12 Best Volunteer Management Courses For Upskilling In 2024
Here are some of the best volunteer management courses to help pastors and church leaders learn about new technology, strategies, and philosophies for working with volunteers.
Best Volunteer Management Courses Shortlist
Here's a shortlist of the best volunteer management courses I think are worth your time in 2024:
- Volunteer Management Online Training (AFS Intercultural Programs)
- Volunteer Management Fundamentals Course (Volunteer Pro)
- Volunteer Management - Volunteer Retention (Udemy)
- Virtual Volunteering (Lorman Education Services)
- Volunteer Management Certificate (Fleming College)
- Volunteer Management for the Not-for-Profit Sector Course (University of Waterloo)
- Professional Program in Fundraising and Volunteer Management (UC Berkeley Extension)
- Volunteer Management - Recruiting Volunteers (Udemy)
- Volunteer Management Self-Paced Training (Energize)
- Volunteer Management (Society for Nonprofits)
- Basics in Management of Volunteers (Udemy)
- ORG405: Volunteer Management (City Vision University)
Find more details about each course below.
Overview Of The Best Volunteer Management Courses
1. Volunteer Management Online Training (AFS Intercultural Programs)
This volunteer management training course by AFS Intercultural Programs equips individuals with management skills to handle conflicts, manage teams, and enhance their volunteer programs. Learners gain insights from the AFS Network to connect globally and apply best practices in volunteer management.
- Who It’s For: New and experienced volunteer development staff
- Topics Covered:
- AFS basics
- Volunteer Journey
- Team management skills
- Conflict management
- Best practices
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 20-40 minutes per module
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Up to 30 days
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: Free
- Take The Course: AFS Intercultural Programs
2. Volunteer Management Fundamentals Course (Volunteer Pro)
The Volunteer Management Fundamentals Certificate Course by VolunteerPro provides essential recruitment, engagement, and retention strategies to build a stable and long-term volunteer base. This CVA-accredited course offers practical tactics and inspiration to mobilize exceptional volunteers, equipping nonprofit professionals with the skills to make a lasting impact.
- Who It’s For: New volunteer coordinators
- Topics Covered:
- Recruitment strategies
- Volunteer engagement
- Retention techniques
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 10.5 hours
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price:
- Fundamentals Course Full Pay (single payment): $397/per person
- Fundamentals Course Three Pay (paid over 3 months): $147/per person
- Take The Course: VolunteerPro
3. Volunteer Management - Volunteer Retention (Udemy)
This Udemy course focuses on the importance of volunteer retention and provides strategies to ensure volunteers are happy, satisfied, and stay with the organization for a long time. It covers why retention is essential, the elements needed to build an effective retention system, and practical strategies to ensure volunteers feel appreciated and impactful.
- Who It’s For: Anyone working with volunteers, especially those new to volunteer management
- Topics Covered:
- Importance of retention
- Building an effective retention system
- Simplifying retention processes
- Implementing retention strategies
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 1 hour
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $19.99
- Take The Course: Udemy
4. Virtual Volunteering (Lorman Education Services)
This course provides strategies for integrating efficient online service opportunities into nonprofits. It focuses on the recruitment, training, and retention of virtual volunteers and covers how to effectively find, engage, and maintain volunteers both online and in person.
- Who It’s For: Nonprofit professionals looking to create online volunteer opportunities
- Topics Covered:
- Types of volunteers
- Virtual program volunteers
- Recruiting and orienting volunteers
- Supporting volunteers virtually
- Fundraising volunteers
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? Yes
- Duration: 89 minutes
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $199
- Take The Course: Lorman Education Services
5. Volunteer Management Certificate (Fleming College)
Fleming College offers this certificate focusing on managing volunteers, covering foundations, engagement, administration, and an applied project. It covers the volunteer engagement cycle, recruitment, training, development, and disengagement based on standards from the Human Resources Council of Canada and the Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada.
