazon Promise has an established volunteer board of professionals who provide guidance and policy assistances ( AP, 2010).
These participants bring forward a vast experience in medical and professional management and can impart on Amazon Promise guidance on navigating the extensive regulatory hurdles that Amazon Promise must interface with in order to fulfill its mission thus imparting their accumulated to knowledge to Amazon Promise (Sloane, et.
al., 2008).
In addition, these volunteers can and do participate in Amazon Promise medical missions. 2.
Service Volunteers/Medical professionals- For those licensed medical professionals who are seeking a volunteerism experience aboard, Amazon Promise utilizes those volunteer's professional skills to provide the needed medical care to the clients of Amazon Promise.
All medical professions are in demand by the Amazon Promise client base and no skill set is turned away.
Since Amazon Promise inception over 600 medical professionals have contributed their time to this cause (AP, 2010).
Many of these individuals are retired and are motivated in part by the opportunity to share their accumulated knowledge and experiences with a receptive audience, a motivation factor defined as "Knowledge Sharing" (Sloan et.
al.
2008). 3.
Service Volunteers/Medical students- Medical, nursing, dental and physician assistant students who are required to participate in a medical internship can use Amazon Promise to fulfill this academic requirement in accordance with their medical or dental program with the ultimate goal of using their acquired skill set in the workforce provide volunteers of a specific mindset.
(AP, 2010; Shields, 2009).
Amazon Promise organizes a 4 week medical mission attended primarily by these medical students and have designed their stay in order to facilitate the students acquirement of a unique skill set and experience in a shared environment (Liu & Fang, 2010; Baytiyeh, Hoda & Pfaffman 2010).
The medical students are supervised by both American and Peruvian doctors who accompany the team.
These volunteers represent the motivation factor referred to as "mandatory volunteering" or "marginal volunteers".
Their participation is influenced by an external factor; that of their governing academic body and their participation with Amazon Promise may be limited to their volunteer experience as dictated by their academic program's requirements( Schondel & Boehm, 2000; Stebbins, 2009). 4.
Service Volunteers/Non-medical volunteers- Volunteers without medical training provide an important role for the Amazon Program medical missions.
These volunteers assist with medical screening, patient registrations, wound care, dressing of wounds, treatment of skin problems and bathing of children (AP, 2010).
For those volunteers that speak Spanish, they may be tasked with providing hygiene or safe sex classes to the client base (AP, 2010).
This group of volunteers represents perhaps the best source of volunteers who meet the definition of "Organizational Commitment" of volunteers ( Boezman & Ellemers, 2008; Chacón, Vecina, & Davila, 2007).
These volunteers are not under any external pressure to be on a medical mission and are not interested in the sharing of their accumulated knowledge.
Instead, these volunteers are committed to the Amazon Promise organization based on their personal dedication and the pride of belonging to the organization and the mission it fulfills.
These individuals represent the single best source of developing and retaining motivated volunteers who will stay with Amazon Promise for an extended period of time. Amazon Promise's volunteers as a community can best be described as representing the theory of "unified responsibility"(Dutta-Bergman, 2004).
The Amazon Promise volunteers represent a segment of society who have, or, are attempting to attain high levels of education and demonstrate personal determination and motivation.
The Amazon Promise volunteer base is predominantly made up by women rather than men (AP, 2010).
These volunteers have demonstrated a high degree of personal responsibility and commitment in their communities, professional and academic lives.
This commitment to a community of people and a belief in assisting those less fortunate has propelled them to engage in a volunteer experience that is most unique from other volunteer experiences.
These are individuals who have chosen to travel thousands of miles, endure jungle heat and insects, exposure to tropical diseases, work in a slum, sleep in a tent and then pay for the experience (AP, 2010). Amazon Promise is funded through private individual, corporate donations, and volunteer trip fees (AP 2010).
The budget for Amazon Promise fluctuates each year, as does any organization that is solely dependent on donations.
In the last 5 years, the Amazon Promise budget has seen an increase in valuations as public perception and awareness of the organization has grown.
These are reflected in the following statistics which have been derived from Amazon Promises tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service (2008) and are presented in Figure 1 and Figure 2. Conversely, Amazon Promise has also suffered as all other nonprofit organizations with the economic recession currently under way.
Statistically, Amazon Promise's donations by total percentage are declining each year since its peak year of 2006, although its yearly budget and funding base continues to increase (an increase of 3437% since 2004).
The 2009 tax return is currently being developed and will provide for insight into the financial direction of Amazon Promise, and the possible influences of the ongoing worldwide economic recession.
Recent studies among nonprofit organizations have demonstrated an overall decline in volunteers and donations on behalf of individuals and foundations, and these declines in Amazon Promise's donations should not be a cause for anxiety (Garland, Myers, & Wolfer, 2008).
However, any nonprofit, to include Amazon Promise, with a high volunteer turnover rate will find itself in a position where accomplishing the organization's mission will be severely challenged (Tang, Morrow-Howell & Hong, 2009). The majority of Amazon Promise's budget dollars are raised through trip fees that volunteers pay to attend one of Amazon Promises medical missions.
For a one week trip, a volunteer is charged $1,100.00.
For a two week trip, the fee is increased to $2,250.00.
Discounts are provided for repeat volunteers (AP, 2010).
These costs are in line with other volunteer tourist organizations that operate in Peru. These fees are used to purchase needed medical supplies, administrative operations, and salaries of the Peruvian support teams.
