In this case study, we'll take a look at Willamalane Park and Recreation District, an Oregon nonprofit that seeks to improve community health and well-being through outdoor experiences.
Needing a way to manage their complex volunteer program, Willamalane chose Get Connected volunteer technology.
The resulting improvement in volunteer recruitment, engagement, and management have been clear: Since using Get Connected, Willamalane has tripled its volunteer pool—from 150 to 550+ individuals—and saved $1 million through volunteer support.
Let’s dive into how Willamalane used Get Connected to support + surpass their program goals.
Mavis Sanchez-Scholes is the District Volunteer Coordinator at Willamalane Parks and Recreation District.
Organization Overview
Established in 1944, Willamalane Park and Recreation District proudly serves Springfield, Oregon and its surrounding areas.
As a separate tax district governed by an elected board, Willamalane manages:
- 5 recreation facilities
- 46 parks and natural areas spanning 1,500 acres
- 20+ daily programs and 16 annual special events
- 1.8 million park patrons annually (approximately 5,000 per day)
To conduct their work and serve their community, the District relies on hundreds of volunteers for activities ranging from environmental maintenance to event support, with 60-80 volunteers helping at each major event.
The Challenge: Manual, Outdated Processes
With so many projects and so many volunteers to manage, Willamalane's volunteer program was struggling with several inefficiencies.
District Volunteer Coordinator Mavis Sanchez-Scholes noted that prior to Get Connected, her volunteer program struggled with:
- Limited accessibility: "You could only inquire about volunteer services if the volunteer coordinator was on site."
- Paper-based management: "I had a stack of volunteer applications. It was post-it notes and paper."
- Slow response times: "Volunteers were leaving the District because we weren't responding in the appropriate time."
- Poor tracking: "Paperwork was lost, and there was really no easy way to document who was interested in different departments.
The Goals: To Expand and Improve the Volunteer Program
As the sole coordinator responsible for hundreds of volunteers across multiple facilities, Sanchez-Scholes needed a more efficient system to meet recruitment goals and manage the volunteers they had.
In addition to remedying some of their major challenges, Sanchez-Scholes and her team wanted to:
- Expand the volunteer pool to several thousand individuals, groups, and corporate partners
- Integrate more minority groups, seniors, and people with disabilities
- Create "one of the most inclusive" volunteer programs in the area
- Establish Willamalane as "a leading innovator of volunteers and volunteer work projects" in Lane County
The Solution: Partnering with Get Connected
To improve their processes and enhance their volunteer program, the team at Willamalane set out to find the right digital solution to help.
After evaluating several options, Willamalane selected Get Connected by Galaxy Digital based on key priorities:
- Cost-effectiveness
- Volunteer check-in functionality
- Enhanced customer service capabilities
- Hours tracking system
The Results: Improved Volunteer Recruitment, Engagement, Management, and Beyond
Since using Get Connected, Willamalane’s entire volunteer lifecycle—from recruitment to management and long-term engagement—has improved exponentially:
Easier Recruitment
With Get Connected, Willamalane was able to expand and improve its recruitment efforts.
With the help of an all-in-one volunteer management platform, the organization could:
- Extend their reach: "[We started getting] 28 replies to an event coming up three months in advance. And [we started getting] interest in the community at large, not only from Springfield but also adjacent to us, Eugene or Junction City.
- Attract diverse age groups: With Get Connected, Willamalane has been able to recruit all kinds of volunteers—from older folks to more tech-savvy youth who could sign up for opportunities right from their phones and “get integrated in our system," Sanchez-Scholes said.
- Personalize notifications: With Get Connected, volunteers are automatically notified of opportunities that are aligned with their interests.
More Efficient Volunteer Management
With Get Connected, Willamalane has been able to streamline:
- Volunteer hour tracking: Get Connected automatically tracks hours for volunteers once they check-in, which has freed Sanchez-Scholes to take on larger tasks like building the program and reaching new volunteers.
- Opportunity access: With an all-in-one system, volunteers can easily sign up for volunteer opportunities on their own.
- Volunteer check-in: Get Connected’s simple check-in process with “a modern design” has proven “valuable,” said Sanchez-Scholes, “both for myself and the key points of contact that serve those events.”
Lasting Volunteer Engagement
Willamalane leveraged Get Connected to turn episodic volunteers into long-term supporters. To do so, they used Get Connected's engagement tools like:
- Automated notifications: Volunteers are automatically alerted when new opportunities arise.
- Simple impact measurement: Volunteers can check out their impact stats on their individual dashboards, which they report make them excited to help out again.
- Robust volunteer resumes: "The volunteer résumé was a really big seller for our community service high school students and college students,” said Sanchez-Scholes. "They get excited to see how many hours they've already accrued.”
Building a Sustainable Volunteer Program For Everyone
In the end, Willamalane's volunteer program ultimately brings people together to improve their community. By creating an affordable, efficient, and simple approach, the program reassures the Board of Directors of its effectiveness while engaging volunteers across diverse demographics.
“I think volunteers feel pride,” said Sanchez-Scholes. “At the end of the day they can say, ‘you know, I did something to better myself and the community.’”
Mavis Sanchez-Scholes is the District Volunteer Coordinator at Willamalane Parks and Recreation District in Oregon.
Willamalane Park and Recreation District has used Get Connected volunteer technology since 2017.
Want to know if Get Connected is right for your nonprofit? Schedule a complimentary 1-on-1 consultation for your organization today!
