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Volunteer Management Audit
Susan J. Ellis

This material will help you:

• Evaluate the volunteer management infrastructure in your organization

• Educate executives and staff about the complexity of volunteer program leadership

• Engage program stakeholders in talking about volunteer management

The Volunteer Management Audit is a unique tool for analyzing the effectiveness of an organization’s approach to and procedures for involving volunteers.  It’s designed to be administered by a team of staff and volunteers.  The Audit provides a step-by-step guide to planning, conducting, and following-up the assessment process, with complete Scoresheets and instructions. 

Originally published by the United Way of America in 1992 (it’s been out of print for more than a year), this 2003 edition is fully revised and updated to reflect the changes of the past decade.

The Volunteer Management Audit is applicable to any type of agency seeking to assess whether its volunteer management practices are up to the most effective standards. Its value lies in the recommendations made as a result of the Audit process and in any actions taken subsequently. It is above all a discussion starter, focusing attention on issues affecting volunteers.

The book provides everything needed to conduct the Audit, including:

• Complete instructions for every phase of the process.

• Suggestions for winning the support of agency executives for examining volunteer management.

• Full Scoresheets for either a complete or an abbreviated version of the Audit (price includes permission to make as many copies as necessary for one organization’s use).

• Analysis and strategy planning questions.

Single-user Purchase for use by one local organization: $20.00
Permits printing and copying of Audit Scoresheets and handouts as necessary for in-house use only.

Administrator’s License for a Volunteer Center, technical assistance organization, or private consultants/trainers: $125.00  Email for details.

Readers' Reviews 
"... a good way to find out your strengths and weaknesses, decide on priorities, and help you write policy/philosophy statements about your beliefs in volunteers."
--Pearl Bouchard, volunteer manager for an Elderly Nutrition Program in North Central Idaho

Brief Excerpt 

You can involve quite a number of people in the process at different stages. This is important for several reasons. First, it assures that you are getting input from many perspectives and therefore validates the findings of the Audit. Second, everyone who participates will feel some ownership of the outcome, which is vital to making necessary changes identified through the Audit.

A small group of volunteers and paid staff should be involved with you all the way through the Audit. In a small organization, this will be the “Audit Team” doing all the activities described here. In a larger organization, these people will work with you to plan and implement the whole process, but other representatives of the constituents listed above can be invited to help with various parts of the Audit. Each of the Phases requires either a group meeting, an assessment team, or a planning committee (all described in the next chapters). Think about how asking for input from many people also gives you the chance to educate everyone about volunteer management principles.  

Volunteer Management Audit