A N N A L I S E M C G R A I L : H I L LT O P M I C R O F I N A N C E I N I T I A T I V ED A V I D C H I : E L M S E E D E N T E R P R I S E F U N D

TOP STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING A VOLUNTEER-RUN CAMPUS MFI

AGENDA

Handing leadership transitions

Managing student

volunteers

Staff recruitment

AGENDA

Handing leadership transitions

Managing student

volunteers

Staff recruitment

MANAGING LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS

• Election/hiring process• Relationships• Clients• Donors• Community partners

• Institutional memory

ELECTIONS/ HIRING NEW LEADERS

Elmseed

• Elmseed elects EDs first, then EDs select executive board

• Board of Directors involvement• EDs are elected by majority

vote among senior staff• Earlier (~mid-October) is better

HMFI

•The board of directors selects the executive staff (CEO, COO, and CFO)‒Application (questions and resume),

interview with current executive staff, and interview with board of directors

•The new executive staff selects directors of departments‒ Interview with exec staff

•Transitions occur over the calendar year

RELATIONSHIPS: CLIENTS

• “I’ll do it during break” doesn’t work• Setting clearly defined deliverables that can be done within a semester’s time• Letting clients know in advance

RELATIONSHIPS: DONORS/ PARTNERS

• Making a shortlist of key contacts• Ideal case:• Executive board/ED successors identified early• Meetings/phone calls with successors in advance of or

during transition

• Next best case:• Email introductions at the end of the semester

INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY

• Earlier transitions are better• Prioritizing what’s mission-critical• E.g., reporting credit, filing taxes, accounting• ED checklist

• Elmseed hasn’t found transition letters to be very helpful; shadowing is much more useful• Keeping “graduated” executive board

members around, even informally

AGENDA

Handing leadership transitions

Managing student

volunteers

Staff recruitment

MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

• Clearly defined leadership roles• Directors execute responsibilities and management

within the department• Exec is responsible for managing concerns outside

of the specific departments and cross-department initiatives

• Regular communication loop• Meetings: Exec, directors, all-body• Coffee chats

ONLINE SYSTEM MANAGEMENT: TASKS

• Programs• Freedcamp• Podio

• Purpose• Increase cross-department knowledge• Keep track of the responsibilities of each member• Manage and track the progress of clients

• Assessment • Most functional when there is a purpose of using the site beyond

just checking off tasks• Requires students to hold others to a high level of accountability• Best when it is possible to apply for free access to full version of

programs

ONLINE SYSTEM MANAGEMENT: FILE SHARING

• Programs• Dropbox• Google Drive• Elmseed computer and yale secure file transfer system

• Purpose• Overcome the barrier to file access due to a lack of a

communal physical workplace

• Assessment • Important to ensure that file saving and sharing

mechanism is secure• Think about how to make the files easily accessible while

still maintaining security

ONLINE SYSTEM MANAGEMENT: COMMUNICATION

• Programs• Campus MFI specific e-mail addresses• Facebook

• Purpose• Maintain regular communication • Inform organization about big events, successes, or

opportunities• Alert organization about relevant news articles

• Assessment • The advantage to these systems are that they are already

used, so it is very easy to promote active engagement this way

AGENDA

Handing leadership transitions

Managing student

volunteers

Staff recruitment

GETTING YOUR NAME OUT

• Create a “brand” for your organization within the university• Experience• Non-profit• Business education opportunity

• Community• On campus “family”• Opportunity to “break the bubble”

• Personalize the process• Offer to meet with interested people• Give out contact information

RECRUITMENT

• Involve your organization in a diversity of recruitment processes• Open house• Activities fair• Casual meet and greet

• Targeted approach• Commitment• Referrals from friends, freshmen, transfer students, limited

activities

• Skills• Identify your specific needs• Target classes and activities in line with your mission and needs

APPLICATION PROCESS

• Information sessions and casual meet and greets• Application• Questions• organization on macro skill and parts specific to each

department

• Apply to a specific department• Consider making application more difficult in order to

limit the number to just those that are interested

• Interview• Behavioral• Case

HIRING DECISIONS

• Factors considered in the decision• Expressed interest in the organization• History of activities that align with mission• Culture fit• Range of student types• Skill set fits within the needs of the department

• Commitment level and passion for the mission matter above all else.• Skills can always be taught

RETAINING COMMITTED STUDENTS

• Establish clear expectations at the beginning• Active follow up when students don’t meet expectations

• We do not fire, but students are at times phased out• Give students a project they can “own”• Mentorship program

QUESTIONS?