Policy Development Considerations for Non Profits

Policy development for non profits can be much more complicated than for a for profit organization. While policies for the staff can follow development outlined in prior articles, the problem with non profits comes down to how the public interacts with your organization. For example, a church nursery has volunteers that need to be carefully vetted (as well as follow legal guidelines when it comes to instructional materials). These nursery workers provide services for parents with children, and it is quite likely that there will be specific policies that they will need to follow and implement.

Where the complexity really hits home is when liability is brought into the equation. In 21st century America, this issue (as well as insurance needs) is one that needs to be handled with the greatest of care, or else the organization (and those involved with it, could find themselves in a tight spot. Therefore, when crafting policies that involve the public in some capacity, be sure that you carefully discuss with your insurance agent.

The challenge, though, at the end of the day when it comes to policy development, is how much should volunteers be permitted to do? This is a very thorny question, especially since some of the volunteers you get might actually have handled complex roles in their career (e.g. a Controller with 30 years of experience happily volunteering to oversee your nonprofits bookkeeping operations.)

On this point, consider the importance of having a backup plan in case for everything involving volunteers. This is important to try to implement, since it will protect the organization in the event that it is clear that volunteers are not able to handle the workload anymore. This should not be viewed as the optimal situation, especially if you find that volunteers enjoy the work and want to continue on helping the organization in this capacity.

Redundant policies might seem to be a waste of time, especially if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of constantly replacing volunteers. If you are finding yourself needing to constantly replace and retrain volunteers, then yes, the time has likely come for you to turn these volunteer responsibilities over to paid staff.

One other important consideration to keep in mind when it comes to volunteers and policies as it relates to them is to consider that volunteers are not professionals. While some might be more than capable of producing professional caliber results, view that as the exception as opposed to the norm. What might be the easiest on this point is to create an image in your mind of what your typical volunteer looks like. With that image in mind, move forward with the creation of your policies.

At this point, readers of this newsletter who have read other newsletter articles as they relate to different stages of for profit organizations might have noticed that these articles tend to be less conceptual and more philosophical. While there are some concepts that can (and should be used) when it comes to the development of policies for non profits, the problem here is that the mission of the non profits will likely generate strong feelings in the volunteer base. Additionally, these volunteers likely come from all walks of life, having skills and professions that make them unique.

What is it about your mission that causes volunteers to have such a strong desire to participate? If it is a community orchestra, it is a love of music. If your organization provides emergency response services, then most likely your volunteers have a love of service to their fellow man. If your organization provides relief services (food, clothing, etc.), then most likely your volunteers love helping those in your community that are less fortunate. Whatever your organization is, the first step to developing effective policies for a non-profit is to fully understand what it is about your organization that inspires people to volunteer.

Once this is fully crystallized, then you will be able to craft policies (possibly even using ideas from some of our other newsletters). This is because you will have a very clear understanding of why people want to get involved. That way, you will be able to craft policies that will help your organization function properly while enabling your volunteers to gain the fulfillment that they so desire.