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Guest Post by Carla Ganiel

Think your organization’s size impacts volunteer management capacity? According to a 2004 Urban Institute report, “Balancing Act: The Challenges and Benefits of Volunteers,” the size of an organization has little influence on the level of benefit gained from volunteers. Drawing on a survey of nearly 3,000 nonprofit organizations, Mark A. Hager and Jeffrey L. Budney conclude that implementing a high number of volunteer management “best practices” and giving volunteers meaningful roles and responsibilities are critical strategies for maximizing the benefits of volunteers in organizations of any size.

The report is one of four in a series on volunteer management capacity in community and faith-based organizations.

What do you think? Does size matter in volunteer management?

Carla Ganiel is a nonprofit management consultant from Tremont, Maine.