How to Measure Volunteer Impact And Why It Matters

Volunteerism provides nonprofits with a readily available and enthusiastic workforce to help execute projects, expand reach, and address community needs. With the help of volunteers, organizations can reallocate operational costs to other initiatives, provide extra hands for various projects, and tap into a variety of skills and expertise that can be used to further the organization’s mission. Not to mention, most volunteers (76%, according to Double the Donation’s fundraising statistics) also contribute to nonprofits as donors. 

In other words, volunteers offer a wealth of support to your nonprofit. By highlighting the impact of their contributions, you can show your appreciation, mobilize existing volunteers, and even acquire new ones.

In this guide, we’ll explore how your nonprofit can measure volunteer impact and the benefits you’ll see from doing so.

Why Does Measuring Volunteer Impact Matter?

Just as you might track a campaign’s progress through your fundraising software to gauge your success, measuring volunteer impact can provide insight into the effectiveness of your volunteer program. With this information, you can:

• Improve your volunteer program. Measuring volunteer impact allows nonprofits to evaluate their efforts and adjust their approach to improve the volunteer experience. For example, these insights can help organizations better allocate their volunteer resources by identifying initiatives that deliver the most impact and restructuring resources accordingly.  
• Boost volunteer engagement. Volunteers can only appreciate the fruits of their labor when they see the tangible impact of their work. This motivation promotes a positive culture among volunteers, encourages them to increase their efforts, and even boosts your nonprofit’s reputation by bringing positive word of mouth.
• Attract additional support. Donors and corporate partners are more likely to invest in organizations that can demonstrate their impact on the communities they are serving. Showcasing the impact of your volunteers can attract their support, which ultimately furthers your fundraising goals. 

By regularly tracking the data and continuously implementing improvements based on those metrics, your organization can easily assess performance, identify gaps, enhance volunteer satisfaction, and retain engagement. 

Key Metrics for Measuring Volunteer Impact

When deciding on key metrics to measure the impact of volunteerism in your organization, a mix of qualitative and quantitative measures is essential to showcase the breadth of a volunteer’s impact. 

Quantitative data offers measurable data, such as hours volunteered and retention rates, to determine the scale and efficiency of volunteer efforts. Qualitative information can capture stories that numbers cannot, such as personal impact anecdotes and the emotional value of volunteer work. 

Here are some of the most effective metrics your organization can use to measure the impact of volunteer work:  

• Number of hours volunteered
• Number of beneficiaries served
• Volunteer retention rates
• Stories and testimonials from beneficiaries
• Improvements in community conditions
• Volunteer satisfaction and personal growth

Keep in mind that you’ll need the right technology to gather all the relevant data. Most obviously, you’ll need an intuitive volunteer management platform that can handle recruitment, engagement, and data collection. 

However, other tools will collect additional data depending on your volunteers’ interactions with your nonprofit. For example, CharityEngine points out that a comprehensive CRM can provide both donor management and fundraising tools. Volunteers who donate, interact with your marketing emails, or are otherwise engaged with your nonprofit can be tracked through this tool.

How to Implement an Impact Measurement Plan

1. Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Define the outcomes you hope to achieve by measuring volunteer impact to decide which metrics make the most sense to track. Whether your goal is to increase community engagement or enhance volunteer retention, there are different metrics that best align with assessing the progress towards these goals. 

To accurately measure impact, you’ll need to differentiate between short-term and long-term KPIs:

• Short-term KPIs focus on immediate performance, typically measured over shorter time periods such as a week, month, or quarter. This may include volunteer hours, the progress of short-term tasks, or event participation.
• Long-term KPIs track progress towards larger strategic goals for your organization, typically measured over long time periods such as a year or multiple years. This could include retention rates, overall improvements to the community, or increases in donor participation.

Measuring both short and long-term KPIs is essential for assessing the impact of volunteerism on your organization.  

2. Collect and Analyze Data

Based on your predefined KPIs, you should implement tools and strategies to gather data from key stakeholders, such as volunteers, beneficiaries, and organizational systems. Tools such as volunteer management software and surveys can automate the tracking of hours served, retention rates, and feedback.

Combining tools and strategies can aid nonprofits in producing a comprehensive overview of the value of their volunteering efforts. Additionally, follow data collection best practices to ensure you collect strong, accurate, and useful data:

• Conduct a data audit. Data audits are a critical review of your organization’s data collection process. They examine the quality of your current data and data collection methods. This way, you can identify areas for improvement in your database and implement procedures to collect more effective data going forward.

• Keep your data clean. Data hygiene refers to the practice of keeping your data updated and error-free. Remove inaccurate and unnecessary information and standardize the data collection process, focusing only on high-quality information. 
• Append existing data. A data append is the process of adding new data points to an existing database to fill in any gaps in the information. Your nonprofit can conduct an append independently or outsource the task to a professional appending service.

By combining clean data with other qualitative insights, such as volunteer testimonials, your organization can capture a broader picture of how volunteer impact positively affects the community and the mission being promoted. 

For example, does a long-time volunteer consistently participate in your year-end giving campaign? Their impact includes not only their hours served but also the monetary value of their annual donations. 

3. Share Your Findings

Sharing the insights gathered from your impact measurement efforts is a great way to engage your audience in your organization's efforts to introduce and improve volunteerism. Plus, your audience will recognize your volunteer program's broader impact on the community.

Reserve a dedicated section of your annual report for the data collection from KPI measurements. Infuse the report with volunteer stories to emphasize their perspectives of the experience.

For example, consider how The American Red Cross highlights volunteer contributions in their 2023 annual report: 

Volunteer impact maintains a central focus throughout this report, but it pays special tribute to volunteers through dedicated and well-rounded testimonials. Harold West, a Red Cross volunteer, is featured prominently with his testimonial and photo, allowing readers to form a personal connection with the efforts of volunteerism. 

Additionally, the report lists what the organization does for veterans through the Red Cross Hero Care Network—offering 24-hour support for emergency assistance—so volunteers can tangibly see the impact they would have on veterans. 

4. Act on Your Findings

With the insights gained from the impact measurement process, nonprofits can continuously refine their volunteer programs. These metrics can help allocate resources to the most impactful initiatives, share results to attract more volunteers and donors, and pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in the program and existing gaps.

Data-driven volunteer management strategies enable nonprofits to learn from what’s working (and what’s not) to increase the volunteer program’s impact. After all, volunteers are only as effective as you allow them to be by equipping them to serve your community.

Your nonprofit can reap the benefits of tracking volunteer impact by establishing an impact measurement plan and streamlining the process. Explore helpful tools, like volunteer management software, and rely on their capabilities to collect vital numerical data and generate insights into the short and long-term impacts of volunteer efforts. 

Volunteer management software can personalize and enhance engagements with both your volunteer and donor base by recognizing and broadcasting the impact of volunteers and fostering a more positive experience. Adopting this software can help nonprofits optimize their programs, improve resource allocation, and implement quick improvements to maximize and retain volunteer contributions.