The Peruvian support staff consists of interpreters, cooks, boat captains, and security and any other persons as needed as specific mission needs dictate.
The support staff is responsible for providing for the volunteers in country logistical and operational needs when in Peru which allows the volunteers to focus on their medical mission objectives (AP, 2010). The forward looking goals of Amazon Promise include the following objectives; Amazon Promise is currently work to expanding its volunteer base with the intent of adding additional medical missions to Peru.
Amazon Promise wants to increase its budget base by increasing the scope and depth of its donations, corporate sponsors, grant awards and increased participation with its medical missions.
Amazon Promise wants to secure capital and operational funding for its Belen clinic.
And, finally secure funding for the addition of paid permanent staff to the organization (Server & Webster, personal communications, July 25, 2010) Organizational structure of Amazon Promise Amazon Promise uses a decentralized organizational structure and does not maintain a organizational chart for the organization Server (personal communications, October 10, 2010).
The organization follows a traditional nonprofit hierarchy, with the President, answering to a volunteer board of directors.
Answering to the President are a series of volunteers who have assumed specific job functions and are in turn responsible for volunteers under their umbrella and specialty.
Amazon Promise does not make use of Volunteer Director at this point, instead relying on each department head to manage their roster of volunteers.
These job functions of the department heads include the following duties: 1.
President- Currently filled by Patty Webster.
The president is responsible for day to day operations of Amazon Promise.
Ms.
Webster oversees administration, volunteer, cultural and logistical operations both within the United States and Peru (AP, 2010). 2.
Vice President- Currently filled by Abigail Mitoefer.
The vice president is responsible for augmenting the President in day to day operations of Amazon Promise both within the United States and Peru (AP, 2010). 3.
Director of Educational Programs.
Currently filled by Elena Deem.
The director of educational programs oversees the Amazon Promise educational program which includes Soy Capaz!
A HIV prevention, education and patient care program.
Volunteers who speak Spanish are often tasked with providing educational classes to the communities served by Amazon Promise (AP, 2010). 4.
Director of Dentistry.
Currently filled by Dr.
Robert Fulton.
The director of Dentistry overseas the Amazon Promise dentistry program.
Dr.
Fulton oversees the volunteers who are board certified dentists or those volunteer individuals who are currently fulfilling their internship requirements for their dental program (AP, 2010). 5.
Medical Director.
Currently filled by Dr.
Robert Hyzy.
The director overseas medical operations in conjunction with the Director of Medical Operations.
The medical director overseas the medical volunteers who perform under the guidance and supervision of the Peruvian medical doctors who accompany the Amazon Promise mission teams (http://amazonpromise.org). 6.
Director of Medical Operations.
Currently filled by Melonie Rockwell.
The director of medical operations works in conjunction with the Medical Director and overseas those volunteers who perform under the guidance and supervision of the Peruvian medical doctors who accompany the Amazon Promise mission teams (AP, 2010). 7.
Fundraising Director.
Currently filled by Kristina Server.
The fundraising director overseas the raising of funds for Amazon Promise (AP, 2010). The unique nature of the Amazon Promise mission requires that volunteers perform within their specific areas of expertise.
The medical professionals perform their volunteer duties that fall within their area of responsibility, however are not expected to perform dental procedures.
Conversely, the dental professionals perform their volunteer duties that fall within their area of responsibility, however are not expected to perform medical procedures and so on (AP, 2010).
Volunteers may be tasked to perform secondary tasks outside of their specialty such as triage, education or even cleaning the clinic when their specific skill set is not in need.
A common task for all volunteers is setting up and or dismantling the clinics, which would include packing and unpacking of the supplies and materials.
For these reasons, Amazon Promise volunteer job description are kept to a minimum, which is contrary to the recommendations of Lulewicz (1995) who recommends specific responsibilities be identified during the volunteer orientation. In Patty Webster's communication's she has expressed her desire to deliver a total commitment to her clients.
To achieve this goal, Amazon Promise needs to adopt a Total Quality Management philosophy that ensures that all personnel, who include volunteers, clients, and vendors, who interact with Amazon Promise receive an outstanding customer experience.
To accomplish this Amazon Promise needs to develop, and has expressed an interest in doing so, a long term orientation towards the future (Champoux &Yourstone, 1995).
Amazon Promise Volunteer Recruitment and Retention As the first wave of the 77 million baby boomers enter into retirement, nonprofit organizations are presented the opportunity to harness an amazing resource of personnel.
Statistics have demonstrated that those persons that are age 65 and older will contribute an average of 104 hours of time versus the median of 52 hours annually for all other age groups combined (Tang, Morrow-Howell, & Hong, 2009).A study among retiring physicians found interest in volunteering as high as 43% among study participants (Sloane, et.
al., 2008).Further research among older volunteers has found that those who are volunteering are doing so with the desire to interact with other like minded persons in a common social/work environment (Nassar-Mcmillan & Lambert, 2003).
These efforts among the older population have given rise to the terminology of Productive aging and Successful aging (Celdrán, & Villar, 2007). In contrast, studies have found that young volunteers are not particularly loyal to organizations; young volunteers tend to be particular as to what function they will perform for the nonprofit organization and they expect a return on their investment of time and energy (Rehberg, 2005; Shields, 2009).
