The Certified Volunteer Manager Program offered by APAC develops the leadership and management skills of volunteer professionals. Topics include:
- Effectively recruiting volunteers into exciting volunteer opportunities
- Engaging and supporting volunteers
- Creating procedures that reduce volunteer program risks
- Identifying ways to gain staff and leadership support of a volunteer program
- Assessing a volunteer program’s outcomes
- Improving volunteer programs through planning
- And more
APAC’s Certified Volunteer Manager Program provides expert in-person instruction and hands-on application. The program is for anyone managing volunteers or volunteer programs. Participants include individuals working for nonprofits, government agencies, cities, educational institutions, and other community based organizations. Volunteer professionals from around the world are invited to participate.
The Certified Volunteer Manager Program offered by APAC was the first certificate program in volunteer management in the country. Since the first graduating class in 1987, more than 500 participants have become Certified Volunteer Managers.
About the Certified Volunteer Manager Program
Currently the Certified Volunteer Manager Program consists of three parts.
- An intensive in-person training – Participants are immersed in the subject matter by expert instructors. In addition, participants build their professional network. In 2019 the in-person training was accomplished during a 4-day retreat held at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in Arkansas.
- Assignments – Insight about volunteer management is gained through assignments.
- Capstone – Participants plan a significant project to implement in their volunteer program.
The Certified Volunteer Manager Program requires approximately 60 hours of time to complete. It is offered annually with an approximate cost of $1,300 (2019 registration fee). This fee includes room and board during the in-person training. For the cost of attending a conference, participants become Certified Volunteer Managers.
Reasons to Participate
Volunteers are a valuable resource. Research indicates that effective volunteer engagement is linked to stronger, more effective, and more efficient organizations.* Engaged volunteers:
- Significantly increase organizational capacity
- Become issue and organizational advocates
- Provide more financial support
- Make a huge impact
It takes significant time and talent to develop a volunteer program that has these impacts. In order to engage volunteers strategically, volunteer managers require not only knowledge, but also planning and time-management expertise, appropriate infrastructure, and leadership skills. APAC’s Certified Volunteer Manager program focuses on developing volunteer professionals who can do just that.
Types of Organizations that Have Participated
Participants in APAC’s Certified Volunteer Manager Program come from a wide variety of organizations that serve the public. They include:
| Airports |
| Alumni Associations |
| Camps |
| CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Programs |
| Chambers of Commerce |
| Churches |
| Cities |
| Community Health Clinics |
| Community Theaters |
| Disaster Relief Organizations |
| Extension Services |
| First Response Organizations |
| Food Banks |
| Foundations |
| Hospice Organizations |
| Hospitals |
| Libraries |
| Literacy Councils |
| Medical Schools |
| Museums |
| National Corporations |
| Nature Conservancies |
| Non-Profits |
| School Districts |
| Senior Centers |
| State Agencies |
| State Commissions |
| State Parks |
| United Ways |
| Universities |
| Zoos |
The 2019 Program
The 2019 in-person training of the Certified Volunteer Manager Program was held at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on October 28-31. Participants were comprised of individuals from nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, museums, and businesses. Affiliations included CASA (Court Appoint Special Advocates), the Little Rock Police Department, Murphy USA, Heifer International, Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, the Arkansas Department of Human Services, the Little Rock School District, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and more.
The instructor team included:
- Millicent Boykin focusing on designing and staffing a volunteer program
- Judith Faust who taught participants how to strategically develop their programs
- Jonathan Wallace helped the group assess and plan for risk
- Marie Lindquist worked with the group to apply what they were learning to their leadership and capstone projects.
You can find the instructor bios on the APAC instructor page.
Overall, participants “Strongly Agreed” with all of the following statements:
- The program was effective.
- The program was relevant to my work as a volunteer manager.
- The program improved my ability to perform my management and leadership responsibilities.
- I would recommend this program to colleagues.
- The instructors were effective.
- The instructors were knowledgeable about their subject matter.
Comments from participants included:
“The ideas, skills, materials gained in this program are INVALUABLE.”
“Everything about this program is as perfect as a program can be.”
“The program was amazing. It was super intensive!!”
“I thought the training materials, information, & speakers were excellent.”
“Love the idea of being ‘cloistered’ and leaving other work & personal [concerns] at home.”
Registration Information
To be added to the mailing list when registration is open for the 2020 program, contact APAC at apacprog@ualr.edu or (501) 569-3436.
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