Research and Evidence Webinar Series:

February 10, 2022

Creating Successful Volunteering and National 

Service Opportunities: Best Practices and Benefits

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Welcome!

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Welcome and Introduction

Creating Successful Volunteering and National Service 

Opportunities: Best Practices and Benefits

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Mary Hyde, Ph.D.

Director, Office of Research and Evaluation

AmeriCorps
Speaker

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Mark Hager, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, School of Community 

Resources and Development

Arizona State University

Mar-21 |

Creating Successful Volunteering and National Service 

Opportunities: Best Practices and Benefits
Slouching Toward Volunteer 

Management Capacity

Mark Hager

Arizona State University

AmeriCorps Webinar 

February 10, 2022
Volunteering is a Social Contract

• People have lots of options for how to spend their 

time. Netflix is a top option.

• Some folks want to volunteer in community 

organizations! 

• If organizations do not make good use of their time, 

volunteers walk away.

• The quality of the volunteer program and the quality 

of volunteer engagement with mission determines 

how volunteers see their experience.
Volunteer Administration: Real Work!

• Interface with staff to define volunteer roles

• Craft policies and position descriptions

• Project an inviting volunteer work environment

• Regularly recruit prospective volunteers

• Interview and screen for good matches

• Connect volunteers with appropriate staff

• Facilitate training of volunteers

• Train staff in working with volunteers

• Ensure proper supervision of volunteers

• Facilitate regular communication with volunteers

• Collect relevant assessment information

• Organize appropriate recognition of volunteer work

• Communicate value of volunteers to stakeholders
What do we know about 

volunteer management capacity?

• 2003 Volunteer Management Capacity 

(VMC) Study, funded by AmeriCorps 

and the UPS Foundation

http://webarchive.urban.org/publications/410963.html

• 2018-2019 VMC-2 Study, funded by 

AmeriCorps

https://volunteeralive.org/volunteer_management_capacity.php
Professor Jeff Brudney
The advent of the episodic volunteer
Professional volunteer resource

managers are a distinct minority
Most nonprofits have a problem

recruiting volunteers
Are recruitment and placement 

practices in place?
Are volunteer support 

practices in place?
Are communication 

practices in place?
Are assessment

practices in place?
Connecting Dots

• Volunteerism is a primary way that 

citizens engage their communities. 

People need engagement. 

Organizations need engagers.

• Social contracts to engage don’t 

happen without real work. 

Organizations must invest in VMC if 

they want returns from their 

volunteers.
Connecting Dots

• Volunteer administration is hard. 

Before the pandemic short-term, 

shallow assignments gained 

popularity. During the pandemic, 

virtual engagement increased.

• Too few organizations are investing 

in the people and practices that 

lead to happy, productive, and 

committed volunteers.
Connecting Dots

• Over one in five organizations have 

no written policies or position 

descriptions for volunteers.

• Almost half do no training of staff 

to work with volunteers.

• One in three collect little to no 

information on what their 

volunteers bring to operations.
What can we do?

Advocate internally for resources

• Convince boards and top 

management teams that returns 

from volunteers only comes from 

investments in capacity to work with 

volunteers.
What can we do?

Get a pro VRM in place

• Make the job more than half time!

• Look to Certification in Volunteer 

Administration https://cvacert.org/

• If we can use AmeriCorps members 

in these slots, they can benefit from 

serious training.
What can we do?

Build your volunteer program

• Adopt the practices that make sense 

for your situation.

• No accidents: Build strategic 

approaches to recruitment, 

placement, support, communication, 

and assessment.

VMC = People + Practices
Thank you!

Mark.Hager@asu.edu
Speaker

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Matthew Hudson-Flege, Ph.D., M.S., 

Research Assistant Professor, Institute on Family & 

Neighborhood Life

Clemson University

Mar-21 |

Creating Successful Volunteering and National Service 

Opportunities: Best Practices and Benefits
Motivated to Serve: 

Recruiting and Supporting Diverse AmeriCorps 

Members

MATTHEW HUDSON-FLEGE, PHD

AMERICORPS WEBINAR

FEBRUARY 10, 2022
The Challenge

AmeriCorps members are diverse in terms of age, education level, and motivation to serve.

How can AmeriCorps program leaders better understand, recruit, and support these diverse 

members?