In addition, these younger volunteers tend to focus on three motivational factors in their selection of who and what cause they will volunteer and these include; personal enjoyment, importance of the task and strong leadership within the volunteer organization.
(Schondel & Boehm, 2000).
Gender appears to have an influence on volunteering aswomen have a tendency to be involved in nurturing and caring volunteer roles, as demonstrated by the makeup of Amazon Promise volunteers, while men tend to serve in more masculine volunteer roles (Ozorak, 2003) . However, volunteer recruitment is a multifaceted endeavor that has to be undertaken with a methodical and well constructed formula.
An organization cannot just hope that volunteers will show up and begin performing a needed function.
Motivations of volunteers need to be understood to ensure proper placement of the volunteer.
Foremost, the organization must first ensure that it is ready to begin receiving volunteers and that these volunteers have been screened for appropriateness.
Not all volunteers are appropriate volunteers, and an inappropriate volunteer can in fact detract from the mission of the organization.
Volunteer roles need to be clearly defined so that the volunteer understands their role within the organization (Ashcraft & Kedrowicz, 2002).
In her article "Recruitment, Orientation and Retention", Jeanne H.
Bradner (1999) recommends the following measures be in place before recruiting for volunteers: 1.
Develop a compelling mission statement.Amazon Promise does not have a specific mission statement.
However, its mission is simple; to provide medical care free of charge to the residents of Peru who are unable to access health care (Cousteau, 2009). 2.
Conduct a needs assessment with the staff and board.Amazon Promise recognizes that in order to fulfill its mission, volunteers serve as the backbone of their personnel in fulfilling its mission.
Each volunteer serves a vital role towards the fulfillment of the Amazon Promise mission (Cousteau, 2009). 3.
Create a climate of agency readiness for volunteers.
Amazon Promise mission needs dictate the needs for volunteers and as such volunteers are recognized as a resource and not a liability.
Amazon Promise has in place screening and supervision protocols for its volunteers to ensure that the volunteers understand their role in Amazon Promises mission and their ability in ensuring the successful accomplishment of the Amazon Promise mission.
Amazon Promise does not provide a budget for the management of the volunteer staff (Server, personnel communications, September 28, 2010). 4.
Develop written job descriptions for the volunteer positions.
The unique mission of Amazon Promise requires that each volunteer perform their specific volunteer duty, and that the volunteers not cross over into other job functions while they are deployed on a mission.
Amazon Promise has established a set of job descriptions that assist the volunteer in understanding their role on the Amazon Promise mission.
Server (personal communication, September 28, 2010) has described these job descriptions using the information from the Amazon Promise website as follows: Medical Volunteers: MD, PA, NP, RN, Med Students, etc. Medical volunteers provide the needed medical services, including consultations and performing minor procedures, at Amazon Promise clinics.
All members of the team work together to provide the best in patient care.
A Peruvian MD is on-site for consultation as well.
The most common health problems can be categorized into acute, chronic, and serious conditions.
They include: • Acute: gastritis, diarrhea, parasites, URI (all types), headaches, pneumonia, STDs, UTIs, skin diseases (tinea-all types, impetigo, cellulitis, viral-herpes/varicella, abscesses, scabies, lice), back pain, general body aches, seizures, dehydration, and Conjunctivitis (AP, 2010) • Chronic: asthma, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, anemia, pterygium, cataracts, malnourishment, depression, alcoholism, domestic abuse, dental disease (AP, 2010) • Serious: lacerations, snake bites, ray stings, catfish barbs, burns, untreated wounds, TB, incarcerated/strangulated hernias, HIV, severe dehydration, abscesses, obstetric complications, malaria, leishmaniasis, and dengue fever (AP, 2010). Medical Volunteers: Dentists, Dental Hygienists The population in which Amazon Promise serves consumes a high amount of sucrose, obtained either through candy, cola, or sugarcane they grow in their community.
Thus, dental care is in popular demand.
There is no electricity at the clinic sites, except for a generator in limited cases, and the majority of the work is oral surgery (i.e.
extractions) performed with a battery powered head light and emergency pathology (AP, 2010). Non-Medical Volunteers Volunteers without medical expertise provide essential support and services on every Promise Expedition.
Previous non-medical volunteers have assisted in pharmacy operations, patient registration, and initial triage obtaining the weight and height of children and adults.
Volunteers may also work in wound care, washing and dressing wounds, treating various skin problems that need attention, and shampooing or bathing infants and children.
All volunteers are given the appropriate training to assist with their tasks (AP, 2010). Recruiting Through Individual Contacts Perhaps the greatest recruitment resource Amazon Promise has is its current volunteer base (Server, personal communications, November 28, 2010).
Each volunteer has the opportunity to represent Amazon Promise in either a positive or negative context, and how they interpret their volunteer experience with Amazon Promise, will reflect in their interactions with friends and family upon their return home.
By working to ensure a as positive experience as possible during the volunteer experience, Amazon Promise is turning each volunteer into a potential Amazon Promise ambassador.
In his book Designs for Fund-Raising, Harold Seymour (1966) (as cited in Bradner, 1999) has put forward two fundamental factors for volunteer managers to consider: 1.
People fear strangers.
Or, as applied to this scenario, they fear the organization.
People have an inherit fear of the unknown, and Amazon Promise represents the unknown to the average person.
In comparison, the average person can describe the role of the Red Cross or Goodwill, and has far less fear of interacting with or donating to these organizations.
