Animal Welfare Professionals

Regarding Relationship Management. I volunteer for two nonprofits: one shelter based and one foster based. The shelter-based has no formal relationship management system - the volunteers just chat to each other when they attend the shelter though there is an informal Messenger group that tracks who is available daily for dog walking.  But the foster based one used social medical really well. All volunteers are logged onto RescueGroups post orientation AND strongly encouraged to join a general Volunteer Facebook private group.  That group is used mainly to rally volunteers for fund raising and fostering calls. In adddition, there is a separate TNR Facebook private group and an Auction private group for fundraising. We have just launched a Volunteer Mentor pilot where one person reaches out to ever volunteer through the Facebook group or through email to check on them and to promote additional volunteer ops. Would that kind of outreach help you maintain a calendar that logs your volunteer availability? 

Hi Bunny

There is a WhatsApp group that they won't engage with and a private FB group ditto. The only way they're responding right now is individual requests. I am tearing my hair out!

Regarding Relationship Management. I volunteer for two nonprofits: one shelter based and one foster based. The shelter-based has no formal relationship management system - the volunteers just chat to each other when they attend the shelter though there is an informal Messenger group that tracks who is available daily for dog walking.  But the foster based one used social medical really well. All volunteers are logged onto RescueGroups post orientation AND strongly encouraged to join a general Volunteer Facebook private group.  That group is used mainly to rally volunteers for fund raising and fostering calls. In adddition, there is a separate TNR Facebook private group and an Auction private group for fundraising. We have just launched a Volunteer Mentor pilot where one person reaches out to ever volunteer through the Facebook group or through email to check on them and to promote additional volunteer ops. Would that kind of outreach help you maintain a calendar that logs your volunteer availability? 

We also have pretty low engagement in our FB group. I've had luck with just keeping a spreadsheet of all our fosters and moving them between tabs as they fill up space in their homes. It does somewhat require me to text and call people individually, but I've also had way better luck with people taking on foster animals when I call them personally to chat about it. 

I don't know if that helps but it's been going alright so far! 

Hi Bunny

There is a WhatsApp group that they won't engage with and a private FB group ditto. The only way they're responding right now is individual requests. I am tearing my hair out!

Regarding Relationship Management. I volunteer for two nonprofits: one shelter based and one foster based. The shelter-based has no formal relationship management system - the volunteers just chat to each other when they attend the shelter though there is an informal Messenger group that tracks who is available daily for dog walking.  But the foster based one used social medical really well. All volunteers are logged onto RescueGroups post orientation AND strongly encouraged to join a general Volunteer Facebook private group.  That group is used mainly to rally volunteers for fund raising and fostering calls. In adddition, there is a separate TNR Facebook private group and an Auction private group for fundraising. We have just launched a Volunteer Mentor pilot where one person reaches out to ever volunteer through the Facebook group or through email to check on them and to promote additional volunteer ops. Would that kind of outreach help you maintain a calendar that logs your volunteer availability? 

Hmm, that's useful to know, thanks. The problem is very much one of knowing where there are spaces (eg today had an emergency and I couldn't get the kitten to someone fast). Additionally, we all work full time so it is going to be a burden to be doing a lot of chats individually, esp with language barriers. I have thought about splitting them between 2-3 people, so all fosters have a contact to chat to and who knows their availability, but so one person isn't spending half the day talking to fosters.

We also have pretty low engagement in our FB group. I've had luck with just keeping a spreadsheet of all our fosters and moving them between tabs as they fill up space in their homes. It does somewhat require me to text and call people individually, but I've also had way better luck with people taking on foster animals when I call them personally to chat about it. 

I don't know if that helps but it's been going alright so far! 

Hi Bunny

There is a WhatsApp group that they won't engage with and a private FB group ditto. The only way they're responding right now is individual requests. I am tearing my hair out!

Regarding Relationship Management. I volunteer for two nonprofits: one shelter based and one foster based. The shelter-based has no formal relationship management system - the volunteers just chat to each other when they attend the shelter though there is an informal Messenger group that tracks who is available daily for dog walking.  But the foster based one used social medical really well. All volunteers are logged onto RescueGroups post orientation AND strongly encouraged to join a general Volunteer Facebook private group.  That group is used mainly to rally volunteers for fund raising and fostering calls. In adddition, there is a separate TNR Facebook private group and an Auction private group for fundraising. We have just launched a Volunteer Mentor pilot where one person reaches out to ever volunteer through the Facebook group or through email to check on them and to promote additional volunteer ops. Would that kind of outreach help you maintain a calendar that logs your volunteer availability? 

Hi Bettina - I have the exact same problem and need as you!  Did you ever find any program/website/software that allows you to see what each foster has for availability? I'm so tired of no replies to Facebook posts and would really like to know who has empty spots so I can target them for intake. Thank you for any information you might have - best!

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Michelle Staryos
Volunteer -
LCCR
PA
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