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Working with Volunteers: A Checklist
by Diane Marshall, SIM International Champion for HIV & AIDS
8 July 2008

Volunteers are the backbone of most HIV & AIDS initiatives. They give sacrificially of themselves to serve not only those who are friends and family but others who are often marginalised due to stigma and discrimination.

The concept of a "volunteer" varies greatly between countries and settings. Open up discussion with your team with these questions:

  1. How is a ‘volunteer’ defined in your context?
  2. What motivates volunteers? Give examples of incentives that are appropriate and inappropriate.
  3. Are there any legal requirements that must be adhered to when working with volunteers?
  4. What are the main threats to volunteerism?
  5. To what extent are the following recommendations (collated from grass roots SIM related HIV&AIDS programs) operating in your context?
    1. Volunteers in HIV & AIDS related ministries and projects should:
      • Share the vision and core values of the implementing organization.
      • Be interviewed prior to commencing their position by at least two people such as representatives from the paid staff, governing board, or partner church.
      • Be selected using clearly defined selection criteria including character.
      • Be recorded in a volunteer registration system.
      • Have clearly defined responsibilities which give them personal satisfaction.
      • Be in positions which take into account their motivations and skills.
      • Represent a range of diverse backgrounds including people living with HIV & AIDS.
      • Not be placed in situations where they feel pressured to disclose their HIV status (negative or positive).
      • Have a supervisor who is responsible for providing them with guidance and support.
      • Be encouraged to attend funerals of those they have been assisting.
      • Be regularly reviewed, provided with feedback on their performance, and given the opportunity to renew (or otherwise) their volunteer status.
      • Be included in policy and procedural guidelines.
      • Have clear guidelines on what financial entitlements or incentives will (or will not) be provided, such as, training, reimbursement of travel costs, meals.
      • Have their contribution to the vision acknowledged in appropriate ways.
    2. Leadership of HIV & AIDS related ministries and projects should:
      • Recognize that “volunteer culture” exists, and foster this.
      • Define what is a “volunteer” according to each context. There are significant variations in Expectations
      • Be sensitive to what each volunteer is able to offer, e.g., time, to needs of volunteers, to debriefing, and to any negative consequences of volunteering such as stigma.
      • Address sustainability issues from the beginning.
      • Build in local ownership through church involvement in the selection of volunteers and Clients.
      • Encourage a gender balance of volunteers in any program.
      • Train more volunteers than are necessary and at many different levels within the community.
      • Develop strong links with local health services.
      • Ensure that confidentiality measures are adhered to.
      • Develop promotional material on the program.
      • Celebrate when volunteers find other, often paid, positions using skills gained through Volunteering.

We’d love to hear from volunteers themselves and leaders of teams of volunteers. What are the lessons you are learning?

Comment on this post: Email international.aids-consultant@sim.org
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