The following post was written by Issela Sono, former Nonprofit Management and Governance Intern at the Standards for Excellence Institute^®. Issela has volunteered in various nonprofit organizations in the Maryland and Washington, DC area while pursuing her undergraduate studies in Global Business and Public Policy. Issela is certified in Nonprofit Management from Duke University and is currently pursuing a M.B.A., with a concentration in Public Management, at Hood College. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report on Volunteering in the United States, 2014, approximately 62.8 million people volunteered through or for a charitable organization between September 2013 and September 2014. Each individual provided a median of 50 hours of volunteering. This equates to an astounding median 3.14 billion hours of unpaid work (excluding expenses) devoted to the work of charitable organizations during the year. Volunteers make a tremendous impact in helping nonprofit organizations achieve their missions. When their passion for your organization’s mission is combined with strong volunteer practices, the benefits are maximized for both parties. For instance, a nonprofit’s investment in strong processes for assessment and assignment for responsibilities that match volunteer interests and your nonprofit’s needs is vital. In addition, being dedicated to strong and appropriate volunteer supervision, training and evaluation help to ensure volunteer satisfaction and managerial effectiveness. The new released version of the Standards for Excellence code cites the importance of volunteer management: “An organization’s human resource policies should address both paid employees and volunteers and should be fair, establish clear expectations, and provide meaningful and effective performance evaluation.” In an effort to help nonprofits appropriately account for volunteer work within their organizations and to effectively and efficiently manage volunteers and their impact, our revised educational resource packet on Volunteer Policies (part of the Leadership section of the Standards for Excellence code) provides a discussion on topics that include the following areas: Volunteer Policies

• Benefits of volunteer policies
• Developing volunteer policies
• Preparing for incorporation of volunteers into an organization’s efforts
• Initial assessment or screening of volunteers for appropriate work responsibilities
• Ongoing supervision, training, and evaluation of volunteers
• Recognition and opportunities for advancement
• Featured attachments: Model Volunteer Program Policies and Procedures, Position Description for Volunteer Coordinator, Sample Volunteer Policies

As is the case with all our updated educational resource packets, the documents include sample policies, procedures, and other materials that will guide your organization through the process of developing and implementing essential policies for your nonprofit. The new educational resource packets are available, free of charge, to all our Standards for Excellence Institute members and can be accessed at this link:http://www.standardsforexcellenceinstitute.org/dnn/Education/Resources.aspx If you are not a member yet, sign up now to have full access to these educational materials and many more!