Building a Strong Volunteer Corps

Building a volunteer corps not only builds community but also can benefit the museum financially. Volunteer photographers for an event or behind-the-scenes office volunteers reduce the need for contracted services and temporary staff. Corporations often prioritize their donations to nonprofits that provide volunteer opportunities to the company's employees as community service or team-building events. Donors are more likely to support organizations that are good stewards of their resources, as reflected by a strong commitment to using volunteers as a cost-effective complement to staff. Finally, volunteers sometimes become donors themselves as they get to know the organization and decide to invest money as well as time.

Our volunteer program went from a dozen or more volunteers to now more than 100 regular volunteers who contribute their time and expertise in everything from homing pigeon training to weeding gardens to assisting in the Art Studio to creating pioneer programs for our Log Cabin.

Volunteers set up the model train tracks