The VPA Survey
In order to evaluate various volunteer dynamics within your organization, we have constructed a survey that you, the volunteer coordinator, will distribute to your volunteers. This survey provides information regarding 1) your volunteers’ feelings, attitudes, and their reactions to your program, and 2) information about what they perceive as your program’s greatest strengths and areas for growth.
Sample Survey Questions
To give you an idea of the types of questions that your volunteers will be asked about your organization, we have included sample questions from our survey:
- I feel that I know what is going on within this organization.
- I have mastered the skills necessary for my volunteer assignment.
- I feel that my input is valued by the organization I volunteer at.
- I feel used up at the end of the volunteer session.
- I often think of ending my volunteer work at this organization.
The questions are rated in terms of how much the volunteer agrees with each statement. If you are interested in reviewing some of the questions included in the VPA, click here to preview a sample of the survey. The VPA evaluates the health of your volunteer program on 15 different dimensions. To see a list of these dimensions, click here.
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: 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: 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: Your VPA consultant will email you the VPA survey link. In addition to the survey link, your consultant will provide you with information on how to both administer the survey and communicate with your employees throughout the process. Online survey administration typically lasts for 2 weeks. For your volunteers’ convenience, while the survey is being administered they may access it from any computer at any time of day.
Step 4: Your VPA consultant will use the survey results to generate an executive report. Click here to view a sample report. This report will identify areas in which your organization is doing well and areas where improvements can be made. Your VPA consultant will walk you through the report, discussing best practices one-on-one with you. Following the one-on-one discussion of your report, your consultant will provide you with a current copy of the VPA Norms Report.
The VPA Norms Report
This report reflects the averaged responses from over 175 organizations that have participated in VPA. While it is important to interpret your VPA within the context of your own organization, this report provides you with a snapshot of an average non-profit organization’s “health” at the time of a VPA survey. For a preview of the VPA Norms Report, click here.
Materials Referenced On This Page:
Sample VPA Survey
VPA Survey Dimensions
Sample VPA Report
Preview of VPA Norms Report
