The Making of a Robust Volunteer Development Program
Training, teaching, mentoring and coaching are not the same thing. A guide to matching the right kind of development to the volunteer in front of you — from middle schoolers to retirees.
Leadership & Staff Training
What do you, your staff and your volunteers need to go from good to great?
Training, teaching, mentoring and coaching are four different things. They provide different things, in different ways, and the right choice depends on who is in front of you and what they already know.
Guiding Good builds development programs customized to your organization — starting from scratch or from the program you already have — that can evolve as you grow.
Onboarding staff, board members and volunteers
Whether you are starting from nothing or improving an existing program, we can supply scripts for trainers, material for self-paced learning, feedback forms and periodic refreshers.
- New staff, board and volunteer onboarding curricula
- Trainer scripts and self-paced learning materials
- Feedback instruments and refresher schedules
- Board education for stronger oversight and more effective governance
Skills development
From the soft skills that determine whether a team functions to the nonprofit-specific capabilities that determine whether it succeeds.
- Communication, feedback, leadership, self-care and teamwork
- Fundraising, donor stewardship, grants 101, volunteer management
- Social media, networking and marketing for nonprofits
- Technology training — use what you have, or prepare for a major upgrade
Executive coaching
One-to-one coaching for executive directors, development directors and board chairs, including support for leaders in transition. Our strategic advisor Darin Hollingsworth has coached nonprofit professionals since 2010, with a particular focus on blending self-care with professional success.
- Individual and organizational coaching
- Succession and exit planning
- Support for boards, executives and talent in transition
Program evaluation
A comprehensive view of the services your organization provides — effectiveness, costs and efficiency. Evaluations run by internal teams alone are substantially more likely to overestimate how well a program is working, because the blind spots are structural, not personal.
- Program effectiveness, cost and efficiency analysis
- Outcome measurement design
- Independent review that boards and funders trust
Related reading
More on this from our team
Are You Doing What You Say You Are Doing?
Only about a third of nonprofits evaluate their programs properly, while donors increasingly demand evidence. The case for taking program evaluation seriously — and for bringing in outside eyes.
Riding the Waves: Navigating Job Uncertainty in the Nonprofit World
Funding shifts and economic pressure make nonprofit work feel precarious. Practical ways for staff to stay grounded — and for leadership to be honest about what's coming.
How it works
The first conversation is on us.
We meet with your organization, walk you through our process, evaluate what you need and write a project proposal — including reasonable revisions to the scope right up until launch. No charge, no obligation.