Retain
Retain
Retaining volunteers is an often overlooked part of a successful volunteer program. Taking the time to create strategies that help retain volunteers will save you time and money in the long run. It is typically easier to retain a good volunteer than to recruit, re-train and place a new one. Plus, taking the time to invest in your volunteers will help them become more engaged and involved with your mission.
On this page you will find helpful tips, relevant articles, resources, and documents related to retaining volunteers. If you have any resources, best practices or templates you would like to share please contact Heather MacDonald, Volunteer and Community Engagement Director, via email at heather@uw.org or 801.736.7715.
Tips
Tools
The toolkits below include forms, templates and instructions from other volunteer organizations across the country. These examples could help your organization to create and implement an effective volunteer retention strategy. Please respect any copyrights and contact the organization for permission to edit any of the documents.
- Washington Reading Corps: Toolkit: Module 5 – Volunteer Recruitment and Management. Chapter 3 specifically outlines volunteer retention strategies.
- Serve Montana's Volunteer Management: Toolkit allows you to view the section on Recognition and Retention or to access other sections and templates.
- Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA): The CASA requires volunteers to commit to a 30-hour pre-service training and complete the case they are assigned to which typically lasts about a year and a half on average. Their Retaining Volunteers page contains resources that help their programs retain high-quality volunteers.
Links and Articles on Retention
Action Tips for Volunteer Retention
Energ!ze Inc. Volunteer Retention Articles
