September 2024 - NXUnite by Nexus Marketing

A Guide to Children’s Ministry Volunteer Training Programs

As a children’s ministry leader, you know that volunteers are the backbone of your program’s environment. They lead fun activities, build relationships with the kids, and ultimately take charge of the hands-on tasks needed to run your ministry.

But it isn’t simply enough to recruit volunteers and thank them when their work is done; it’s your responsibility to equip them for this essential role with the training and resources they need to excel.

A dedicated volunteer training program supports the spiritual growth of the kids in your ministry and the volunteers who serve them. In this guide, we’ll explore the importance of volunteer training and how to start an effective program for your volunteer team.

Importance of a Training Program for Volunteers

It’s no mystery that volunteers need some background information before they start serving your children’s ministry. For instance, what roles will volunteers fill? What teaching materials can they use, and how should they answer kids’ questions about the content?

While it may seem like these questions could be answered in a quick orientation session or a new volunteer handbook, a dedicated training program offers consistent and comprehensive instruction for all volunteers. As a result, your volunteer team will gain:

Coaching: As Wonder Ink explains, your children’s church curriculum should offer user-friendly tools to prepare volunteers for upcoming lessons. A training program standardizes coaching for logistics such as this, including how to use teaching tools.
Community: Training alongside other volunteers and under the guidance of your ministry’s leaders will cultivate a supportive culture. Plus, volunteers will gain more from the experience when they find community in your ministry.
Confidence: In a structured program, volunteers can learn to exercise authority and become more comfortable in their roles. This will give them the confidence needed to handle any situation that comes their way.

Plus, a dedicated program provides fundamental training that applies to various ministry activities. Whether you’re kicking off vacation Bible school or hosting a fundraiser, volunteers will be prepared to work with the kids in your program and represent your children’s ministry well.

How to Start a Children’s Ministry Volunteer Training Program

Follow these steps to create a solid volunteer training program for your children’s ministry.

1. Develop a training plan.

First and foremost, you’ll need to define your training program’s goals. What is most important for your volunteers to learn, and how will you teach them?

Here are some key elements your training plan should include:

Details about the curriculum: Familiarize volunteers with your curriculum’s scope to ensure they understand the core values being taught and the schedule your teaching will follow.
Volunteer responsibilities: Your training program will center on volunteers’ specific responsibilities. Identify your ministry’s expectations for these roles and plan to provide tips on how to meet these expectations.
Your ministry’s mission: Ensure volunteers align with your ministry’s overall mission by discussing your vision, statement of belief, and any other key background information. If your ministry has a website, you can use your About page as a guide for choosing the most important information to highlight.

Once you’ve determined which objectives are top priorities for your training program, break it down into structured modules covering essential topics. For example, you may plan for one training day to cover the curriculum’s basics, while a few days are needed to explain age-appropriate teaching methods.

2. Recruit experienced trainers.

Next, select experienced individuals in your church or ministry to train incoming volunteers. These could include individuals with lengthy experience volunteering for your ministry or leaders who understand your ministry’s needs.

Also, consider recruiting trainers who specialize in different aspects of your ministry. For example, one trainer may have been involved in choosing your curriculum. This individual would be best equipped to help volunteers navigate the curriculum and its features, while another trainer with counseling experience might be able to teach conflict resolution.

3. Host a new volunteer orientation day.

Once you’ve created a team of experienced trainers, it’s time to start the training process! Host an orientation session that covers the top priorities you defined in your training plan, including your ministry’s mission, curriculum’s scope, and specific volunteer responsibilities.

To guarantee a positive experience and encourage volunteers to come back, eCardWidget recommends following up after the orientation session with a library of training resources, such as:

Mentoring
Roleplaying activities
Interactive quizzes
Q&A sessions

Remember to make these resources accessible to volunteers throughout their time serving your ministry in case they forget anything that was discussed in training. For example, periodic Q&A sessions can help refresh volunteers’ memories of teaching techniques they should employ.

4. Evaluate and improve the program.

Your training program shouldn’t end once volunteers start their roles in your ministry. In fact, you can take significant strides toward an improved training program after volunteer training is complete!

Gather feedback to evaluate what your training program did well and where it could improve. As you collect this data, you’ll be able to make adjustments to your training program accordingly. You can encourage volunteers to provide their feedback through:

Surveys
One-on-one discussions with trainers
Group meetings

For example, did volunteers feel adequately prepared to teach the lessons from your curriculum? Did their values align with the lessons they taught? You may need to adjust your training program to better prepare volunteers for your curriculum’s content. Or, perhaps you need to search for a children’s Bible curriculum that more fully reflects the theological values of your ministry.

Make adjustments according to your volunteers’ feedback to encourage them to continue volunteering and improve the experience for future volunteers.

A dedicated training program is necessary to set your children’s ministry volunteers up for success. It’s the key to going beyond simply recruiting volunteers and assigning tasks—a training program allows you to cultivate relationships with like-minded believers who will have a significant impact on the kids in your ministry. Take the time to develop a program that will equip them for this role and encourage them to stay connected with your ministry in the long run.

