It's National Volunteer Week! I know most of us recognize and thank our volunteers throughout the year for their hard work and contributions to our organizations. Of course, many of you might also be posting a big "thank you" on your social media networks as well this week. 

What this week brings to MY mind...is that this is a GREAT opportunity for nonprofit leaders to evaluate our volunteer programs and improve them. For example, what is your recruitment process? Is it different for each event/program or do you have an overall strategy and process for recruitment? What happens when you bring in a volunteer? One of the best resources we (at DSAIA) can offer is Jennifer Bennett's extensive webinar on all of these issues entitled "The New Volunteer Manager's Toolkit" housed in our Webinar Archive on the DSAIA Member Resources section of our website. Jennifer, with VolunteerMatch, has presented at several DSAIA conferences and is just an incredible resource for nonprofit leaders. 

Another great resource I have to mention is the entire volunteer section of the Resource Library. You'll find examples of volunteer applications and communications (like newsletters). Also in that section is the slide deck of Jennifer Bennett's presentation on creating a training program for your volunteers. And if you do want some ideas on how to thank your volunteers, check out the Event/Fundraising section in the Webinar Archive to learn about some "Creative Ways to Say Thanks!" which includes a volunteer section. 

If you do decide to post on social media about National Volunteer Week, do us a solid and include us in the post @downsyndromeaia so we can help you share the message.