Volunteer Resources

• Bring new energy to the chapter
• Bring additional expertise and community connections
• Help with the work and volunteer efforts
• Lead to other chapter volunteers or WAA members
• Represents other interests in the community to increase involvement
• Bring additional expertise and community connections

• To give back
• To stay part of the UW community
• To have fun
• To network
• To use their skills they learned at the UW

• Go from a low end to a high end ask.
• Create bite sized volunteer opportunities.
• Volunteering could be a career builder or link to a better job.

You should always be on the lookout for new chapter leaders or people who could lend their skills to your organization. Here are some easy ways to spot potential recruits:

Do they show up to events?
Do they seem interested in getting more involved?
Do they show Badger spirit and have passion for UW-Madison?
Do they have time to volunteer?
Could they add their expertise to your chapter?

More on recruiting volunteers.

• Build membership before building volunteers.
• Target developing members first and pull from membership to board level.
• Toss a broader net, yet keep it personalized.
• One on one recruiting, not just a blanket “please help.”
• Build relationships
• Labor intensive.
• Clearly delineate expectations.
• To whom are they accountable?
• Have a clear timetable/timeline.
• Create good job descriptions.
• Discuss generational differences.
• Create a community service network, not just a friend's network.

Young alumni have a lot to offer your chapter. They also have more time on their hands and would like to have the leadership experience.

Read here about how to attract Generation Y.

When structuring your chapter, you may name a president, vice president and other officers. Setting up committees will help your chapter become successful.

Read about positions and committees here.

Let your volunteers know how important they are to your chapter. Encourage involvement across a variety of events. It they are not involved in a committee, let them know about the committees in your chapter. Continuously training them in volunteer development will not only be beneficial to your chapter but to their professional lives as well.

Every Badger gets tired. Make sure that you have a succession plan in place for when you have volunteer turnover.

Succession planning is an ongoing process of systematically identifying, assessing and developing talent to ensure leadership continuity for all key positions in an organization. It is vital to the long-term success of your chapter.

• Put your succession plan in writing — it should be a document for future leaders to follow. This could be an addendum to chapter bylaws.
• Use the committee approach to get work done so that the board isn’t solely in charge. Committees also help with identifying and developing future leaders.
• Name committee vice chairs. Vice chairs are the committee chairs the following year, but could fill the position in an emergency.
• Overlap committee assignment terms with board/officer assignments. For example, you could have board/officers on fiscal-year terms with committee assignments on calendar-year terms.
• Increase your board size to increase pool of potential candidates.
• Establish an emergency plan. Determine in advance what will happen if a current chapter leader must suddenly step down. Who will step in or how will responsibilities be divided? Ask each officer, director and committee chair to designate their successor for emergency situations.
• Develop clear job descriptions and evaluations for different leadership positions so your volunteers know what is expected. Include their mentoring and “back-up” duties should another leader suddenly leave.
• Structure second-line leadership roles with opportunities for growth (e.g., moving from committee co-chairperson to become board member or officer).
• Rotate leadership positions on a regular basis to ensure that new talent has a chance to emerge.
• Have a plan in place for dealing with a board member who does not meet their responsibilities. This could be similar to workplace policies (e.g., meet with board member to address issues; leave with a plan for change; review after agreed-upon period of time; if no improvement, put on probation for period of time; if no improvement after that time, board member is terminated.) Write this plan into your bylaws.

WAA supports your chapter’s Web site and e-mail communications — helping you get the word out to Badgers in your area about events and happenings. WAA also provides supplies and materials to give your events the perfect Badger look and feel. Plus, your chapter receives administrative training and tools to assist you in your work (e.g., staff representative, letterhead, chapter handbook, design assistance). All of these functions and are underwritten by membership dues.

Check out our membership page for more details and benefits.