Strategic.
Intentional.
Sustainable.

Your volunteers care about your mission but without a strong system behind them, even the most dedicated programs experience high turnover, inconsistent engagement, and staff burnout.

Too often, volunteer programs grow reactively, built around immediate needs instead of long-term vision. The result? Gaps in capacity, underutilized tools, and a cycle that's exhausting to maintain.

At The Volunteer Leadership Lab, I help nonprofits break that cycle. Whether you need to build a program from the ground up, restructure what you have, improve retention, implement a CRM, or measure volunteer impact — I provide expert, hands-on support every step of the way.

Email me at rose@volunteerleadershiplab.com or schedule a meeting below.

Schedule a Meeting Here

Working with Rose and The Volunteer Leadership Lab was an incredibly valuable experience for The Healing Place. Rose took the time to understand our organization, our mission, and the unique role volunteers can play in supporting the people and programs we serve.

She helped us move beyond simply thinking about "volunteers" and instead develop a thoughtful, sustainable framework for how we recruit, engage, communicate with, and retain volunteers. We walked away with clearer processes, practical tools, and a much stronger vision for building a volunteer program that creates meaningful experiences for both our organization and the community members who want to serve alongside us.

Trish Nicholson, The Healing Place of New Hanover County

I'm a Certified Volunteer Administrator (CVA) with over a decade of experience building and managing volunteer programs across the nonprofit sector — from a local volunteer program at WARM NC to a global program spanning 23,000+ volunteers in 130 countries with ENGin. I founded The Volunteer Leadership Lab to bring that hands-on expertise directly to organizations ready to build stronger, more sustainable volunteer programs.

Schedule a Meeting Here

Core Consulting Services

You can hire me for a comprehensive volunteer program overhaul or for a single, targeted project. Whether you're starting from scratch or fine-tuning what you have, I meet you where you are.

Volunteer Program Planning & Development

Build a program with the structure and systems to grow sustainably — without burning out your staff.

I help you create the foundational infrastructure that keeps volunteers engaged, staff organized, and your mission moving forward. This includes:

Volunteer program strategic planning
Volunteer handbook creation
Policies and procedures development
Detailed volunteer role descriptions
Onboarding system design (application → screening → orientation → training → placement)
Engagement, recognition, and communication plans

Strategic Volunteer Recruitment

Stop waiting for volunteers to find you — build a proactive strategy that brings the right people to the right roles.

Recruitment isn't just posting on social media and hoping for the best. I help you get intentional about who you need, where to find them, and how to reach them effectively. This includes:

Identify priority roles and ideal volunteer profiles
Clarify mission-aligned messaging
Strengthen outreach channels and partnerships
Develop measurable recruitment goals
Design proactive strategy to recruitment

Volunteer Retention & Engagement

Find out why volunteers are leaving — and build the culture that makes them want to stay.

Recruiting volunteers is only half the battle. I help you understand what's driving disengagement and put systems in place to improve the volunteer experience from the inside out. This includes:

Analyze participation trends and volunteer data
Identify root causes of disengagement
Develop structured check-in systems
Design feedback surveys (quantitative and qualitative)
Create meaningful recognition plans
Build stronger volunteer community and culture

CRM Setup & Volunteer Management Systems

Get your technology actually working for you — not the other way around.

The right CRM can save your team hours every week. I set up and customize your volunteer management system so everything — from applications to scheduling to reporting — runs smoothly. You'll receive a fully configured system plus a customized digital manual your staff can reference long after we're done. This includes:

Full volunteer CRM setup and customization
Application, screening, and scheduling integration
Automated communication workflows
Volunteer hour tracking systems
Reporting dashboards for grant readiness
Segmentation and tagging systems

Research, Evaluation & Volunteer Impact Reporting

Know what's working, prove your impact, and make decisions backed by data.

Whether you need to strengthen a grant report or understand why your numbers have plateaued, I conduct in-depth analysis that turns your volunteer data into a clear picture of what's happening — and what to do next. This includes:

Measure engagement and participation trends
Diagnose retention issues
Identify growth opportunities
Strengthen grant reporting
Develop compelling volunteer impact reports
Translate data into strategic decision-making

Ready to schedule a free initial consultation?

or email me at
rose@volunteerleadershiplab.com

Book a Meeting Here

My Consulting Process

Every engagement begins the same way — with a clear picture of where you are

and a realistic plan for where you're going.

Step 1: Program Assessment & Strategy Session

We start with a free, one-hour meeting to discuss your volunteer program — its structure, systems, staffing capacity, challenges, and goals. During our conversation, we'll complete a comprehensive assessment to identify strengths, gaps, and priorities — that serves as the foundation for everything that follows.

Step 2: Customized Assessment Report & Strategic Roadmap

I develop a detailed report with key findings, strategic recommendations, and a prioritized action plan with both short- and long-term implementation pathways. You leave this step with clarity and direction, regardless of whether we continue working together.

Step 3: Scope of Work & Project-Based Proposal

Based on your priorities, I put together a clear project proposal with defined deliverables, a timeline, and a project-based investment. No surprises — you know exactly what you're getting and what it will cost.

Step 4: Hands-On Implementation

I do the heavy lifting. I complete the majority of the build-out work while collaborating closely with your team, then present all deliverables with implementation guidance so your staff can carry it forward confidently.

Investment

My consulting services are priced either by the hour or by the project, depending on the scope — so you have clarity on cost before we begin. Fees are based on complexity, deliverables, and time involved, and are tailored to your organization's needs.

As a general guide, targeted à la carte projects (such as a volunteer handbook, recruitment plan, or CRM setup) typically start around $500–$1,500. Comprehensive multi-deliverable engagements generally range from $2,000–$5,000+.

For organizations needing ongoing, hands-on support, I also offer fractional consulting — serving as your embedded volunteer program specialist on an hourly basis over an extended period. This is ideal for nonprofits in a growth phase, navigating a leadership transition, or building out a new program until your team is ready to take it forward independently.

I work with organizations of all sizes and am happy to discuss what's realistic for your budget during our free consultation.