November 6, 2011: International News From the Field

Volunteer² (volunteer2.com), provider of popular volunteer management software, has created another free online resource for the volunteer field:  the Mission Points ROI Calculator, designed to help measure the “Return on Investment” associated with engaging volunteers at an organization.

Most organizations value the contribution of volunteer time without assessing its true worth.  The concept that a report documenting more and more volunteer hours appears better does not take into consideration what gets accomplished during those hours – and what if that time was actually wasted?  Further, the most popular method of measuring the ROI of volunteer engagement is calculating the wage replacement value of the number of hours contributed by volunteers.  This simply furthers the questionable idea that hours equal cash equal impact.  

The Mission Points ROI model treats the number of volunteer hours consumed by an organization as an expense.  It also allows measurement of desired outputs and/or outcomes of volunteer work.  Tony Goodrow, president of Volunteer2 explains:

Viewed as expenditure, we would value volunteer time in the same way that we value money: we would spend only to the degree necessary, to best reach the mission of our organization. Consuming more volunteer hours might mean more gets accomplished – or it may mean volunteer time is being wasted….the Mission Points ROI model allows us to see volunteer contributions as an expense, and as a result of that, it encourages us to manage those valuable volunteer contributions of time more effectively.

Goodrow laid out the basics of the Mission Points ROI approach in an e-Volunteerism article last year: “Calculating the ROI of Your Volunteer Program – It’s Time to Turn Things Upside Down,”   This launch of the Calculator in “alpha” mode moves his concept further and users are invited to help improve the tool over time.  How can you use the Calculator?

• Compare the results of your volunteer engagement from month to month, quarter to quarter or year to year.
• Compare the effectiveness of various volunteer roles that set out to accomplish the same Output.
• Large organizations can compare the efficiencies between different locations.

Information on the Mission Points ROI concept, instructions on how to use the Calculator and ideas on determining certain values you will need to enter can be found at MissionPointsManual.pdf. Give the Calculator a try at www.Volunteer2.com/ROI. If you need additional assistance, there are consultants who can work with you to integrate ROI measurements listed in the appendices of the manual. If you would like to share your experiences using the Mission Points approach, e-mail Tony Goodrow at tony@volunteer2.com.

Volunteer² also sponsors the free site, OurSharedResources.com, where volunteer management practitioners can share forms, manuals, and other tools in exchange with other colleagues.