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How to manage and onboard volunteers in Asana

In This Article

Managing volunteers effectively is crucial for nonprofit organizations to achieve their missions. This article explains how to use Asana to streamline volunteer management, from application processing to onboarding and ongoing coordination.

Process volunteer applications

Create a volunteer intake project to manage applications efficiently and maintain visibility into your volunteer pipeline.

Set up your intake project

Volunteer intake project

  1. Begin by creating a new project in Asana dedicated to processing volunteer applications. Utilize Asana's templates or customize your own. You can also use Asana AI’s Smart projects feature to quickly create a customized project.
  2. Add sections to track application status. Examples sections might include; New submissions, In review, Approved, and Declined.
  3. Create custom fields to track volunteer details like:
    • Skills and interests
    • Availability
    • Previous experience
    • Total volunteering hours per week

Create an application form

  1. Design a volunteer application form that applicants can fill out online. Asana forms will automatically add a task to your project each time a new application is received.

  2. Design a form that captures all necessary information:

    • Contact details

    • Skills and interests

    • Availability

    • Resume or cover letter attachments

  3. Set the form to active and share the link on your website or directly with applicants. The form can be accessed by anyone with the link, they do not need to have an Asana account to submit an application using the form. 

Automate the review process

Set up rules to streamline application processing:

  1. Automatically assign new submissions to the volunteer coordinator.

  2. Move tasks between sections based on review status or on applicant responses, such as skills or previous experience.

  3. Notify relevant team members when applications are approved.

Onboard new volunteers

Once volunteers are approved, use a structured onboarding process to set them up for success.

Create an onboarding template

  1. Design a comprehensive onboarding project template with standard tasks like:
    • Complete orientation materials
    • Review organization policies
    • Set up necessary accounts
    • Schedule training sessions
  2. Add dependencies to ensure tasks are completed in the right order.
  3. Include relevant documentation and resources as task attachments.

Manage volunteer access

  1. Invite volunteers to Asana as guests.

  2. Share relevant projects and tasks with appropriate permissions.

  3. Provide basic Asana training resources to help volunteers get started. Our Intro to Asana article series is a good place to start when learning the basics.

Coordinate volunteer activities

Use Asana's features to effectively manage ongoing volunteer work and communication.

Track volunteer projects

  1. Create a portfolio to monitor all volunteer-related projects and to track progress and outcomes.

  2. Use workload to visualize and adjust volunteer bandwidth. This can help balance volunteer assignments and prevent burnout.

  3. Use status updates to track and share progress and identify potential issues. Smart status can speed up the process of creating status updates by using Asana AI to create a draft update for you. 

Streamline communication

  1. Use messages, comments and status updates to communicate with your team.

  2. Pin important comments to make the information easily accessible.

  3. @mention volunteers in comments to ensure they receive a notification.

Monitor and report

  1. Create dashboards to track key metrics:
    • Active volunteers
    • Hours contributed
    • Project completion rates
  2. Use reporting features to generate insights about volunteer impact.

By following these steps, nonprofit organizations can create an efficient, organized volunteer management system that supports both volunteers and staff in achieving their goals.

Additional resources

  1. Check out our hiring & onboarding templates and customize them to suit the needs of your nonprofit organization. This employee onboarding template may be a useful place to start.
  2. Choose some of our video tutorials for your volunteers to watch as part of their onboarding journey.
  3. Visit our Asana for nonprofits page for more information on what Asana can offer nonprofit organizations.

 

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How to manage volunteers | Asana Help Center