As such, each Amazon Promise volunteer has a chance to represent and be an advocate for the Amazon Promise mission. 2.
People want to belong to a worthwhile group.
Humans are collectively a social creature.
We have fundamental needs, as explained by many prominent behavioral theorists, to want to belong to an organization that promotes positive values and creates a sense of worth and belonging.
Amazon Promise can fulfill this human need by continuing to promote and develop its volunteers, even when they leave their volunteer experience. Recruiting Through Organizational Contacts Currently, Amazon Promise uses one internet database, "Go Abroad", for advertising for volunteers (Server, personal communication, September 26, 2010). 1.
Go Abroad- Provides a central database for volunteers to research and compare volunteer opportunities with their time and abilities. 324 East Oak Street Fort Collins, Colorado 80524 U.S.A.
Phone: 720.570.1702 Fax: 720.570.1703 http://www.goabroad.com/ Recommendation-As the following volunteer websites demonstrate, volunteers have the opportunity to research and use various databases for volunteering experiences.
It is recommended to Amazon Promise to "advertise" in more than one database.
These sites were not contacted to see if it cost to post on their websites.
If budget constraints do not allow this, then it is recommended that Amazon Promise rotate its posting through the various databases and then track the level of responses generated from each site possibly indicating a more effective database than what is currently being used. 2.
Health Care Volunteer- Provides a central database for volunteers to research and compare volunteer opportunities with their time and abilities. HealthCare Volunteer 595 Loyola Drive Los Altos, CA 94024 Email- health@healthcarevolunteer.com http://www.healthcarevolunteer.com/index.php 3.
International Health Volunteers- Provides a central database for volunteers to research and compare volunteer opportunities with their time and abilities. International Health Volunteers No physical address or phone number listed. Email- admin@internationalhealthvolunteers.org http://www.internationalhealthvolunteers.org 4.
International Medical Volunteers Association- Provides a central database for volunteers to research and compare volunteer opportunities with their time and abilities. International Medical Volunteers Association P.O.
Box 205, Woodville, MA.
01784, USA.
Tel.
508 435 7377 (USA), 508 HELPERS Fax.
508 497 9568 e-mail info@imva.org http://imva.org/ 5.
Global Volunteer Network Ltd.
- Provides a central database for volunteers to research and compare volunteer opportunities with their time and abilities. Global Volunteer Network Ltd.
PO Box 30-968 Lower Hutt New Zealand. Email- info@volunteer.org.nz http://www.globalvolunteernetwork.org/ 6.
American Medical Association- Provides a central database for volunteers to research and compare volunteer opportunities with their time and abilities. American Medical Association 515 N State Street Chicago, IL 60654-9200 (800) 262-2260 Email- jamacareercenter@ama-assn.org, http://www.jamacareercenter.com/ Recruiting Through Media Contacts Over the last two decades a host of nongovernment organizations have emerged promoting humanitarian aid to the economically challenged, conflict orientated and disaster prone countries of the world.
These organizations are all competing for the same financial and volunteer resources and are currently competing against one another in this arena.
As one NGO Director commented "When it all boils down, we're basically all trying to do the same thing.
But we are aware that we're all competing for the same dollar" Cottle & Nolan (2007).
Unlike many of the major nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations, Amazon Promise does not budget for, nor make use of any paid advertising other than website hosting (Server, personal communications, September 26, 2010).However, Amazon Promise is competing against the same organizations that do employ marketing mechanisms for the same volunteer and donor resources. Marketing strategies designed for nonprofit organizations are generally considered a foreign concept.
Furthermore marketing can take away needed funds from the organization's mission, administration and operating budgets.
Marketing strategies are centered and focused on for profit industries who are attempting to generate or develop market share for their goods and services in a competitive capitalistic environment.
For the nonprofit it does not compete with other nonprofits for its customer base, it competes with other nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations for its resources(Dann et al.
2006; Ellis, 2003) Amazon Promise has no advertising budget (Server, personal communications, September 28, 2010).
Instead it focuses on a philosophy that contrasts with major nonprofits that budget for their advertising.
Amazon Promise makes use of a grassroots methodology focusing on and relying on the volunteer experience.
Amazon Promise encourages its volunteers to share their experience with their local newspaper or other media source.
If the volunteer chooses to share their experience, as Dorothy McGrath did with the Fosters Daily Democrat in September 2010, then this free media coverage will generate positive publicity and good will within the local community and hopefully generate further curiosity by other interested parties. News organizations coverage; 1.
Cultural Survival, summer, 2004. http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/patricia-m-webster/bringing-western-health-care-peruvian-am 2.
CNN-Heroes.
March, 2008.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/18/cnnheroes.webster.peru/ 3.
Celine Cousteau.
November, 2008. http://celinecousteau.wordpress.com/2009/01/17/amazon-promise-medical-mission/ 4.
Angels in Medicine, February 5, 2009. http://www.medangel.org/amazprom/amazprom024.shtml 5.
Huffington Post, March 18, 2010. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/18/patty-webster-used-to-be_n_505232.html 6.
Fosters Daily Democrat.
September 8, 2010. http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100908/GJNEWS_01/709089872/-1/FOSLIFESTYLES10.
Recruiting with social media coverage Social networks emerged in 2003 and gain social prominence in 2005/2006, as a means for individuals to share a common interest with one another in an online format.
