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Enhancing Student Volunteer Impact in College Towns

Every year, millions of college students dedicate their time to volunteer work at soup kitchens, animal shelters, and various nonprofit organizations near their campuses. This engagement not only serves as an invaluable experience for the young adults but also provides essential support to charitable organizations. As a professor focused on nonprofit studies, my recent relocation from San Diego, California, to Gainesville, Florida, led me to investigate the role of student volunteers in a smaller college town setting.

In contrast to San Diego’s diverse university landscape and robust industrial sectors such as biotechnology and telecommunications, Gainesville’s economy is primarily driven by the presence of the large University of Florida and Santa Fe College. This prompted me to explore whether student volunteers represented a significant asset or a burden to local nonprofits within this more compact academic environment.

Exploring the Nonprofit Landscape

In collaboration with Elaine Giles, director of the University of Florida Brown Center for Leadership and Service, and Emily Carroll, a college student, we conducted a survey assessing the perspectives of 55 nonprofit leaders in Gainesville. Our goal was to gauge how well these organizations managed student volunteers and identify strategies for improving their contributions to the community.

With about half of Gainesville’s approximately 131,000 residents being students, it was critical to understand how these demographics influenced the local nonprofit sector.

Our findings, published in the Journal of Service-Learning in Higher Education, revealed that student volunteers represent a cost to nonprofits, especially in college towns where they make up a disproportionate share of the volunteer workforce. Unfortunately, this means that their potential contributions might not be fully realized, leading to inefficiencies that impact students, nonprofits, and the community at large.

Volunteer Management Challenges

One notable issue we discovered was the lack of effective volunteer management within many organizations. While 56% of the participating nonprofits did have paid volunteer administrators, most of these were part-time and lacked comprehensive training in volunteer management. Only a small fraction, about 8%, benefitted from a full-time position dedicated to this role.

Although many organizations practiced some best practices, such as regular communication and tracking volunteer hours, the inconsistency in background checks and training opportunities highlighted a significant gap in volunteer preparation.

Opportunities and Limitations

Despite these challenges, students were found to be a crucial source of support for local nonprofits, making up over half of the volunteers in many organizations, and in some, even exceeding three-quarters. Nonprofits reported benefiting from the enthusiasm and creativity that students brought, along with their digital skills and campus connections.

However, these advantages were not uniformly realized. Nonprofits indicated that students often preferred volunteering opportunities close to campus and faced challenges such as conflicting schedules, particularly during summers and holidays. Moreover, many students sought short-term volunteering experiences rather than committing to longer-term roles, leading to high turnover rates.

Additionally, some organizations noted that while students usually possessed the required competencies, there were instances where volunteers lacked awareness of basic workplace etiquette and did not consistently meet their commitments.

Improving Collaboration Between Nonprofits and Student Volunteers

To unlock the full potential of student volunteers, it’s essential for both nonprofits and students to develop a clearer understanding of each other’s expectations and abilities. Nonprofits could enhance their recruitment efforts to attract individuals looking for long-term engagement instead of those merely seeking credentials for their resumes. Improving training programs and offering more flexibility in volunteer roles could also foster a better relationship with student volunteers.

Colleges and universities can play a role by organizing volunteer fairs, and creating online portals to facilitate volunteer matching. They might also consider implementing service awards that recognize not just volunteer hours but the duration of service to specific organizations.

Faculty involved in service-learning can engage with local nonprofits to better comprehend their needs and guide students in meeting those expectations. By promoting a culture of mutual understanding and respect, both nonprofits and student volunteers can cultivate a more impactful and rewarding engagement.

Source
www.higheredjobs.com