Have you ever done an age breakdown of the volunteers you do have?  Are you in a college town?  Do you have a large teen program?  This is a good place to start.  Here is my own breakdown:

14-25   328

26-43   39

44-62   80

63+      132

So this is your reality, but who do you want?  Is your website attracting those people?

Click on the links for each of these pages and see what you think (These are easy to find…just type “hospital volunteer” into any internet browser):

 Sample One:  Mass General

Sample Two: Yale New Haven

Sample Three: New York Presbyterian

Sample Four: Allina Hospitals and Clinics

Sample Five: Lucile Packard

Sample Six: Potomac Hospital

Sample Seven: Austin State

Sample Eight: Barnes Jewish

Sample Nine: Mine…Saint Joseph Health System

• People expect answers, information, and resources NOW!
• They want 24/7 access to information and resources
• They want answers promptly – quick and easy.
• They want to be well informed – monthly newletters may not be sufficient.

Phones are so much more advanced now and with unlimited data cell plans, traditional websurfing from the computer is quickly being replaced with surfing from the cell phone (Iphone anyone?).  But cell phone browsers don’t work the same as computer browsers.  Check out this website for more details and share it with your I.T. department.

Here is a list of all of the things I can think of…feel free to comment and add your own suggestions.  And remember, these items are only as good as the information provided in them (huh?)  For instance, a full length assignment description can be well written or poorly written.

Must Haves

1. Descriptions of your volunteer programs (Adults, college students, teens, groups, non-traditional, guild, auxiliary, etc.)
2. Volunteer Assignment Descriptions – in my opinion you should provide the full description, not just a brief summary.
3. Online Volunteer Application:  A “Print, fill out, mail back” is not the best choice.  See the blog entry on “Forms”.

Should Haves

1. Volunteer Handbook
2. All orientation forms that can be signed, filled out, etc. electronically (ie. confidentiality agreement, safety test, hipaa test, volunteer agreement, orientation checklist, etc.)
3. The step by step process to becoming a volunteer – Don’t just tell them to fill out the application and call your office.  Tell them about needing vaccination records, what your tb process is, how to get a uniform, etc.
4. Pictures

All the little extras:

1. A place for volunteers to log in and view their information, record hours, etc.  Some volunteer management software has this capability.
2. A blog:  Short for “web log,” a specialized site that allows an individual or group to share a running log of events and personal insights with online audiences.  Many blogs allow visitors to make comments, or “postings” in response to the blogger, or ask questions.  There are numerous sites that offer free blogs.  Type “free blogs” into an internet search and just see how many come up.
3. A forum:  An online discussion group, where participants with common interests can exchange open messages.  Also known as a message forum, a message board, or a bulletin board, a forum allows for messages to be posted and kept on a website for future viewing.  Again, just do an internet search to find free forums.
4. Video:  You have probably heard of YouTube, but have you taken a look at it?  I have used a couple of videos I found on YouTube in my previous posts.  You would be surprised what you can find there.

OK…Your turn….post a comment with your ideas!

Forget about using fonts the way you do when you’re printing or creating image files in Photoshop. That’s not how typography works on Web pages. A Web page gets its fonts from the user’s hard drive. The fonts on your own hard drive are not the same as the fonts on any other person’s hard drive!

A common mistake made by beginners: They specify fonts in the Web page; they see those fonts on their computer and they look great; then later they see the Web page on another person’s computer and it looks terrible. Why? That other person does not have those fonts.

It’s not a good idea to get creative with fonts on your Web pages. If you stick to the three specs above, or something quite similar, your pages will look equally good for all your users, regardless of the operating system they use.

Which fonts are most common?

Windows Common Fonts               Mac Common Fonts

Most of you will be using your hospital’s color scheme on your website.  But there are few good tips to keep in mind as you are thinking about color.

Here is a great tool which allows you to look at combinations of colors to find a color scheme that is right for you!

• If you are picking your own color scheme, use colors found in nature.  They are more pleasing then their artifical counterparts.  Unnatural colors such as bright blues, greens or reds cause eye fatigue and chase visitors away.
• Create a strong contrast between a page’s background and its text. Effective website background colors are white, black, dark blue, or gray.
• Avoid pairing blue and red, or blue and yellow.  Green text on a red background or red text on a green or blue background are also choices you shouldn’t make, because such combinations cause eyestrain.
• Select up to five (some say seven) colors and use them consistently throughout the website.
• Avoid using blue color for small texts and diagrams with thin lines. 
• Use white spaces to balance the other colors from your site.  It will make webpages easy on the eyes.