A variety of these social networks have emerged, some specializing in certain components of social networking and no doubt many more will emerge as business models change with time.
Some of the more popular social networks include: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Xing and UberMens, Photobucket, Twitter and YouTube, each targeting a specific user group.
Facebook is currently the standard of the social networks with the largest participatory body of users, which is estimated at around 500,000,000 individual users (Post, 2010). Currently, the ability of Facebook to generate revenues in the traditional manner of advertising is in question.
In a recent survey of business executives, 42 percent of the survey respondents reported no change in sales as a result of social media (Elliot, 2010).
However, what is not in question is the ability of Social Media to generate band awareness of a company.
Kellogg Company, maker of Pop Tarts, has developed a Facebook Page devoted to "Pop-Tarts", the site has attracted over 2.3 million fans, and an estimated 7,000 befriend the site a day.
Marc Pritchard, global marketing and chief branding officer for Proctor and Gamble describes the advent of social media as "that we are at the start of one of the most exciting eras in brand building history" (Elliot, 2010).
The reason is simple; everyone can participate (Post, 2010). Social marketing allows the users to develop and direct a specific market to the organizations target audience in a process referred to as benefit positioning.
Benefit positioning allows the organization to deliver thru various social networks a message of unique experience, and an opportunity to participate in a organization that provides a positive experience for the end user, and in turn the volunteer (Boehm, 2010).
This method provides the nonprofit an opportunity to expand its social network and an opportunity to develop social capital (Antoni, 2009). 1.
Facebook-As of this writing, 442 individuals have connected with and expressed an interest in the work and mission of Amazon Promise on Facebook.
With over 500 million users, Facebook represents the single number one source of recruitment, marketing, and fundraising opportunities for Amazon Promise with no cost to the organization other than personnel labor and commitment. As of this case study's publication the following entries and notes have been recorded on Amazon Promise's Facebook page; October 2010- 3 entries. September 2010- 3 entries. July 2010-1 entries. June 2010- 1 entries. March 2010- 12 entries. December 2009- 1 entries. 1 photo was posted in the photo albums section. 1 query of interest was posted by a Kris Melchert a potential volunteer in December 2009 who was requesting information on volunteering. To compare Amazon Promise's friend ratio to other nonprofit groups an informal survey was conducted of the following nonprofit group categories and the average number of friend's per group on Facebook was noted- Domestic Violence awareness- 1,509 friends on average. Humane Societies- 1,187 friends on average. Child Welfare- 1,143 friends on average. Literacy groups- 656 friends on average. Red Cross Chapters- 583 friends on average. Amazon Promise- 442 friends listed. Indigent healthcare- 226 friends on average. Food banks- 175 friends on average. 2.
You tube-Provides a venue from which Amazon Promise and its supporters can and do post video of their missions in Peru.
A total of 9 videos have been posted by persons who have an interest in Amazon Promise 1.
April, 2009- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9dlgcfI70E 2.
March, 2010- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJO5eiP76Y4 3.
March, 2009- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFD084MNT4o 4.
February, 2009- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeoqDyhNl9E 5.
February, 2010- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w6L6-khxvM 6.
October, 2008- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h-DNgZw4Cg 7.
October, 2008- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ-iEwA50iI 8.
May, 2009- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biMWkouAb2g 9.
August, 2009- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35wwTd7WsZM These videos have been viewed 3,145 times. 4 positive comments were posted by viewers of the videos. 1 person, Dr.
Tudor Marian posted a query asking for additional information on the activities of Amazon Promise Recommendation- There has been explosive growth of social networking through the various channels such as Facebook, You Tube and others.
And this trend of using social media as an inexpensive outlet for an organization for the foreseeable future, it is recommended that a volunteer be responsible for overseeing and expanding the connections thru Facebook.
This "Social Media Coordinator" would be responsible for the following functions. 1.
Expanding Amazon Promise presence through social alliances with other nonprofits and nongovernmental agencies who share a like presence in Peru. 2.
Expanding Amazon Promises presence through social alliances with other nonprofit and nongovernmental agencies who share a similar mission statement. 3.
Interaction with any person who queries on the Amazon Promise Facebook page requesting additional information or leaves a comment. 4.
Posting of missions to Peru, upcoming dates for the missions and the preparations in place. 5.
Posting of photographs of volunteers in action. See sample job description for Social Media Coordinator in appendix.
Limitations of motivation While studies have demonstrated that the positive effects of volunteering among participants include better physical health, improved well being and increased longevity and overall personal satisfaction(Pillemer, et.
al., 2009; Chacón, Vecina, & Davila, 2007).
Volunteers take part in a nonprofit organization not for tangible benefits, and the challenge to the manager of a nonprofit is how to continue to motivate those volunteers (Millette, Gagne, 2008).
There are components of volunteering that the volunteer manager needs to be aware of in regards to maintaining a strong and viable volunteer workforce.
Volunteering does not come without a cost, in fact when the volunteer does volunteer they are choosing one intangible experience over a tangible experience (MacNeela, 2008).
One area of concern is volunteer "burnout".
Currently defined as a period of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion brought on by exposure to high emotional demand.
"Burnout" while typically assigned to professional employees, who have lost interest in their work, can and is, being applied to the volunteer worker.
Multiple studies have been completed, identifying and discussing volunteer burnout, with the most common end result being the loss of the volunteer from the host organization(Pilar, Jime´nez, & Hidalgo, 2010).
