More Tips for Volunteer Retention

6. Recognition activities, such as award ceremonies, for volunteers.

7. Annual measurement of the impact of volunteers.

8. Training and professional development opportunities for volunteers.

9. Training for paid staff in working with volunteers.

Of these nine, the report states that the practices most critical to increased volunteer retention are recognition of volunteers, training and professional development, and screening of volunteers to best match them with organizational needs. These practices, along with an investment of adequate resources to support volunteers, fostering a culture that welcomes them and using existing volunteers to recruit new volunteers can help organizations increase volunteer retention.