Common Colors and Their Most Common Meanings

• Red: Energy, passion, excitement, power; also implies aggression
• Blue:  Coolness, spirituality, freedome, patience, loyalty, peace, trustworthiness; can also imply sadness, depression.
• Yellow:  Light, optimism, happiness, brightness, joy; use caution using yellow for text as it can be hard to read.
• Green:  Life, naturalness, restfulness, health, wealth, prosperity
• Orange:  Friendliness, warmth, approachability, energy, playfulness, courage
• Violet:  Wisdom, sophistication, celebration
• White:  Purity, cleanliness, youth, freshness, peace
• Black:  Power, elegance, secrecy, mystery
• Gray:  Security, maturity, reliability
• Pink:  Romance, a feminine color
• Brown:  Comfort, strength, stability, credibility

It is a good thing to differentiate between the elements of your web site by using various colors.  You can use color for identification, grouping or emphasis.  For example, groups of related webpages can be identified by some particular color schemes, this making it easier for a visitor to identify their place in your web site’s architecture.

Gen Ys were born after 1980 and are also known as the “Internet Generation”.  They wer born in a generation where new products and services are created every day.  As a result, they expect unique creations that stretch their imaginations and offer the creativity of new technologies.  Gen Ys also expect simplicity of use and function.

Gen Ys are great multi-taskers and are looking for products and services that make their hectic lives a little less fast and more organized.  In addition, anything created to make things a little more integrated is a plus.

This generation loves companies that help a good cause.  Raised in comfort and with the Internet, they expect their work to have a deeper personal meaning.  Gen Ys are civic minded and socially conscious as individuals, consumers and employees.

 In the 2007 Deloitte Volunteer Impact Survey of Gen Ys, 33% said the single most reason they volunteered was to have a meaningful impact on their community.  Read more of this survey here.

Check out this video about Gen Y and Volunteering.

So what does this mean to you?

• Change the language around age.  Move from language such as “kids”, “children”, or “teens” to young people, youth, young adults.
• Creat meaningful positions with real responsibility.
• Provide opportunites for leadership and leader development.
• Design work that can engage more than one youth to allow for peer interaction.  This generation likes teams.
• Market to youth groups, service learning classes, civic engagement clubs, religious youth groups.

Generation X, born between 1964 and 1982, is the undefined generation.  They are disloyal to brands and skeptical of big business.  Boldness, youthful rebellion, and benign anarchy remain the halmarks of the generation, even as it begins to have families and start businesses.

Gen X was the group that make the cell phone take off-a new portable communication device that allowed them to talk anywhere and reach someone who was not tethered to a land line at home.  Technology such as cell phones and the Internet has changed the way Gen X and later generations thinkg and act.  Because of the technology, this group has high expectations abour receiving easy and personalized service when they want it, not just when you are open.

X’ers are realists.  They trust themselves and their friends.  Beyond that, they tend to dismiss claims about goods or services.  Further, they are also indifferent about talk of “deeper meanings” of life.

Generation X doesn’t dislike advertising, they dislike hype.  Don’t try to sell to them.  Just tell them who you are and they will make up their minds about whether they like you or not.    

Gen X’ers where the first latchkey kids due to dual career households or divorce.  As a result, they are more likely to crave time with their spouses and children, which gives them less time to spend on civic activities.  The above information was taken from here.

So what does this mean for your volunteer program?

• Provide flexibility in roles and schedules, casual attire, and comfortable environment (ie. complimentary coffee)
• Offer technology centered tasks as well as one on one interactions to choose from
• This group is very attuned to terminology related to identity.
• Use the Internet (bulletin boards, chat rooms, websites, etc.) for recruitment and e-mail for contact.
• Highlight the need and impact but don’t try to oversell.
  • The above information was taken from here

We have heard alot about how the Baby Boomers are going to effect our volunteer programs.  Here is a quick review of what drives this generation in the marketing arena.

 Baby Boomers (Born 1946-1964):

• Boomers are highly resistant to words like “senior”, “older adult”, “golden years”, “mature adult”, etc.  Be creative in your choice of terms – anecdotal evidence shows that “experienced” may appeal to this demographic.
• Boomers see themselves as being at least 12 years younger than their chronological age.  Images of individuals they perceive as “elderly” may not appeal.
• Consider using words other than “volunteer” – this word is often associated with negative images of PTA lunches or menial tasks.  Boomers want to feel as if they are continuing their professional work in an unpaid capacity.
• Boomers are less likely to volunteer out of response to civic duty or obligation.  They want to know how they can make a difference in their community.
• HOWEVER, the Boomers also have a sense of “whats in it for me”.  Talk about the health and social benefits of volunteering.
  • This information was taken from here: 
  • Check out this video “Volunteering Will Make You Happier and Healthier”.  Wouldn’t this be a great addition to your volunteer website?

  So what does this mean for you?

• Repackage the way volunteer opportunites are presented.  Focus on the work to be done and the skills needed rather than the volunteer status.
• Design and manage volunteer positions more like paid positions-with job descriptions, training, supervision, and benefits.
• Show the personal and community impact to the volunteer
• Consider the volunteer skills and interests
  • This information was taken from here

Check out this website “Creating Baby Boomer Friendly Volunteer Opportunities.