When a company considers bringing volunteers into their organization, they may initially think, ‘Great!  Free help!’  And while volunteers may not require an hourly wage, there’s more that goes into their integration and into their daily schedule than simply finding them something to do.  The reality is that there is a whole lot more!  Author and veteran volunteer Sunny Fader hopes to assist in this endeavor with the release of her new book, “365 Ideas for Recruiting, Retaining, Motivating, and Rewarding Your Volunteers:  A Complete Guide for Nonprofit Organizations”. 

“365 Ideas for Recruiting, Retaining, Motivating, and Rewarding Your Volunteers” is a fantastic step by step book on the successful use of volunteers.  Written with the nonprofit organization in mind, Fader explains exactly what needs to be done even before you begin recruiting and continues to follow through with good advice at every stage of the process.  She debunks various volunteer myths, explains how to make the recruitment message appealing to potential applicants, and shows the importance of screening.  Further, she details the hows and whys of integrating the volunteers with paid staff members and stresses the uses of motivational tactics to retain quality candidates.  Fader also includes success stories from various organizations and sprinkles them throughout; the reader has the ability to learn from these tried-and-true examples of real life situations.

Fader shines as she imparts her 30 years of experience with nonprofit organizations and wraps this enormous amount of information up in a delightful, easy-to-read book.  She fully explains her steps without overburdening the reader and maintains a lighthearted feel throughout – it’s business casual in written form.  Well organized and edited, the book projects an authoritative, ‘expert’ feel.  I would think that any nonprofit which hopes to either bring in volunteers for the first time or improve upon an existing program will greatly benefit from Fader’s advice. 

“365 Ideas for Recruiting, Retaining, Motivating, and Rewarding Your Volunteers:  A Complete Guide for Nonprofit Organizations” is an absolute ‘must read’ for any organization that uses an unpaid workforce to accomplish parts its mission.  A struggling economy doesn’t mean scraping for volunteers or having to go without; even the smallest nonprofit can successfully obtain and retain unpaid help with the right tools.  A+! 

Reviewed on 04/04/2011 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Vicki Landes

As president of a nonprofit organization I'm thrilled with the information in this book.  Getting volunteers is one of the hardest things to do for any group but keeping them motivated is even harder.

I was enthused after reading the first section "Before You Begin Recruiting" and realized that we, as an organization, weren't clear on our needs.  We needed volunteers but in desperation due to time pressures we didn't access everything we needed to.

As well I found out how to launch a campaign using word-of-mouth and local media.  We've never had much luck with media before but after perusing this chapter I now realize why.

The whole book is full of ideas and facts that would benefit any nonprofit organization.  I believe by following the steps set out in this book the nonprofit organization that I head will have no problem getting volunteers and keeping them motivated to continue.  Two thumbs up!!

Reviewed on 02/05/2011 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Irene Watson