This loss of volunteers has been found to be as high as 35 - 40% among first year volunteers (Chacón, Vecina, & Davila, 2007). Some researchers are beginning to look into in international volunteering and its effects on host communities.
While studies of volunteers who participate in international or tourism volunteering repeatedly show the participants volunteered for altruistic motives and there is no suspicion of the participant intentions (Rehberg, 2005; Ooi & Laing, 2009).
Recent research has begun to explore the negative aspects of volunteer tourism on the host country and communities and it has been argued that volunteer tourism can enforce "a form of neo-colonialism or imperialism" with respect to developing nations (Raymond & Hall, 2008). Legal liability and the impact on both the organization and the volunteer should be addressed.
While legal protections do exist in the form of some federal and state laws, such as the Federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997.
Within the professional positions, such as the medical profession, a concern over liability is a major issue among participants and must be addressed by the nonprofit organization(Sloane, et.
al., 2008). Furthermore, the economic recession that the United States is currently undergoing could have far ranging impacts on volunteer staff.
Recent studies have demonstrated a decline in volunteering among women and retirees, two groups of personnel who are generally known for donating their time and energy(Garland, Myers, & Wolfer 2008).
Application process Applicants are asked to submit an application to Amazon Promise for consideration to be on a medical mission.
This application includes the volunteer signing a hold harmless agreement and an understanding that they will be working in remote conditions (AP, 2010).
Volunteer Screening Volunteering with Amazon Promise in Peru poses a degree of risk to the volunteer.
Amazon Promise recognizes these risks, and as such has implemented the following measures to ensure that volunteers that participate are afforded a experience that is as risk free as possible.
Volunteers should be prepared to work in an area that lacks infrastructure and conveniences that the volunteer may be traditionally used to.
On some expeditions, volunteers should have experience with remote extended camping operations and way of life (AP, 2010) Video screening- Amazon Promise encourages volunteers to watch videos of its in country working conditions.
Not all potential volunteers want to work in an environment exposed to the types of conditions that Amazon Promise works in.
These videos, blogs and trip reports serve as the first level of orientation to Amazon Promise and as a potential filter to eliminate candidates who may not be the most suited for a Amazon Promise mission (AP, 2010). Medical Screening- Volunteers should be in good health.
Period.
Amazon Promise expeditions can involve traveling to highly remote locations involving airplane, helicopter, boat or canoe, and hiking to reach these remote locations.
The operational area of Amazon Promise does not have access to rapid governmental assistance in the event of an emergency evacuation is necessary.
Therefore, it is recommended that these participants be experienced in living in and operating in, areas of remoteness and be in sound physical condition to participate in such activity (AP, 2010). Professional screening- All medical professional volunteers are asked to provide copies of current licensure to Amazon Promise for screening by the Peruvian medical authorities.
The Peru authorities reserve the right to not allow any medical professional to participate with an Amazon Promise mission (AP, 2010). Recommendation-It is recommended that Amazon Promise screen medical volunteers for possible candidates who may not meet the operational needs of the organization through the following database: National Practitioner Data Bank Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank P.O.
Box 10832 Chantilly, VA 20153-0832 1-800-767-6732 (1-800-SOS-NPDB) http://www.npdb-hipdb.hrsa.gov/index.html In country orientation-Volunteers undergo an orientation once they arrive in Peru.
This orientation is to brief the volunteers on what they can expect during their volunteer experience, local customs, spiritual beliefs and way of life, and Amazon Promise policies for interaction with the client base (Server, personal communications, September 28, 2010).
Volunteer Retention Due to the unique mission of Amazon Promise, and the unique nature of the volunteers that participate with Amazon Promise creates a situation where not all volunteers may return and continue service with the organization.
These episodic "modern volunteers" who volunteer with Amazon Promise, can just as easily volunteer with any number of other organizations that perform a similar mission function in any other part of the world.
Amazon Promise recognizes that under these circumstances, they are unable to build a volunteer network base in size that is comparable to other nonprofits that are located stateside.
However, Amazon Promise has found that those who do commit become long term and devoted volunteers (Server, personal communications, November 08, 2010).
Risk Management Plan and Techniques Volunteer management and administration should be considered the profession that it represents.
It is suspected that most volunteer managers have assumed these management positions while not actually having experience in management of volunteers (Stepputat, 1995).
Under these conditions managers may not be aware of the first area of responsibility and perhaps the most vulnerable for risks, the volunteers.
Volunteers who function under the umbrella of Amazon Promise, while consensual workers and not compensated for their efforts, are still protected under certain federal statutes as would a paid employee who for a company.
The Fair Labors Standards Act and the Department of Labor has outlined specific regulations ensuring that the volunteer has within his or her rights certain protections (Eide, 1995).
In this volunteers need to be treated in such a manner as would any for profit organization would treat a paid employee. Volunteer liability is another area of concern and the actions or inactions of a volunteer can have legal ramifications to a organization (Quattrocki, 1995).
Amazon Promise has retained legal counsel in Peru and the United States to assist with any issues that may arise from their interactions with volunteers and clients (AP, 2010).
The development and implementation of Amazon Promise policies can serve as a method of reducing liability by defining clear responsibilities for volunteers and establishing boundaries (Graff, 2010). Poor volunteer relations can also resulting out of poor communications, misunderstandings, failure to understand directions and a host of other reasons.