Retrieved from: https://scholarships360.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/06/091214_americorps.jpg
Research Methods

Analyzed data from the AmeriCorps Longitudinal Study*

Analyzed data from the AmeriCorps Alumni Outcomes Survey*

Conducted interviews with AmeriCorps alumni

Note: Research focused on young adult members (ages 18-25)

*These studies were funded by the AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation and are available at: 

https://americorps.gov/about/our-impact/evidence-exchange
AmeriCorps Member Profiles

Public Servants

Gappers

Wanderers

Young Idealists
Public Servants

Recent College Graduates

High level of Public Service Motivation

Joining AmeriCorps to springboard 

career in nonprofit/public/helping 

sectors

Approximately 1/3 of Young Adult 

AmeriCorps Members

Example: Andrea Rosado
Gappers

Recent College Graduates

Low-Moderate level of Public 

Service Motivation

Joining AmeriCorps to either

◦ discover new career pathways

◦ take a “break” before launching 

their career

Approximately 1/3 of Young Adult 

AmeriCorps Members

Example: Ariel Cochrane-Brown
Wanderers

High School Graduates with some 

college or work experience

Low-Moderate level of Public 

Service Motivation

Joining AmeriCorps to find 

direction & purpose

Approximately 17% of Young Adult 

AmeriCorps Members

Example: Alex Harvey

Note: Young Idealists represent 

greater racial, gender, & economic 

diversity than AmeriCorps 

members as a whole
Young Idealists

Recent High School Graduates

High level of Public Service 

Motivation

Joining AmeriCorps to make an 

impact in “the real world”

Approximately 17% of Young Adult 

AmeriCorps Members

Example: Matthew Hudson-Flege

Note: Young Idealists represent 

greater racial, gender, & economic 

diversity than AmeriCorps members 

as a whole
Audience Poll

If you served in AmeriCorps, which member profile best describes you as an 

AmeriCorps member?

a. Public Servant

b. Gapper

c. Wanderer

d. Young Idealist

e. None of these

f. N/A- I never served in AmeriCorps
Interview TakeawaysWhy they Joined

Wanderers- needed a job; opportunity for new direction

Gappers- needed a job; opportunity to enter nonprofit sector

Public Servants- preparation for graduate school; opportunity to refine 

career interests within the public service realm

Young Idealists- wanted to make an impact right away; didn’t want to go 

right to college

All- opportunity to do meaningful work

Food for Thought: Some members didn’t know they were joining an 

AmeriCorps program until late in the interview process, or even on their 

first day! Others had a very narrow impression of what AmeriCorps was 

based on people they knew who had served.
Interview Takeaways- Recruiting Messages

Wanderers- technical skills learned; education award & health benefits

Gappers- career opportunities; education award & health benefits

Public Servants- career & personal growth opportunities; education award

Young Idealists- hands-on service opportunities & making an impact; education award and supporting 

career growth

All- Desire to hear authentic stories/testimonials from “people like me,” and an aversion to overly 

polished marketing campaigns.
Interview Takeaways: 

Member Support

Helpful: 

◦ Learning new skills (construction)

◦ “On the Job” training from more experienced members

◦ Open-door policy from program staff

Needed: 

◦ How to best use Segal AmeriCorps Education Award

◦ Preparing for life after AmeriCorps

◦ Professional growth & development support
Applying these Lessons to College Advising 

Corps

Recruiting:

Determining which program 

highlights to emphasize based on 

prospective member’s profile.

Matching a prospective member 

with a current member/alumni 

who was “in their shoes”

Member Support: 

Personalized professional 

development coaching.
A Resource: Joining AmeriCorps

A book for prospective AmeriCorps 

members, AmeriCorps program staff, 

and educators.

Answering the questions:

◦ What is AmeriCorps?

◦ Should I join AmeriCorps?

◦ How do I join AmeriCorps?

◦ How do I make the most of my 

experience?

◦ How do I prepare for life after 

AmeriCorps?

Available on Amazon or at 

www.joiningamericorps.com
Thank You

THIS MATERIAL IS BASED UPON WORK FUNDED BY THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION 

AT AMERICORPS UNDER GRANT NO. 17REHSC001 THROUGH THE NATIONAL SERVICE AND CIVIC 

ENGAGEMENT RESEARCH GRANT COMPETITION. OPINION OR POINTS OF VIEW EXPRESSED IN 

THIS DOCUMENT ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE 

OFFICIAL POSITION OF, OR A POSITION THAT IS ENDORSED BY, AMERICORPS .

Matthew Hudson-Flege

mflege@clemson.edu
Reflections

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Jennifer Bastress Tahmasebi, MBA

Deputy Director, AmeriCorps State and 

National

AmeriCorps

Mar-21 |

Creating Successful Volunteering and National Service 

Opportunities: Best Practices and Benefits
Q&A Discussion

Creating Successful Volunteering and National Service 

Opportunities: Best Practices and Benefits

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Questions?

Melissa Gouge, Ph.D.

Research and Evaluation Analyst, 

Office of Research and Evaluation, 

AmeriCorps
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Research and Evidence Webinar Series:

February 10, 2022

Creating Successful 

Volunteering and National 

Service Opportunities: Best 

Practices and Benefits

Thank You!

• The slides and recording will be available at 

AmeriCorps Impact Webinars. 

• Visit: https://americorps.gov/about/ourimpact/webinars for past webinars and for 

more information on AmeriCorps Research 

and Evaluation: evaluation@cns.gov.