The title of the article: Nonprofit Catalog: Volunteer Time Off (VTO).

Volunteer Time Off (VTO) – Nonprofit Catalog

30% of volunteers state that one of the main reasons they volunteer is because they have the time available to do so. Conversely, 49% of individuals state that their work commitments are their biggest obstacle to volunteering.

Fortunately, some of your volunteers make time to volunteer with volunteer time off (VTO). VTO helps nonprofits earn more volunteers, meaning more hands available to run your programs, raise funds, and spread awareness of your cause.

To get your nonprofit up to speed on VTO, this quick guide will go over how VTO works, how it helps nonprofits, and what your organization can do to leverage these programs.

What is volunteer time off?

Volunteer time off is a benefit some companies offer their employees where they can take paid time off to volunteer. This is different from voluntary time off, which is when a company allows employees to take unpaid time off but remain employed.

A venn diagram showing the differences and similarities between volunteer time off and voluntary time off.

VTO is widespread, and many top companies offer some form of program where employees can request time off to volunteer. The majority of these companies offer employees between two and three VTO days per year, though some businesses offer as much as two weeks.

What are the benefits of volunteer time off?

Here’s how VTO programs benefit everyone involved:

Companies offer VTO as a business decision. When employees take time off to volunteer, they’ll be more engaged, think of their employer as socially responsible, and feel increased loyalty to their employer. Plus, having their employees volunteer in the local community can improve the business’s reputation.
Nonprofits earn extra volunteers from VTO programs. After all, if supporters have time off specifically to volunteer, then they are more likely to volunteer. Nonprofits can also earn highly skilled volunteers from professional and specialized companies that provide VTO.
Employees get extra days off and the freedom to support the causes they care about. As such, VTO can be a major draw for job candidates looking for socially conscious workplaces.

While everyone benefits from VTO, these programs are underused. This is why it falls on nonprofits to make their supporters aware of VTO, create positive volunteer experiences that encourage supporters to spend their VTO with their organization, and show appreciation for all volunteers.

Common Volunteer Time Off Guidelines

Different companies have varying VTO policies, and employee volunteers should check in with their employers to ensure they follow the right procedures for requesting VTO. That being said, most VTO programs focus their guidelines on the following criteria:

Employee status. Some companies only offer VTO to specific employees. For example, a multinational department store chain might provide VTO for its executive employees but not its retail workers. Or, a company might provide VTO to full-time but not part-time employees.
Hours accrued. How employees earn VTO hours differs across companies. For example, one business might provide a set amount of VTO hours at the beginning of its fiscal year, whereas another might have employees accrue hours throughout the year. Additionally, some businesses may allow unused VTO hours to roll over from the previous year, whereas others may operate on a “use-it-or-lose-it” basis.
Nonprofit eligibility. To prevent employees from misusing VTO on activities that should be covered by regular PTO, businesses often specify what types of nonprofits and activities are eligible. Commonly, most types of nonprofits, excluding political and religious organizations, are valid.

Let’s look at a breakdown of a sample VTO request form:

An example volunteer time off request form that asks for information about the employee and nonprofit.

VTO requests are like regular PTO requests with one key exception: some companies may require employees to provide details about your nonprofit. Most information will be fairly straightforward, such as your nonprofit’s name and address. However, some companies might request the volunteer supervisor’s contact information or details about the activities the employee will perform.

How to Educate Supporters About Volunteer Time Off

VTO programs are increasing in popularity. Around 65% of companies offer paid volunteer time off. However, the average participation rate is only 33%. This means there’s a good chance your nonprofit has several supporters who are eligible for VTO but aren’t taking advantage of this benefit.

You can earn more volunteers for your cause by promoting VTO to your supporters. A few ways you can spread the word include:

Add information to your volunteer page. On your volunteer page, add information about the different ways supporters can volunteer or supplement their volunteer efforts. This might include information about volunteer grants, team volunteering, and VTO.
Include details in your regular messaging. If your nonprofit regularly posts on social media, sends an email newsletter, or updates its blog, consider creating content about VTO. For example, you might highlight a story about a supporter who made a difference by using their VTO, share research on unclaimed VTO, or call for volunteers and mention VTO.
Invest in a corporate giving database. You can help your volunteers discover if they’re eligible for VTO by investing in a searchable corporate giving database. Since every VTO program is different, corporate giving databases compile company data on various employee giving and volunteer programs into one place. Your supporters can then enter their employers’ names to see what corporate giving programs they qualify for and how to apply for them.

Additionally, be sure to educate your volunteer managers on VTO. This way they can answer supporters’ questions and encourage them to look into VTO, earning your organization more dedicated volunteers.

More Volunteering Resources

Nonprofit Catalog – Read up on more nonprofit essentials by exploring our Nonprofit Catalog.

Volunteer Grants: Get More Out of Your Volunteer Program – Volunteer grant programs are another corporate volunteerism program that benefits nonprofits. Learn how to tap into these opportunities and generate revenue from your volunteer program.

Employee Volunteer Incentive Programs: Get Your Team Active – Some companies offer programs to incentivize their employees to volunteer. Discover common volunteer incentives and what these mean for nonprofits.

