Free · Certificate included
Volunteer Program Evaluation
Find what’s working, fix what isn’t, and keep improving your program.
What you’ll learn
- Tell program evaluation apart from impact measurement and pick the right one
- Build a logic model that links inputs and activities to outputs and outcomes
- Gather honest feedback from volunteers and stakeholders and analyze it fairly
- Benchmark your program against recognized sector standards
- Turn findings into a concrete continuous-improvement plan and report results
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Create a free account →Course outline
- 1
Evaluation vs. impact measurement
Before you can improve a volunteer program, you have to know what "good" looks like — and how to tell whether you’re reaching it.
5 min Quiz Interactive - 2
The evaluation cycle
Evaluation is not a one-time event you bolt on at year-end.
5 min Quiz - 3
Building a logic model
A logic model is the single most useful tool in evaluation.
6 min Quiz Interactive - 4
Collecting & analyzing data
Once your logic model tells you what to measure, you need to decide how.
5 min Quiz Interactive - 5
Volunteer & stakeholder feedback
Numbers from a database miss something only people can tell you: how the program feels from the inside.
5 min Quiz Interactive - 6
Benchmarking against standards
Your own numbers tell you whether you improved year over year.
5 min Quiz Interactive - 7
Continuous improvement & reporting
Evaluation only matters if it changes something.
5 min Quiz Interactive
Sources & further reading
- AmeriCorps (Corporation for National & Community Service) — Planning an Evaluation & How to Develop a Program Logic Model
- Independent Sector & Do Good Institute — Value of Volunteer Time (2025): $34.79/hour from 2024 data
- Points of Light — Service Enterprise Program — strategic volunteer engagement & ROI
- Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration (CCVA) — CVA Core Competencies for volunteer administration
- Nonprofit Risk Management Center — Measuring & evaluating volunteer program effectiveness
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