Volunteer Management ResourcesSupercharge Your Volunteer Engagement and Participation
At Collappor8, we are dedicated to empowering organisations by providing innovative tools, strategies, and tailored solutions that enable them to grow, overcome challenges, and achieve long-term success in an ever-evolving landscape.
In collaboration with the Centre for Volunteering, we developed a comprehensive suite of resources designed to enhance volunteer management for volunteer-based organisations. These resources, informed by community insights and expert advice, are specifically tailored to ensure that volunteer programs are inclusive, accessible, and impactful.
Whether you’re looking for guidance on creating supportive environments, improving volunteer engagement, or create more accessible programs, our resources are designed to help you build stronger, more effective volunteer programs.
Scroll down to explore the resources we’ve developed to create positive and lasting change within your organisation.
Engage & Empower: Training Videos for Volunteer SuccessUnlock essential skills and strategies to effectively manage and inspire your volunteers with our 6 expert-led training videos
Our Volunteer Management Training Videos are designed to equip not-for-profit organisations with the tools needed to effectively manage volunteers.
Covering key topics such as setting clear expectations, encouraging engagement, and developing leadership skills, each video offers actionable strategies to create a supportive and thriving volunteer environment.
Our training videos feature advice and insights from both volunteers and organisation leaders.
Click through to watch each video and enhance your volunteer management approach.
Passion to PurposeInspiring Young Adults to Commit to Volunteer
Explore how to transform passion into purposeful volunteering by learning these strategies to motivate young adults to channel their interests and enthusiasm into meaningful volunteer commitments.
Interview with Kyle Johnston, Collappor8 Client Services, Jo Johnston, Collappor8 Director and CBCC Women’s Committee Member, Sophie Najjarin, ANATE CEO, and Alan Barnes OAM, Kingsgrove RSL President
Enabling Safe and Effective VolunteeringThe Importance of Policies, Procedures, and Workflow Maps
With a focus on the essential components of enabling safe and effective volunteering, explore strategies for understanding and using volunteer resources, managing volunteers effectively, and creating an inclusive environment that supports all participants.
How to Access Youth Where They AreFeaturing Kyle Johnston and Michael Tannous
Discover practical strategies for engaging youth by meeting them where they are, physically, emotionally, and in their life journey. Learn how to tailor volunteer opportunities that align with their unique needs and interests to create meaningful and impactful experiences.
Featuring Kyle Johnston, Collappor8 Client Services, and Michael Tannous, Western Sydney University student and Collappor8 intern
How to Acquire and Retain Youth VolunteersFeaturing Jo Johnston
What drives young people to volunteer? How can you successfully recruit young people to volunteer at your organisation? And how can you keep them motivated to stay a volunteer long-term?
Jo Johnston, CBCC Women’s Committee Manager and Program Developer, explores these questions and discusses what you can do for your organisation.
Balancing Charity Demands & Respecting Your Youth Volunteers ResourcesFeaturing Clare Pearson
This video offers a guide on how to strike the perfect balance between the demands of charity work and the needs of your youth volunteers. Learn practical strategies for maximising their contributions while respecting their time, energy, and unique resources, ensuring a mutually rewarding and sustainable volunteer experience.
Featuring Clare Pearson, CEO of Little Wings
10 Common Pitfalls in Retaining Youth VolunteersFeaturing Kyle Johnston
Dive into the top 10 common mistakes that organisations should steer clear of to create a positive and engaging environment for young volunteers.
From ineffective communication to lack of support, we provide actionable insights to help you develop a volunteer experience that empowers and motivates youth, ensuring long-term engagement and success.
Featuring Kyle Johnston, Collappor8 Client Services
Inspire & Inform: Volunteer Management BlogsEnhance your volunteer programs and create meaningful, lasting impacts in your community with our 12 comprehensive blogs.
Our 12-part blog series is designed to empower not-for-profit organisations working with volunteers.
From building positive cultures and mentoring strategies to encouraging compliance and strengthening community engagement, each blog offers practical tips and insights to help you create meaningful experiences that inspire, motivate, and support the volunteers who contribute to your programs.
Our blogs include expert guidance and input from experienced organisation leaders Clare Pearson, CEO of Little Wings, Finn O’Branagain, CEO of Outloud, and Zizi Charida, CEO of Community Minds.
Click through to discover more about each blog.
- 6 Ways to Transform Volunteers to Ambassadors
- An 8-Step Roadmap to Disability Inclusive Volunteering
- The Transformative Power of Effective Volunteer Leadership
- Volunteering and Identity: The Unusual Suspects
- Effective Organisational Funding Strategies
- Volunteering Mentorships for Young People
- Fostering CALD Youth Participation
- Supporting Youth Volunteers Organisationally
- Asset Based Community Development
- Aligning Organisational and Volunteer Investments
- Where There's a Will, There's a Strategy
- Compliance for Youth in Your Organisation
6 Ways to Transform Volunteers to AmbassadorsNurturing Lifelong Advocates
As a manager, how can you manage, recruit, and encourage your volunteers to be life-long advocates?
