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Volunteer Behaviours

Stop 19 of 58 · about 6 minutes

How many volunteers do you really have, and who has stopped coming? A volunteer who works ten shifts is one volunteer, not ten. Count shifts and the number looks big. Count people and it tells the truth.

Do this stop in the courseRead the lesson
Behaviour - Volunteered this year: Shifts this year is 1 or more, so each volunteer counts once.
Behaviour - Volunteered this year: Shifts this year is 1 or more, so each volunteer counts once. Open full size

Sample charity: the people and numbers in these screens are made up, so the picture shows the tool, not a result.

The lesson

Volunteer Behaviours count timesheets: the shifts people worked. The audiences count people.

  • Volunteered this year: one or more shifts this year. Someone with ten shifts counts once.
  • Volunteers lapsing: a shift last year, none yet this year. Call them before the next event.
  • New volunteers this year: their first-ever shift was this year. Welcome them.
  • Lapsed volunteers: their last shift was more than a year ago. A welcome-back list.

Volunteer retention works like donor retention: Volunteered this year and last year, divided by Volunteered last year. These audiences need your volunteer timesheets connected to Mission.

Watch this stop · about a minute

More of it in Orbit

Behaviour - Volunteers lapsing: a shift last year, leaving out anyone with a shift this year.
Behaviour - Volunteers lapsing: a shift last year, leaving out anyone with a shift this year. Open full size
Behaviour - Lapsed volunteers: the last shift date is more than a year ago.
Behaviour - Lapsed volunteers: the last shift date is more than a year ago. Open full size

Your turn, in Orbit

  1. In Orbit, open Audiences and open Behaviour - Volunteered this year. Read its rule.
  2. Open Behaviour - Volunteers lapsing and read its two rules: who it includes and who it leaves out.
  3. Open Behaviour - Lapsed volunteers. Its rule looks at each person's last shift date.

Quick check

One volunteer worked 10 shifts this year. How many volunteers do they count as?
  • 10
  • 1
  • 0

Answer: 1

Someone worked shifts last year but none yet this year. Which audience are they in?
  • Volunteers lapsing
  • New volunteers this year
  • Volunteered this year

Answer: Volunteers lapsing

Need a hint?

Count people, not shifts. Lapsing means a shift last year and none yet this year.

Why it matters

You find the volunteers who are drifting while there is still time to call them.

Read on

Read more in the Apteco Help Hub

Learn Mission is a free course. You read a little, do it yourself, then answer one quick check. Orin, the assistant in Orbit, walks with you. Your progress stays in your browser.

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It is stop 19 of 58. Open it in the course, or start from the beginning.

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All of Part 3: Behaviours

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