Lesson 2: Tracking Volunteer Information

Tracking Volunteer Information

We track both contact information for volunteers and groups as well as data about projects. Our volunteer sign-in sheets collect volunteers’ names, email addresses, and include a box to check giving us permission to send our email newsletter. If you communicate more with texts, include space to write cell numbers and a box giving you permission to text them. 

When groups volunteer, keep the group leader’s contact info. A church group volunteers with us every February, and we always follow-up with a thank you note to the church. You also may have a particular project that fits a particular group’s interest, so make sure their contact information is handy.

Initially, you can track individual and group contact information in a spreadsheet, but as your list grows, check out different contact management systems, often called CRMs (Constituent Relationship Management System). These range from free to pricey. 

In addition to contact information, track what the volunteers did/the kind of project, the total number of volunteers, the total number of project hours, and the total number of hours given to your garden by your volunteers.

Example: If four people volunteered for two hours one afternoon, the total volunteer hours for that project is eight. 

We track this information in a spreadsheet with columns for the date, the project, the number of volunteers, the number of volunteer hours, and details about the project. You can also include a column for volunteer names. This helps you track which volunteers volunteer the most. You might want to recognize volunteers who give the most time at an event or give them a special thank you gift. CRMs often have volunteer modules that help you track this kind of information.

Use this information to measure and communicate your success to volunteers, supervisors, funders', and the community. We send annual updates to our mayor and city council letting them know that volunteers contribute more than 2000 hours to our projects.

Volunteer hours can be translated into a dollar amount. In 2024, an hour of a volunteer’s time was worth $31.80. (Google “value of volunteer hour” to find out what the current value is.) The eight volunteer hours in the above example has a value of $254.40.

Calculating the value of volunteer contributions to your program will help you communicate the value of your program. Our volunteer program typically brought an equivalent of $65-70,000 a year in investment in our farm and Montgomery’s downtown.

Volunteer time can also be used as in kind matching funds when applying for grants.