Creating a Volunteer Handbook
Give volunteers one clear guide to your expectations, policies, and culture.
For: Executive directors and nonprofit managers
What you’ll learn
- Decide what every volunteer handbook should cover
- Write clear policies volunteers will actually read
- Keep your handbook current, acknowledged, and enforceable
Screen your volunteers for $5
VolunteerBadge runs FCRA-compliant background checks for just $5 — with identity verification built in. No monthly fees, no contracts.
Create a free account →Course outline
- 1
Why a handbook (and what it really does)
5 min
- 2
The anatomy of a handbook
6 min
- 3
The policies that protect everyone
6 min
- 4
Write it so people read it
5 min
- 5
Acknowledgment, sign-off & the paper trail
4 min
- 6
Keep it alive: review, revise, re-share
4 min
Sources & further reading
- National Council of Nonprofits — Volunteers — managing and protecting your volunteer workforce
- Energize, Inc. — Benefits of Policies for Volunteer Programs
- Galaxy Digital — Creating Effective Volunteer Policies and Procedures
- Nonprofit Learning Lab — Creating a Volunteer Handbook: Build Clarity in Volunteer Management
- Wagenmaker & Oberly — Volunteer Handbooks: Benefits and Best Practices
This course is educational and provides general information about the Fair Credit Reporting Act and volunteer-screening best practices. It is not legal advice. Laws vary by state and change over time — consult a qualified attorney about your organization’s specific obligations.