JOHN ORICK
Purdue Master Gardener State Coordinator
FRED WHITFORD
Director, Purdue Pesticide Programs,
Purdue Master Gardener State Advisory Committee
ROSIE LERNER
Consumer Horticulture Extension Specialist, Purdue Master Gardener State Advisory Committee
STEVE MCKINLEY
Purdue 4-H Youth Development Specialist, Leadership and Volunteerism
GAIL RUHL
Senior Plant Disease Diagnostician, Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue Master Gardener State Advisory Committee
The Purdue Master Gardener Program ………………………………………………………….3
Retaining Volunteers ……………………………………………………………………………………4
Initial Screening of Applicants for Master Gardener Basic Training ………………. 5
Communicate with Training Participants During the Basic Training Sessions… 5
Connect with Master Gardener Basic Training Participants ……………………….. 5
Help Purdue Master Gardener Program Volunteers Connect with Each Other.. 6
Express Appreciation and Recognize Volunteers for Their Efforts ……………….. 6
Provide Training and Information About Volunteer Opportunities ………………. 7
Evaluate Local Master Gardener Program on a Regular Basis ………………………..7
What Motivates Volunteers?…………………………………………………………………………. 8
Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
The lifeblood of non-profits are the donors who provide funding for projects and the volunteers who carry out the mission of the organization. Critical components to sustaining the mission
of non-profits include the ability to simultaneously recruit new volunteers while retaining experienced volunteers. Why do volunteers drop out of an organization only to reappear in another? A volunteer might feel underappreciated for their efforts, lose interest to another cause, or desire a new challenge that better fits their interests or background. When effective volunteers leave for “greener pastures,” organizations can find it difficult to accomplish their mission. We all understand that dependable volunteers are vital to the success of non-profit organizations. However, program coordinators often struggle to continually provide training, recognition, and new challenges that motivate dedicated volunteers to stay committed to the mission of the organization.
The Purdue Master Gardener Program
The Purdue Master Gardener Program (PMG) trains gardening enthusiasts to assist Purdue Extension with home horticultural education in local com-munities. The Master Gardener Program began in 1972 in Seattle, Washington, in response to public demand for home gardening information. The Indiana Master Gardener Program started in 1978 with four counties: Allen, Lake, Marion, and Vander-burgh. The name of the program later was changed to the Purdue Master Gardener Program. More than 50 Indiana counties offer the PMG. Participants in the program pay the local fee for 13 to 19 training sessions on horticultural topics taught by a combination of University Extension Specialists, Extension Educators, other Master Gar-dener volunteers, and professional horticulturalists. The PMG Basic training consists of the following required and optional horticulture topics:
Required Topics:
PMG Interns are also required to complete at least 35 volunteer hours in approved activities to achieve their Master Gardener certification. To remain active as a certified PMG, volunteers are then required to contribute at least 12 volunteer and six continuing education hours each year. Many PMG volunteers contribute well above these minimum requirements to earn Advanced PMG levels beyond their initial certification (See Table 1 pg 3).
Retaining Volunteers
A sampling of Indiana counties showed that an average of 70% of PMG interns complete their minimum of 35 volunteer hours required for certification. Overall, that might be considered a good percentage, but actually the range of 50% to 90% of volunteers completing their volunteer hours is a concern.
Why is there such a large variation in percentages among this sampling of counties? Are there ways a PMG County Coordinator can encourage interns to continue their involvement in the program?
A Qualtrics² online survey was sent by email to PMG volunteers to measure program impacts and collect demographic information. One question asked PMG volunteers how many years they had served as a PMG. The largest number of responses reported was 5-10 years (See Figure 1). The number of responses decreased for survey choices where PMG volunteers indicated serving more than 10 years (See Figure 1). This may indicate that fewer volunteers are involved in the PMG Program or that simply fewer volunteers with 10 or more years of service answered this survey question. A national study reported that Extension Master Gardener volunteers serve their respective programs an average of 7.7 years.³
In these cases, the PMG Program not only loses active volunteers, but there is also a loss of experience, knowledge, and mentoring. This loss of dedicated volunteers can hinder the county PMG Program from accomplishing its purpose in local communities. Purdue Extension Educators who serve as County Coordinators can find it challenging to know how to encourage these valuable, well-trained volunteers to continue their long-term commitment to the program.
Why do volunteers leave after investing so much time and energy into the program and community? To help address this question and to provide some insights into volunteer retention, eight PMG County Coordinators with successful programs were interviewed.
All coordinator interviewees were asked, “What do you do to help retain volunteers?” The hope was that their advice might help others who are coordinating PMG programs to improve retention of volunteers.
HERE ARE SOME IDEAS AND TIPS THE SUCCESSFUL COORDINATORS SHARED:
Initial Screening of Applicants for Master Gardener Basic Training
• Why do you want to become a PMG?