‘6 Ways to Transform Volunteers to Ambassadors: Nurturing Lifelong Advocates’ answers this question by highlighting six key strategies that will guide you on how to turn your volunteers into passionate ambassadors for your organisation and your cause.
By nurturing volunteers’ growth and aligning their values with the organisation’s mission, managers can build a dedicated community of long-term supporters.
An 8-Step Roadmap to Disability Inclusive VolunteeringBeyond Accessibility
It’s a well-known secret: volunteering is a powerful tool for experiencing personal growth, skill development, and all-around great vibes.
However, there is a distinct lack of volunteers with disability due to facing roadblocks that prevent them from accessing volunteer roles, such as physical, attitudinal, or cultural barriers.
By creating accessible environments, tailoring roles to individual strengths, improving communication, and developing flexible policies to remove barriers, we can create meaningful engagement for all volunteers regardless of ability.
The Transformative Power of Effective Volunteer LeadershipTaking Charge through Volunteering
What keeps volunteers engaged and committed to donating their precious time and hard work to the causes they care about? A leader who can keep them motivated and passionate.
‘Taking Charge Through Volunteering: The Transformative Power of Effective Volunteer Leadership’ explores how strong leadership is key to keeping volunteers engaged and committed.
With effective and motivating leadership, your organisation can inspire volunteers through genuine connections, clear communication, and opportunities for growth, helping them find purpose in their roles while driving the success of your organisation.
Volunteering and IdentityThe Unusual Suspects
Keeping your volunteers inspired and motivated is the cornerstone of any successful volunteer engagement, which will greatly contribute to your organisation’s success.
Exploring how understanding volunteers’ motivations is key to keeping them engaged, ‘Volunteering and Identity – The Unusual Suspects’ dives into strategies that can help you boost volunteer satisfaction and retention. The blog also highlights the importance of recruiting individuals from diverse backgrounds to enrich the volunteer experience and strengthen your organisation’s mission.
Effective Organisational Funding StrategiesMaximise Your Impact
Regardless of how amazing your organisation’s grand plans are, you can’t do them without money. How can you go about creating funding strategies that will ensure you have and can maintain the funds you need to keep your organisation running?
‘Maximising Your Impact with Effective Organisational Funding Strategies’ highlights how community organisations can unlock their full potential by embracing a range of funding strategies, such as using existing resources, setting clear goals, and building strong relationships with donors.
By diversifying funding streams and valuing in-kind contributions, your organisation can sustain its mission and continue making a meaningful impact.
Volunteering Mentorships for Young PeopleWhat It Takes
The importance of youth engagement for not-for-profit organisations has been explored in depth by numerous studies and discussed in detail by thousands of blogs. However, many organisations still find it difficult to engage youth in meaningful and supportive ways.
‘What It Takes: Volunteering Mentorships for Young People’ invites Finn O’Branagain, CEO of Outloud, to explain how mentorship programs can empower youth by offering guidance, boosting confidence, and helping them develop life skills.
Highlighting the importance of safe, supportive mentor relationships, the blog explores the value of creating youth-centred programs to engage participants, build stronger communities and inspire the next generation of leaders.
Fostering CALD Youth ParticipationEmpowerment Through Diversity
CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) youth can bring unique perspectives and strengths to the table, enriching your programs and our wider communities. However, when recruiting youth participants or volunteers can already be a challenge, trying to recruit CALD youth can become even more of a challenge due to their cultural, heritage, or religious background.
How can your organisation begin holding meaningful conversations and build strong connections with CALD youth? ‘Empowerment Through Diversity: Fostering CALD Youth Participation’ explores this topic and suggests strategies on how to kickstart and strengthen your engagement with CALD youth.
Supporting Youth Volunteers OrganisationallyStep Up Your Game
Diving into youth engagement means understanding that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, especially when we talk about empowering youth volunteers.
Starting off by looking at the Ladder of Citizen Participation, ‘Supporting Youth Volunteers Organisationally’ emphasises clear communication, creating meaningful participation opportunities, and recognising the value of youth contributions.
By strengthening trust, offering the right incentives, and involving young people in decision-making, your organisation can empower youth volunteers and build stronger, more connected communities.
Asset Based Community DevelopmentBuilding Up Youth
Focusing on building strengths as opposed to focusing on what is wrong or deficient means that your organisation can use any inherent strengths and capabilities within a community to strengthen and develop said community. This concept is the core of ‘Asset Based Community Development’ (ABCD).
‘Asset Based Community Development: Building Up Youth’ goes through the ABCDs on how your organisation can increase engagement with young people by highlighting their talents and encouraging active participation.
