Volunteers: Recruiting, Screening, and Training
Measuring Results
How do you know if your program is making a positive impact or whether you need to change how you provide services? First, you need objective information in order to analyze whether your program is staying on track.
Funding agencies and organizations typically require that you measure and report your results. If you have a grant—or intend to apply for one—you'll need to identify program goals and objectives that can be measured. (View the sample volunteer service record, also included in module 4, Providing Services.)
Although these goals and objectives will vary according to each specific program or community, any Good Samaritans program should be able to answer the following fundamental questions:
How many volunteers have been trained?
How many victims have been served?
Is the training adequate for the service that is being offered?
Are there enough active volunteers to serve the target population?
What is the nature and extent of that service?
Are volunteers making adequate use of community resources when referring victims to additional services?
How many service and training hours have the volunteers invested in the program?
Does the program have enough partners to support it?
What kinds of outreach activities inform victims of the program?