• What are your prior volunteer experiences?
• When would you be available to volunteer? During the day? Evenings? Weekends?
• What skills could you bring to the PMG Program? (Topic interests, computer skills, career training, organizational training, writing, answering phones, etc.)
Communicate with Training Participants During the Basic Training Sessions
Connect with Master Gardener Basic Training Participants
• Which university did you graduate from?
• What was your major?
• What is your favorite color?
• What is your hometown?
• What is your favorite candy?
• What is your favorite gardening activity?
Help Purdue Master Gardener Program Volunteers Connect with Each Other
Express Appreciation and Recognize Volunteers for Their Efforts
Provide Training and Information About Volunteer Opportunities
Evaluate Local Master Gardener Program On a Regular Basis
What Motivates Volunteers?
Also important to volunteer retention is understanding their motivation to participate. Different individuals are motivated for different reasons. David C. McClelland, in The Achieving Society (1961), 6 identified three categories of motivational needs: achievement, affiliation, and power. Each person has a motivational category that is dominant.
A person motivated by achievement seeks to take personal responsibility for finding solutions to problems. The achievement-motivated person desires to achieve unique accomplishments, appreciates concrete feedback, and seeks tangible rewards. This person is focused on achieving goals and overcoming obstacles.
The person motivated by affiliation is concerned about being liked and accepted and looks forward to friendly interaction. This person is motivated by group projects, and prefers not to be separated from others. The affiliation-motivated person thinks about feelings of others and looks for ways to help people and develop relationships.
A power-motivated person has a goal of impacting and influencing others. This person is motivated by opportunities to be persuasive, give advice, and teach others. A power-motivated person is often verbally fluent, outspoken, and provides important direction to the program.
As a PMG County Coordinator, think about the following questions when motivating your volunteers:
1. What are aspects of the PMG program where effective motivation could encourage individuals to volunteer more consistently?
2. How can you help volunteers feel motivated and/or appreciated?
3. What steps will you take to improve the motivation of your PMG volunteers?
FIGURE 3. TIPS FOR MOTIVATING VOLUNTEERS³
Show appreciation for what they do.
Build community by providing opportunities for volunteers to connect.
Equip them through regular training.
Respect their time by matching them with effective projects.
Share the impacts of their efforts with them and others.
Conclusion
Purdue Master Gardener volunteers enable Purdue Extension to reach significantly more Indiana residents with unbiased, research-based home horticulture information. Without volunteers, many community programs would not be delivered each year. Although the PMG Program has a cadre of experienced and knowledgeable volunteers, more can be done to retain these invaluable volunteers. A positive and encouraging approach to coordinating the PMG program that includes training, recognition, and new challenges will motivate dedicated volunteers to stay committed to the mission of assisting Purdue Extension with home horticulture education in Indiana communities.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Chuck Wineland, Purdue Agricultural Communications, for editing this publication and Dawn Minns for the graphic design. Thank you also to those who reviewed and offered constructive comments during the development of this publication:
Pam Bennett, Associate Professor, State Master Gardener Volunteer Program Director, Horticulture Educator, The Ohio State University
Sheri Dorn, Consumer Ornamentals Specialist and State Coordinator, Georgia Master Gardener Volunteer Program, University of Georgia
Elizabeth Hartley, Purdue Advanced Master Gardener, Tippecanoe County
Steve Mayer, Purdue Extension Educator, Marion County, Purdue Master Gardener State Advisory Committe
Karen Mitchell, Purdue Extension Educator, Tippecanoe County, Purdue Master Gardener State Advisory Committe
References
1. Purdue Master Gardener Program Policy Guide (MG-5-W), https://extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/mg/mg-5-w.pdf
2. Qualtrics online survey software used by Purdue University. https://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/tools/qualtrics.html
3. Dorn, Sherri T., Milton G. Newberry, III, Ellen M. Bauske, and Svoboda V. Pennisi. Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of the 21st Century: Educated, Prosperous, and Committed. Hort Technology, April 2018, vol. 28, pp 218-229. http://horttech.ashspublications.org/content/28/2/218.abstract
4. Blackboard Course Sites, https://www.coursesites.com.
5. Kaltura, https://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/tools/kaltura.html
6. McClelland, David, C. (1961) The Achieving Society, New York, NY, The Free Press, A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
7. Isaken, Scott, G., Mary C. Murdock, Roger L. Firestien (1993) The Emergence of a Discipline: Understanding and Recognizing Creativity, Greenwood Publishing Group.
8. Sparknotes, http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/psych101/motivation/section1/
9. Tips to Motivate Your Volunteers and Keep Them Coming Back, https://nonprofithub.org/volunteer-management/tips-to-motivate-your-volunteers-and-keep-them-coming-back/