Team: Jesyka Palmer, Anna Richardson, Lin Pang, Ray Alexander, Krishna Vadrevu

Agenda

● Introduce Growing Hope ● Project Scope● Methodology● Walkthrough of Major Themes

○ Findings○ Evidence○ Recommendations

● Wrap-Up

Organization

Growing Hope:“Helping people improve their lives and communities

through gardening and healthy food access. Growing Hope fosters learning, improves nutrition, encourages self-reliance,

and promotes positive community futures.”

Project Scope

Improve volunteer intake and retention

Volunteer Expresses Interest Volunteer Orientation Volunteer comes to

program

Methodology

● 5 interviews conducted at Growing Hope's site○ Operations Manager○ Youth Program Coordinator○ Gardens & Youth Programs Manager○ Outreach & Volunteer Manager○ Farm Manager

Methodology

● Interpretation sessions

● Consolidated models

● “Affinity Wall"● User needs &

Design Ideas● Prioritizing ideas

for final recommendations

Flow Model Artifact Model Cultural Assessment

Sequence Model Cultural model

Organizational Structure

Findings:● Inability for long term planning● Unclear roles and responsibilities● High staff turnover

Evidence:● Policies are hard to find, discern and apply● Who "owns" what in each team?● AmeriCorps VISTA program; two year rotations

Organizational Structure

Recommendation Impact Feasibility

Create a Policy and Procedures manual

Create a centralized document that clearly

defines roles and responsibilities

Consider alternatives to VISTA program

High Med Low

Data Management

Findings:● No meaningful/usable centralized volunteer database

● Information is scattered in several places

● Too much information is collected at some points; too little at

others

● Data is not managed/utilized, it is just collected

Evidence:● People say they don't want to use GiftWorks because it is

confusing and they were not trained on it

● Everyone uses personal databases for volunteer tracking

● “Same info about volunteers kept in 5 different locations”

● Data does not have an “expiration date”

Data Management

Recommendation Impact Feasibility

Determine a usable centralized repository

for information and provide training for it

Collect data for a specific purpose

Have methods of archiving but not deleting

old data

High Med Low

Internal Communication

Findings:

● Misunderstandings about others’ processes

● Lack of knowledge about the roles of others

● General lack of standardization

Evidence:● Youth volunteers' program perceived separate process

● Volunteer Coordinator's responsibilities are misunderstood

● Interviewees were not sure what happens at orientations and when

they occur

● Rotating reception position leads to lost messages

● Program Managers track and interact with volunteers differently

Internal Communication

Recommendation Impact Feasibility

Ensure Program Managers understand each

other’s processes

Ensure that internal communications reach the

target staff member on time

Standardize volunteer management and

recruitment

High Med Low

Evidence:● Volunteers may not be contacted after orientation until they are

needed for something specific

● Employee workload leads to follow-up issues

● No process of transitioning volunteers between programs

● All parties aren't clear about program needs/requirements

Findings:● Personalized follow-up is valued but challenging to be done in timely

manner

● No clear guideline for when follow-up should happen

● Conflicts between the volunteer’s needs and Growing Hope’s needs

Volunteer Communication

Volunteer Communication

Recommendation Impact Feasibility

Sign-up volunteers at orientation and at the

end of events/programs

Create a space for volunteers to connect e.g.

social media

Establish guidelines for follow-up to make

communication more timely

Publicize program needs and requirements in advance

High Med Low

Wrap-up

Recommendations:

● Define organizational structure● Streamline data management● Make internal and external communication more

effective and efficient

Volunteer Expresses Interest Volunteer Orientation Volunteer comes to

program

A Big Thank You To...

Our client, Growing Hope

Our primary contact, Casey VanNest

Our GSI, Melody Ku

Any Questions?