Volunteers

Steering Your Museum’s Search for a Volunteer Management System

By Elisa Kosarin and Abbey Earich

This tipsheet was developed by Elisa Kosarin, CVA, a Volunteer Engagement Specialist at TwentyHats, and Abbey Earich, Lead Volunteer Coordinator for the Smithsonian Office of Visitor Services (OVS). It is based on Abbey’s experience …
Yes, I’m a Real Person! Adapting Your Volunteer Program during Instability

By American Alliance of Museums

This is a recorded session from the 2021 AAM Virtual Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo. As it cautiously reopened after closing for COVID-19, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum reevaluated its volunteer program to ensure that …
Volunteers Want to Give: How to Respectfully Cultivate Donors from Your Corps

By Elisa Kosarin, CVA

If you ask museum leaders, their advancement teams, and volunteer program staff about cultivating volunteers as donors, you’re likely to get a mix of reactions, ranging from enthusiasm to aversion. Those who oppose the idea voice concerns …
The Top Ten Alliance Blog Posts of 2021

By Joseph O'Neill

Though 2021 was a slightly more normal year than 2020, with mostly open museums gradually regaining visitors, the pandemic still loomed large and colored most conversations. On the Alliance Blog, the discussion shifted from absorbing the …
Museums and Equity: Volunteers

By Elizabeth Merritt

Note: this post is adapted from a post originally published on the CFM blog in 2019. 42% male 22% African American, Asian, or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity 66% under the age of 55 49% with less than a college degree That’s the demographic …
Let’s Make a Match: Museum Volunteers

By American Alliance of Museums

This is a recorded session from the 2020 AAM Virtual Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo. Learn how an effective application process prevents onboarding volunteers who are not a good fit for your institution. Real‐life examples will demonstrate …
Supporting Your Volunteer Program through Risk Management and More

By American Alliance of Museums

Since the release of the Designing a Museum Volunteer Program toolkit, museum professionals have faced many upheavals in the past year and a half, all while managing their museums day-to-day and preparing for the future. In the third and …
How Volunteer Programs Are Embracing Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion

By Elisa Kosarin, CVA

One of the most powerful ways for the public to engage with museums is not as visitors. It’s as volunteers. Here’s why: the volunteer experience is direct and immediate. Volunteers spend extensive time within their chosen museums, getting …
Recruiting, Selecting and Placing Museum Volunteers

By American Alliance of Museums

This recorded webinar addresses key elements of recruiting, selecting, and placing volunteers, from resources and strategies for articulating the benefits of volunteering and recruiting for diversity; to background checks, interviewing and …