How to Streamline Hiring with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere these days—and for good reason. Many believe it to be the future of all technology-based operations and activities.

For nonprofits, this is great news. Many such organizations struggle with managing workflow and allocating resources efficiently, especially when it comes to recruiting new talent (which is already an overshadowed area of nonprofit management).

Leveraged correctly, however, hiring software with AI-powered features can change your hiring process for the better. In this guide, we’ll review different ways to integrate AI into your workflows so you can secure the right talent to achieve your mission.

1. Automate routine tasks.

Perhaps the greatest use of AI for nonprofits is to streamline or eliminate mundane tasks entirely. According to Jobvite, here are some areas of hiring that AI can take care of:

Candidate communication. Individually notifying each applicant that their application was submitted successfully, they advanced to the next phase, or you made a hiring decision can be cumbersome. However, AI can send out messages when certain conditions are met or triggered so nothing ever slips through the cracks.
Interview scheduling. Between your programs and your applicants’ busy schedules, it can be challenging to find a mutually beneficial time for you both to meet. However, AI can instantly find the best open slots for both applicants and your hiring team—simply ask your applicants to provide their availability and it’ll fill in the gaps.
Manage candidate profiles. AI can quickly and easily organize important candidate data, such as demographics and certifications, into digital profiles in your database. This way, you can easily access the information you need without manually creating and updating each profile.

These are just a few of the possible ways AI can help your organization advance your hiring process. To learn even more about functionalities for specific software solutions, schedule demos, reach out to product experts, and read unbiased third-party reviews.

2. Enhance resume screening.

A foundational part of the hiring process is reviewing each candidate’s resume. This helps you make educated decisions about who might be a good fit and who likely isn’t. However, poring over resumes, while important, can be time-consuming and inaccurate—but AI can streamline and improve the process. It can do this by:

Blocking hiring bias. Companies are increasingly prioritizing hiring people of diverse backgrounds to improve innovation and unlock new perspectives. However, identifying factors can trigger hiring professionals’ implicit biases and prevent diverse hiring decisions. AI can remove these identifying factors for you so your team is presented with what matters most: a candidate’s skills, experiences, and ideas.
Creating talent pools. Your hiring team might be faced with a tough decision to let a qualified candidate go because they aren’t the right fit for your needs at this time. However, AI can help you maintain that connection in case they become a better fit down the line with talent pools. These are databases of candidates that you can filter by qualifications, experience, and other categories—and when the time comes, AI can pinpoint the best people to engage with.
Eliminating unqualified candidates. If there are any must-have qualifications for your role posting, AI can identify exactly which candidates can be in the running. For instance, let’s say you’re a nonprofit professional looking for a new fundraising coordinator with at least five years of experience. AI can comb through all resumes provided and present you with only the most qualified options.

For resume screening to function at its full potential, you’ll need to ensure your AI-powered software is fed the right data. NXUnite suggests incorporating various data hygiene standards into your workflow, such as standardizing data entry and disregarding irrelevant data that can bog down your software.

3. Matching candidates.

A challenge talent acquisition specialists might face is ensuring candidates are the best match for certain roles. After all, matching the right applicants with the right roles is key for reducing turnover rates and the cost of hiring.

AI can help by providing razor-sharp insights about who would be best suited for each open role based on qualitative and quantitative data. If you have multiple roles open, AI can suggest moving candidates to different talent pools that are more relevant to their traits. Let’s look at a hypothetical example from the perspective of a nonprofit hiring professional:

The hypothetical nonprofit is looking for a new fundraising manager with at least five years of experience in the nonprofit world and two years of experience fundraising.
Down the line, the nonprofit wants to hire an in-house marketing coordinator for its fundraising initiatives.
An applicant with a degree in marketing applies for the fundraising role. Their experience is tangentially related to fundraising via creating fundraising campaign marketing materials.
AI reads this candidate’s resume and automatically determines that they’d be a better fit for the marketing role, not the fundraising role.

It’s important to remember that this process still requires human oversight in case there are further nuances to your hiring approach that AI doesn’t know. However, AI can at least provide suggestions for which people to move to different talent pools.

4. Scoring candidates at the end of the process

Remember, talent acquisition is never black and white—rather, it’s a strategic process that requires long-term planning and relationship building. However, using an objective scoring system at the end of your hiring process can give you quantitative data to rely on. You might include the following qualifications in your scoring rubric:

Does the candidate have certain qualifications?
Does the candidate have the relevant type and extent of experience?
Has the candidate performed well in interviews?
Does the candidate have any recommendations from respected industry professionals?
Does this candidate mesh well with other employees, and do we expect them to contribute to our employee engagement initiatives?

AI can help come up with the credentials and score candidates accordingly. All you need to do is configure your hiring software appropriately, work with your team to pinpoint the most relevant criteria, and stay on top of updating the information.

Paying attention to these essentials early in the hiring cycle helps you find the best candidates for your organization, improving long-term employee retention in stride. Ensure that you’re keeping tabs on AI advancements throughout this process—there are new updates to consider every day.