Skip to main content
Create an account for suggestions personalised to you and your organisation
Create account
Guides
1 minute read

Organisational plan: management of spontaneous volunteers – a practical guide for volunteer involving organisations

Meeting National Standards and Strategy Seal Meeting National Standards and Strategy What's this?

This guide supports Volunteering Involving Organisations that may engage spontaneous volunteers during emergencies. It assists organisations to establish an operational plan that clearly outlines how spontaneous volunteers will be used, coordinated and managed when the need arises.

The resource focuses on preparedness and risk aware planning, covering key considerations such as systems, leadership responsibilities, safety, insurance and organisational readiness in emergency contexts.

Benefits for volunteer managers

  • supports structured planning for managing spontaneous volunteers.
  • helps clarify leadership, systems and decision making in emergencies.
  • supports risk management, safety and insurance considerations.
  • strengthens organisational readiness for emergency response.

How to apply this resource

This guide is most useful when developing or reviewing emergency and disaster plans, preparing operational frameworks for spontaneous volunteers, or strengthening organisational readiness before an emergency event.

Downloads and sources

Visit source (opens in new tab)

More about the author

Volunteering Queensland has for 41 years been the state’s peak body for advancing and promoting volunteering. It represents over 300 member volunteer involving organisations and support thousands more through a wider network, encompassing hundreds of thousands of volunteers, who contribute their time, money, and skills to the benefit of all Queenslanders.
reception@volunteeringqld.org.au 07 3002 7600
Visit website (opens in new tab)
(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)

Contribute to the Gateway

Leave feedback

Was this resource useful?

Make a Suggestion

If you find a great resource that isn't in the directory or want to provide feedback on the Volunteering Gateway, drop us a line!

More like this

Guides

Youth Ready Assessment

A guide to check and assess how well a volunteering program appeals to young people across five focus areas.
1 minute read
Volunteering Victoria
Youth or Student
Tools or Toolkits

Measuring Change

Measuring Change is a free toolkit that helps volunteer-involving organisations plan, measure and communicate program impact. It supports outcome measurement, data collection, evaluation, evidence-based decision-making and continuous improvement.
1 minute read
Volunteering WA
General
SEEK Volunteer
Tech

SEEK Volunteer

SEEK Volunteer helps connect people to volunteering opportunities that enrich their communities, lives and careers.
Recruitment
VIKTOR
Tech

VIKTOR

VIKTOR is a volunteer recruitment system designed to run a referral service for volunteers. It allows you to create and advertise volunteer roles, enter volunteers and match them to roles offered by your members.
Volunteer database Recruitment Reporting
Volaby
Tech

Volaby

Volaby is an end-to-end volunteer and people management platform, enabling organisations to do more with less! Built from the collective voice of our volunteer managers using the platform, Volaby helps you automate and simplify the volunteer and manager experience to save time and scale impact.
Volunteer database Recruitment Rostering / scheduling Onboarding / training Volunteer performance/recognition Communication / engagement Task management Compliance Reporting Resource management Event management
scheduled

An Introduction to Succession Planning: Developing your Future Leaders

Learn the fundamentals of succession planning to build a resilient, sustainable organisation. Discover practical strategies to identify critical roles, develop emerging talent, reduce risk, and strengthen your team's future capability.
VolunteeringWA
–
Free
scheduled

Building an Inclusive Volunteer Program

This interactive workshop will provide participants with the skills and knowledge needed to recruit, engage, and retain a diverse team of volunteers, including reviewing organisational procedures and workplace culture.
Volunteering Victoria
–
Free
scheduled

Volunteering SA&NT Roadshow Workshop Darwin

Connect with volunteer leaders, coordinators and community organisations to share challenges, solutions and good practice. Explore the National Standards, volunteer engagement tools and support from Volunteering SA & NT.
Volunteering SA&NT
–
Free