For these reasons and others a volunteer audit can serve as a mechanism for discovering and eliminating those situations that are causing poor relations among the volunteer's of Amazon Promise (Macduff, 1999). Katherine Vargo (1995) has outlined five primary areas for an organization to focus on to effectively manage their operational risks.
Four of these methods are defined as the following and the current efforts underway by Amazon Promise to incorporate these are as follows: Avoidance- Avoidance is a risk management technique where an organization undertakes the deliberate effort of not engaging in activities that will put the organization at risk.
Amazon Promise incorporates this practice in the following manners: 1.
Client interaction by volunteers on the professional level is limited to the volunteer's skill set.
For example a volunteer dentist does not perform medical procedures. 2.
Amazon Promise recognizes it's limitations on delivering medical care.
Clients who seek medical assistance by Amazon Promise personnel and whose injuries and/or illness exceed the capabilities of Amazon Promise will be evacuated by Amazon Promise personnel to a regional medical facility. 3.
Recognizing the Amazon can be a dangerous place to work, Amazon Promise has developed protocols for volunteers to adhere to before reporting to an assignment.
These protocols include screening of volunteers for suitability, immunizations of volunteers to limit contractions with disease, and requiring volunteers to adhere to the team leader while operating under the Amazon Promise umbrella (AP, 2010) Recommendation- Amazon Promise could screen medical volunteers for potential professional problems with the following database before accepting and deploying them to Peru. National Practitioner Data Bank Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank P.O.
Box 10832 Chantilly, VA 20153-0832 1-800-767-6732 (1-800-SOS-NPDB) http://www.npdb-hipdb.hrsa.gov/index.html Noninsurance Transfers- Noninsurance transfers is a risk management technique where an organization undertakes the deliberate transference of risk.
Amazon Promise seeks to limit its liability exposure to risk through several methods. 1.
As a provider of adventure tourism, Amazon Promise limits its liability exposure by having the volunteer participant's review and sign hold-harmless agreements, releasing Amazon Promise from liability in the event of volunteer accident. 2.
As a provider of medical care, Amazon Promise limits its liability exposure by having professionals operate only within their sphere of influence.
Medical interns are supervised by a Peruvian doctor during their deployment and interaction with patients (AP, 2010) Loss Control- Loss Control is a risk management technique where an organization seeks to limit its loss of physical goods and injury to participants.
Amazon Promise seeks to limit its losses on personnel and material goods by the following methods. 1.
Amazon Promise contracts with local security companies to provide security personnel while it operates the clinic in Belen, Peru to provide personal and physical security to the team. 2.
Amazon Promise requires its volunteer to be fully aware of the inherit risk of volunteering in remote wilderness conditions and requires its participants to consult with a physician and have the appropriate tropical vaccinations. 3.
Volunteers are briefed on arrival regarding operational standards, codes of conduct, tribal practices and risks within the operational zone (AP, 2010). Insurance- Serves as the last line of defense in organizations efforts to protect itself from an unexpected loss or catastrophic event.
The following insurances are available on the commercial market and are recommended to nonprofit organizations for their consideration. 1.
Property Damage Control 2.
Commercial General Liability 3.
Vehicle Insurance 4.
Umbrella or Excess Liability Insurance 5.
Workers Compensation 6.
Commercial Crime Insurance 7.
Directors and Officers Liability Insurance 8.
Professional Liability Insurance 9.
Volunteer Liability Insurance 10.
Volunteer Accident and Injury Coverage 11.
Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Of these insurance, Amazon Promise carries liability insurance in the United States.
Server (personal communications, December 1, 2010) Retention- Retention is when an organization assumes the risk for loss within its operating parameters and chooses not to insure against a risk. 1.
Amazon Promise has done this with the temporary clinic in Belen, Peru (Server, personal communications, December 1, 2010). Conclusion What has been accomplished by Patty Webster and her volunteers that make up Amazon Promise is nothing short of amazing.
Operating on a shoe string budget, Amazon Promise has brought medical care to a people that have all but been ignored by the Peruvian authorities.
The efforts by Amazon Promise have brought relief from suffering, improved the health and in many cases, saved lives.
The numbers of people seen by Amazon Promise's volunteers on the medical mission's number not in the hundreds, or thousands but in the tens of thousands.
This is truly a miracle in the jungle. However, for Amazon Promise to reach the next level fundamental changes must be undertaken in the administrative aspects of the organization.
Amazon Promise needs to develop a professional cadre which can step in and take over the administrative functions that are currently being handled by volunteers.
This professional cadre needs to be able to draw a salary, so that it becomes their regular job and their primary focus Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.
During the research for this study when I compared Amazon Promise with other nonprofits that have a professional staff, the differences found in organizational growth among other younger nonprofits were profound. This is not to say the Amazon Promise volunteers are not working hard and doing their best.
However, they are volunteers, and as such, they have to split their precious time between their regular jobs, their families, their personal lives and then at last, Amazon Promise.
Under these circumstances, Amazon Promise will always be the volunteer's secondary effort, while Patty Webster makes it her first effort. Patty Webster and Amazon Promise volunteers have already completed the hard work.
The relationships in Peru are established.
The relationships with volunteers have been established.
The organization has developed national media exposure and with it public scrutiny, and has passed the test with flying colors.
The future for Amazon Promise looks promising, and I am appreciative of them for allowing me to be a part of their organization and to help in a small way. Thanks again! Eric J.
