In late March 2020, VolunteerMatch, a national leader in volunteer engagement strategy and advisor to non-profit volunteer-based organizations released a report sharing the results of a webinar poll of volunteers and program personnel (n = ~800) focusing on COVID-19 and related impacts. The survey found that 50% of volunteers expect to significantly reduce or altogether pause their in-person volunteer commitment at this time. Similarly, less than 50% of volunteers were interesting in replacing in-person volunteer activities with online/remove volunteer activities. The report suggests that volunteer managers should expect decreased engagement during this ongoing mental health crisis. The data is being used nationally to inform near-term and mid-term strategic planning on the part of volunteer managers and non-profit leadership.
The UC Master Gardener Program is interested in disseminating the same or similar survey to UC Master Gardener Volunteers to understand volunteer commitment for the coming program year and, thereafter, support local UCCE personnel as they prioritize projects in line with statewide program priorities and UC ANR strategic initiatives.
Thank you to those of you who joined us for the Brown Bag Webinar about the COVID-19 and Volunteerism Survey - June 30, 2020.
- The meeting recording is available on the UC Master Gardener Program Coordinator site (Training >> Brown Bag): http://mgcoord.ucanr.edu/Training/Brown_Bag_Webinar/ (PPT slides (PDF, PPT) are available on the description box of the YouTube video linked above.)
Note: Links are not live. URLs must be cut and pasted into the browser. Users must be logged into their portal account to view the documents via URL.
- The start and end dates of the survey period are reflected on the Events tab of the UC Master Gardener Program Coordinator site (Events): http://mgcoord.ucanr.edu/Events/
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