Responding to COVID-19: Actionable Steps for Volunteer Managers

In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, communities are looking toward social service organizations for support. So how are Volunteer Managers keeping themselves and their volunteers safe while responding to the persisting needs of their communities? Here are actionable recommendations (plus additional resources) to help Volunteer Managers respond effectively to the COVID-19 outbreak: 

Decide How to Respond

Is your volunteer program prepared to respond to community needs during the COVID-19 outbreak? Take a moment to think about how your volunteer program will respond and the resources available to you to carry out this response: 

Questions to ask yourself and your team:

• Have our goals changed (i.e. fundraising, volunteer recruitment, crisis response etc.)? 
• What core services must remain in place despite the outbreak?
• Have we been assigned additional responsibilities by our state or local government, or our board?
• Do we have the resources (i.e. funds, skills, volunteer power, equipment) to respond effectively?
• Do we have the capacity to safely take on new volunteers at this time? 
• Can we structure our volunteer needs in a way that achieves social distancing?
• With all of this in mind, is our program prepared to respond to COVID-19?

Read more here.