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New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc Appendix Figure 1 and figure 2, Donation trends and totals.
Donation Year Amount Increase from Prior Year 2004 $ 4,300.00 2005 $ 34,904.00 711% 2006 $ 86,018.00 146% 2007 $ 131,844.00 53% 2008 $ 147,821.00 12% Figure 3, Risk Management plan and options. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis StrengthsRisk Level LowRisk Level MediumRisk Level High Options Operating for extended period of time.
LOW RISK No Change.
Established local support network.
LOW RISK No Change.
Developing market for adventure volunteerism.
LOW RISK Diversify advertising.
Developing nonprofit exposure.
LOW RISK Diversify advertising. Weaknesses Declining donations. MEDIUM RISK Diversify support base.
Full time staff. MEDIUM RISK Hire staff.
Fund raising. MEDIUM RISK Hire staff.
Management staff not compensated. MEDIUM RISK Staff salary's Physical dangers present in operating area. HIGH RISK Continue with present safety measures. Opportunities Growing brand awareness.
LOW RISK Continue to draw attention to AP.
Unlimited needs of Peru people. MEDIUM RISK Focus on core customer base.
Develop social media networking.
LOW RISK Expand Facebook interaction.
Are there any new customer needs that need to be met? MEDIUM RISK Focus on core customer base. Threats Damage to Belen Clinic. HIGH RISK Insure against loss.
Injury to client. HIGH RISK Insure against loss.
Injury to volunteer. HIGH RISK Insure against loss.
Decline in volunteer support. HIGH RISK Diversify volunteer base.
Government interference.
LOW RISK Continue to work with locals.
Loss of key personnel HIGH RISK Develop replacement leader.
Fraud and theft of AP funds LOW RISK Use layers of financial oversight. Social Media Coordinator Job Profile and Description As a large number of youth spend time in the social networking sites nowadays, companies understand the potential of this field and use this platform as an effective marketing tool.
The social media coordinator must have a sustained and regular presence in social media sites and make effective strategies to promote his company's products and services. Duties and Responsibilities A social media coordinator must launch and manage social media presence on sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter etc He/she should be able to work across departments to ensure proper messaging is being executed online that will help reach the company objectives He/she has to support and protect brand by making sure that positive messaging is maintained in community and establish consistency of messages He/she has to manage online discussions by listening to what the users are saying, reading discussion forums, and responding in a timely manner to the users' needs He/she has to regularly monitor and track discussion topics for the management team He/she must prepare reports to update internal staff on usage statistics Skills and Specifications A social media director needs to have excellent communications skills, both verbal and written He/she should know about different social media space and use different consumer statistics to his advantage He/she should be a regular member of social media sites, blogs, twitter etc He/she should good analytical and networking skills He/she must be experienced in online marketing, advertising and public relations strategies The candidate must be able to work in a fast-paced environment and must have good leadership quality Education and Qualifications However, for the purposes of Amazon Promise this may not be needed.
A coordinator should specialize in sales and marketing and needs to have active knowledge of social media websites in order to use it effectively.
Source http://www.samplejobdescriptions.org/ Volunteer Manager Job Description General Job Description: Primary: The Volunteer Manager supervises volunteers and provides direction, coordination, and consultation for all volunteer functions within the Amazon Promise. Secondary: The position manages the Volunteer Office while working in an unstructured environment with numerous interruptions throughout the day. Job Duties and Responsibilities (Other duties may be assigned as appropriate.) • Develop, promote, and maintain a wide range of volunteer opportunities within the organization. • Survey staff regularly to assess needs for volunteer assistance. • Develop and manage volunteer policies, procedures, and standards of volunteer service. • Organize and participate in volunteer recognition programs and special events • Evaluate all aspects of volunteer programs to ensure effectiveness and to recommend/implement changes as appropriate. • Maintain accurate records and provide timely statistical and activity reports on volunteer participation. • Recruit, interview and place applicants for volunteer work. • Host and attend recruiting events within the community to attract qualified candidates. • Work with Marketing and Public Relations and professional associations to publicize opportunities for volunteers. • Develop and maintain relationships with other volunteer organizations within the area. • Provide ongoing support and guidance for volunteers. • Act as a single point of contact for communications. • Confer with volunteers to resolve grievances and promote cooperation and interest. • Create and distribute various communications and publications. • Author monthly newsletter. • Facilitate distribution of information relevant to volunteers. • Volunteer Manager Job Description cont. • Author written communications such as letters, Amazon Promise practices, instructions, or other media, as appropriate. Qualifications To be successful, an individual must be able to perform each job duty satisfactorily. Education and Experience • Possess a (level of education) have job-related experience, such as managing volunteer programs, leading teams and/or organizations. • Knowledge of management principles and evaluation techniques related to programs that involve a cadre of volunteers. Skills Proficient in basic computer applications, such as word processing, spreadsheets, and internet usage, record keeping skills (for admissions and marketing) organization and planning skills. Capabilities • Demonstrated capability to conduct one's self in a calm and professional demeanor when dealing with the public and/or with difficult situations. • Demonstrated capability to effectively communicate orally and in writing. • Ability to work well with a diverse group of staff and volunteers. • Willingness to adjust hours to accommodate the needs of the job. • Ability to effectively manage a wide array of tasks, projects, and responsibilities. • Ability to work productively in an unstructured environment with frequent interruptions. •
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