Volunteer Program Assessment
The Volunteer Program Assessment (VPA, pronounced vee-pah) is an advanced and cost-free volunteer assessment system tailored for nonprofits and aimed to prompt organisational effectiveness.How did this all begin?
Initially developed through a partnership between the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and The Humane Society of the United States in 2009, VPA has since been utilized by nearly 1000 organizations. It has expanded its reach through collaborations with various university partners, including the University of Auckland.
At UoA, the VPA is managed by passionate staff members and master’s students in the 180-point Organisational Psychology Programme dedicated to community service.
What roles do VPA consultants play?
VPA consultants collaborate with volunteer coordinators to develop online surveys for distribution among their volunteers. VPA consultants guide coordinators throughout the process, offering support in survey development, maintaining a flexible timeline, and aiding in the interpretation of results. Following the survey, consultants present customized improvement recommendations and a comprehensive report based on the findings.
What does the survey cover?
The surveys cover a range of topics, including employee satisfaction, burnout, communication, and commitment, shedding light on individual and organizational outcomes. Additionally, the survey evaluates volunteer perceptions of the nonprofit’s strengths and weaknesses. Drawing from this extensive research, VPA identifies key drivers for volunteer engagement and commitment.
The assessment, shaped by a large-scale survey of 70 volunteer programs funded by the Humane Society of the United States, is grounded in validated volunteer attitudes and engagement research. All survey questions and scales are derived from published research.
What is the VPA process?
There are four main steps in the VPA process.
To gain a deeper understanding of the overall process and the time commitment involved, please consult the brief outline provided below:
Step 1: Consult
The VPA process will start with an initial phone call from your consultant. This phone call will provide you and your consultant with the opportunity to discuss your organization, the VPA process, and a general timeline for completion of the VPA.
Step 2: Pre-VPA Form
After the initial conversation, you will be asked to fill out an online form with information about your organization. This information will help to familiarize the VPA consultant with your organization before helping to administer the VPA survey.
Step 3: Distribution
Your VPA consultant will then email you the VPA survey link along with instructions on administering the survey and communicating with your volunteers throughout the approximately two-week online survey period. Volunteers can conveniently access the survey from any computer at any time.
Step 4: Final Report
Your VPA consultant will use the survey results to generate an executive report. This report will identify areas in which your organization is doing well and areas where improvements can be made. This report will be discussed one-on-one with you, including insights into best practices. Following this discussion, your consultant will provide you with the current VPA Norms Report.
The VPA Team
Consultants