I OBJECT!
For those of you who have an objection to asking your volunteer advocates to pay for their CasaConnect service through CasaManager, please read my story and be prepared to overrule your own objection!
In my agency, we had four different staff people who handled each volunteer’s paper hours report for their various departmental needs. This was not an efficient process by any means. CasaConnect would be the solution to that challenge, but first, I had to get past the objection!
When I presented the CasaConnect solution to my executive director, she adamantly objected to asking volunteers to pay for their own subscriptions. Citing that we already ask so much of our volunteers, she committed to paying for all volunteer subscriptions. We have over 300 volunteers.
Does this objection sound familiar to you?
Each volunteer subscription costs $2.33 per month, which is 8₵ per day. The total annual volunteer subscription cost per volunteer is $28.00 per year. When I did the math for my executive director, the cost came out to a whopping $8,400.00—renewable each year! Then I reminded her that as each new class of advocates was sworn in, we would also have to absorb the cost of each of their new CasaConnect subscriptions. Our agency does training six times a year, and each class typically has about 18 trainees. Do the math! That would be an additional 108 volunteers each year, at $28.00 each, which amounts to $3,024.00, in addition to the $8,400.00—per year. The exponential cost would be incredible.
Does this fiscal challenge sound familiar to you?
Having put the numbers to the test for my executive director, she conceded that we would not be able to sustain covering the cost of our volunteers’ CasaConnect subscriptions, so she wanted to scrap the entire process of providing our volunteers the opportunity to enter their own hours and case notes. That responsibility would continue to lie with staff.
REFRAMING THE QUESTION!
What happened next turned the tide of the objection. I began to ask volunteers directly what THEY thought of a portal through which they could have control over when and how they entered their hours and case notes. When they learned the cost of $2.33 per month, they all said that they spend more than that at Starbucks—in a day! They also said (jokingly), to tell our executive director to stay out their purses and wallets and to not tell them how to spend their own money! They were eager to buy into the CasaConnect process for their own benefit, as well as for the staff!
At the Texas CASA Conference this past November, a volunteer told me that even if the cost was $28.00 per month, that would still be a terrific deal to be able to enter his own hours and notes!
OVERRULING THE OBJECTION!
Because of the overwhelming response of our volunteers, I began a phasing-in process to bring CasaConnect to our agency. This included communicating with them to explain the process, the benefits, and the return on investment for them and the staff. I also had a select group of BETA testers who test drove CasaConnect so that I was armed with more information for my counter-argument.
On April 29, 2016, I “hit the button” to invite our more than 300 volunteers to sign up for their FREE 60-day trial subscription. Within one hour, 86 of our volunteers had created an account and had already begun entering their case hours, non-case hours, VOCA services, mileage, in-kind amounts, independent study, and case notes! IMPRESSIVE!
Some Volunteer Testimonials:
“Wow! You just solved a big problem for me! No more complicated Excel spreadsheets!”
“It’s so easy to use!”
“Where has this been?”
“No more waiting to get the paper form from Deb!”
“I can enter my hours and notes whenever I want!”
The staff who had previously had the responsibility of entering our volunteers’ hours and case notes, were freed up to focus on volunteer recruitment, screening, training, and retention. Talk about a return on investment!
Does this sound like a need for your staff?
OBJECTION OVERRULED!
CasaConnect was created for volunteers at the request of volunteers!
Ask your volunteers to get CONNECTED today!