By using ABCD, communities can transform challenges into opportunities, creating a vibrant space where youth are co-creators of positive change.
Aligning Organisational and Volunteer InvestmentsBalancing Leadership, Volunteers, and Organisational Needs
Aligning Organisational and Volunteer Investments is one of the most efficient ways to ensure that your organisation can meet its goals with the power of your volunteers.
By blending effective leadership, personal connection, data-driven strategies, and involved discussion, this blog will help you build a volunteer strategy that will supercharge your volunteer participation and dedication.
See it in action with a case study of how Clare Pearson, CEO of Little Wings, blends her volunteers skills and motivations with the needs of Little Wings.
Where There's a Will, There's a StrategyTransforming Culture
Strategies are a crucial element in sculpting a culture that will lead your organisation to success.
‘Transforming Culture: Where There’s a Will, There’s a Strategy’ explains how the right strategies, such as creating clear goals, frequent SWOT analyses, and involving volunteers in decision-making, will help you create an environment that encourages motivation, alignment, and a shared sense of purpose.
A good strategy isn’t just about what you do. It’s how you build a culture that makes volunteers want to stay.
Compliance for Youth in Your OrganisationA Two-Way Street
When we think about compliance for youth in not-for-profit organisations, we automatically think about child safety policies and what we need to do to keep our young people safe However, there is less discussion about the other side of compliance.
How do we get youth to accept and comply with organisational rules and missions whilst maintaining the delicate balance between leadership, empathy, and encouragement? ‘Compliance for Youth in Your Organisation’ dives into this topic and shares some tips that will help you achieve this balance.
Inspire & Activate: Volunteering VlogsDiscover fresh strategies and expert advice to ignite passion, inspire leadership, and build lasting connections with your volunteers.
Our 6-part vlog series dives into different aspects of youth volunteering and engagement, offering fresh perspectives for not-for-profit organisations.
From creating inclusive opportunities to encouraging active participation and nurturing leadership in young volunteers, each vlog provides valuable insights to help you connect with and support youth in your programs.
Featuring conversations with industry experts such as Collappor8 directors Jo Johnston and Leah Ostermeyer, Finn O’Branagain, CEO of Outloud, and Zizi Charida, CEO of Community Minds, and current community volunteers, these vlogs are designed to inspire and inform.
Click through to watch each vlog and discover different aspects to engaging volunteers effectively.
LeadershipFeaturing Leah Ostermeyer and Jo Johnston
Collappor8 founders Leah Ostermeyer and Jo Johnston offer fresh perspectives on leveraging technology, cultivating leadership, streamlining processes, and harnessing innovation to empower volunteer leaders and drive organisational success.
Boomers to ZoomersInterview with Linda Lake, Jo Johnston, Leah Ostermeyer, Crystal Johnston, and Michael Tannous
This vlog delves into the distinct approaches and experiences of Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, highlighting how each generation makes a meaningful impact in their own way.
Interview with Linda Lake, Kingsgrove RSL Life Time Member and Volunteer, Jo Johnston and Leah Ostermeyer, Collappor8 founders, Crystal Johnston, Salon La Home founder, and Michael Tannous, Western Sydney University student
Youth as VolunteersFeaturing Zizi Charida
Discover the crucial role young people play in shaping community efforts and the powerful contributions they can make.
Featuring Zizi Charida, CEO of Community Minds, who explores this topic, using her City Project as a case study.
Youth with Disability: Untapped Autism/Neurodiversity VolunteerismInterview with Vanessa Gauci
Including volunteers with disabilities enriches your organisation with diverse perspectives, encourages inclusivity, and unlocks untapped potential for meaningful contributions.
Learn how Vanessa Gauci, CEO of Autism Community Network, creates an empowering and supportive environment for young volunteers with Autism and neurodivergence.
Engaging Artists in Building Support for Your Volunteering ProgramFeaturing Finn O'Branagain, Jo Johnston, and Leah Ostermeyer
This video discusses ways to engage artists in supporting your volunteering program, balancing the needs of young people, professional artists, and service providers to create meaningful impact.
Featuring Finn O’Branagain, CEO of Outloud, and Jo Johnston and Leah Ostermeyer, Collappor8 founders.
Volunteering with Family in SportsFeaturing Sydney Olympic FC volunteers
In this friendly interview, we chat with a family volunteering for Sydney Olympic FC to uncover the unique and rewarding experience of coming together as a family to support their local sports community.
Q&A: Our Top 3 Most Frequently Asked Questions
Want more information?
Check out our bonus Q&A video where we tackle the top three most frequently asked questions: Stakeholder Engagement, Grants and Government Funding, and Accessibility in Inclusive Volunteering.
Get expert insights and practical tips to help you navigate these key areas and supercharge your organisation’s impact.