- Who It’s For: Individuals working with or managing volunteers
- Topics Covered:
- Foundations of volunteer management
- Spectrum of engagement
- Administration
- Applied project
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 45 hours per course
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $388.15/per course
- Take The Course: Fleming College
6. Volunteer Management for the Not-for-Profit Sector Course (University of Waterloo)
This course equips participants with the skills and competencies to manage diverse volunteer groups at various levels. It covers key components of volunteer management practices and strategies tailored to the unique needs of the not-for-profit sector.
- Who It’s For: Individuals interested in the not-for-profit sector
- Topics Covered:
- Understanding volunteerism
- Volunteer engagement
- Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement
- Volunteer supervision
- Virtual volunteering
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 3 months
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $72.95
- Take The Course: University of Waterloo
7. Professional Program in Fundraising and Volunteer Management (UC Berkeley Extension)
This UC Berkeley Extension program combines fundraising and volunteer management, providing comprehensive training for nonprofit professionals. The program covers fundraising, managing donor and volunteer relationships, and creating support materials.
- Who It’s For: Staff and managers in the nonprofit and public human services
- Topics Covered:
- Fundraising principles
- Volunteer management
- Strategic planning
- Financial management
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Both
- Exam Required? Yes
- Duration: 30 hours
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: 4 hours 30 minutes per session
- Eligibility Requirements:
- Letter of support from the sponsoring organization (signed by a director)
- Pre-course Assignments: Organizational Assessments and Binders
- Price: $1,102
- Take The Course: UC Berkeley Extension
8. Volunteer Management - Recruiting Volunteers (Udemy)
This Udemy course focuses on volunteer recruitment, including creating effective role descriptions and understanding the organization's needs. It provides practical strategies to ensure volunteers are well-matched to their roles and feel satisfied with their contributions.
- Who It’s For: Individuals new to volunteer management or within the first two years of their career
- Topics Covered:
- Identifying the need for volunteers
- Creating volunteer role descriptions
- Recruiting volunteers
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 1.5 hours
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $49.99
- Take The Course: Udemy
9. Volunteer Management Self-Paced Training (Energize)
Energize offers a self-paced training program tailored for today’s volunteer managers, focusing on 8 best practices in designing roles, recruiting, training, and evaluating volunteers. The course provides unlimited access to seminars and downloadable guides for one year, laying a solid foundation for a successful volunteer management program.
- Who It’s For: Volunteer administrators
- Topics Covered:
- Designing volunteer roles
- Recruiting volunteers
- Training and celebrating volunteers
- Evaluating impact
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 5 hours
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $495
- Take The Course: Energize
10. Volunteer Management (Society for Nonprofits)
The course explores recruitment, training, and retention strategies for building successful volunteer programs. It emphasizes creating and sustaining effective volunteer relationships to enrich nonprofit organizations.
- Who It’s For: Nonprofit managers
- Topics Covered:
- Recruitment strategies
- Training programs
- Retention techniques
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $99
- Take The Course: Society for Nonprofits
11. Basics in Management of Volunteers (Udemy)
This free Udemy course covers the fundamentals of volunteer management, including recruitment, training, and retention strategies. It covers creating orientation programs, defining volunteer roles, and equipping volunteers with the necessary success tools.
- Who It’s For: Youth workers, social workers, educators, youth leaders
- Topics Covered:
- Volunteer management significance
- Roles and duties of a volunteer manager
- Orientation programs
- Monitoring tasks and performance
- Online, In-Person, or Both? Online
- Exam Required? No
- Duration: 1 hour 12 minutes
- How Many Hours Of Instruction: Self-paced
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: Free
- Take The Course: Udemy
12. ORG405: Volunteer Management (City Vision)
City Vision University's course on volunteer management teaches effective principles for recruiting, retaining, and developing volunteers. It includes crafting job descriptions, managing risk, and understanding how volunteer programs can support fundraising efforts.
- Who It’s For: Individuals interested in volunteer management
- Topics Covered:
- Recruitment and retention
- Crafting job descriptions
- Screening and training volunteers
- Managing risk
- Online, In-Person, or Both? In-Person
- Exam Required? Yes
- Eligibility Requirements: None
- Price: $852.37
- Take The Course: City Vision University
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