Work Plan

  • At the start of program development, establish a clear program scope and set boundaries for what will be included in the program. Refer to the program scope and boundaries as you progress through the development stage to keep track. Be honest and thoughtful about how long each step of the development stage will take and build time into the schedule to handle unexpected barriers. Be comprehensive in developing your work plan to include plans for volunteer/participant/staff recruitment, partnership building, etc.
  • When developing your local model consider the level of ambition of the goals and scope of work you set. Concentrating efforts on one or two specific goals rather than stretching resources across multiple may allow for more focused and effective outcomes. This consideration may guide your planning and decision-making processes in future projects.
  • Utilize your existing knowledge and experiences as a foundation for the development of new programs and leverage the lessons you have learned from participation in other initiatives. These lessons serve as valuable resources for constructing a successful program. Incorporate your expertise and consider the wants and needs of the stakeholders when expanding and enhancing current programs.
  • Develop a yearly program work plan which provides direction and supports monitoring and evaluation of programmatic activities. This will ensure greater success with achieving various deliverables.
  • Sample 12 month work plan template

Incremental Development of New Programs

  • The program development process can be informed by thorough needs assessments, stakeholder consultations, and best practices in the field.
  • New programs are often borne from client need and your organization’s ability to identify solutions to meet those needs. Be sure you are asking the right intake questions to help identify those needs and that all staff and volunteers interacting with clients share their observations to help identify each client’s particular needs.
  • When developing new programs, consider whether it would be easier for your organization to build incrementally when generating a new program or whether it would be more effective and efficient to implement the entire program all at once. For example, if you want to add a volunteer chaperone transportation program to assist care recipients to non-emergency medical appointments, do you start by adding an opportunity for a volunteer to meet a care recipient at the doctor’s office building to escort them to the waiting room and progressively add additional components until you have a door through door model developed and implemented or do you develop the entire door through door model and implement it all at once. Your organization may be able to identify benefits to either option which may identify which method would work best.
  • Build new programs in iterations. Don’t try to do more than you can at any one point and focus on establishing one foundational component at a time. Progressively adding new components to your program will allow you to incorporate modifications based on outcomes and feedback. If you generate the entire final product without phased implementation, you may find it is not the best fit to meet your community’s need.
  • Start with the idea in mind that you are developing a working model. The program may start out a little unpolished, but you will be able to make improvements as the need arises. You can progress more quickly by progressively making improvements rather than looking for perfection from the start.
  • When planning for program implementation, consider starting relatively small. This allows you to have a large enough group of participants to assess program success while being small enough to build up and manage the new program.
  • Development of an effective community program requires a lot of time and commitment. Consider starting with a small pilot program. Identify what supports are required for full-scale implementation, including what gaps need to be filled and how, what components are working well and those that need modification. Progressively expand the pilot model as the program implementation solidifies.
  • A new program idea can build gradually over time. Listen to the comments your staff and volunteers state related to client issues. A new program can start based on something stated off the cuff, and grow into an implementable program. Expansion efforts can be driven by the recognition of the need for services in specific areas.
  • When implementing a new program in the community, assess if implementation of the program as a pilot with fewer participants is important. Can you use this pilot project to collect feedback on what is working and what isn’t; identify, plan and implement needed modifications to the program before it goes out for community access; and develop valuable community partnerships to ensure meeting participant needs without duplicating services? Would a smaller scale soft launch allow you to focus on onboarding and training new volunteers while providing assistance to care recipients on a smaller scale?
  • Utilization of a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) conducted prior to program development and annually once the program is implemented will assist to proactively identify strategies to engage in opportunities and address challenges.
  • When developing the infrastructure for your volunteer nonmedical assistance model, consider including the following components: establishing a Volunteer Coordinator position, developing or updating volunteer training materials, creating promotional materials, attending community events, working with project partners to identify strategies for developing or expanding your volunteer program, developing systems for tracking volunteer and care recipient interest in the program, creating a satisfaction survey for care recipients and volunteers, hosting monthly support group meetings for volunteers, instituting monthly volunteer trainings, determining new types of volunteer support that care recipients wish to receive, and identifying opportunities to promote the volunteer program in printed and online media. Each of these activities will help lay the groundwork for successful program implementation.

 Program Team

  • When determining staffing levels demanded by program implementation, consider a full-time staff position to manage all the moving program parts. That staff member should be highly organized and skilled in collecting, processing and storing information. They should also have strong communication skills for sharing and explaining information in a clear, understandable way. These skills will be beneficial when training volunteers to implement your program and when understanding what motivates community members to participate in the program. This staff member will be well-positioned to continuously evaluate program fit for your participants and maintain relationships for other opportunities of support.
  • Consider employing a strategic hiring approach by bringing on staff with extensive connections in the target community.
  • Consider hiring Community Health Works to assist in program implementation. Community Health Workers, trusted members of the community with lived experience who understand the culture of the areas in which they serve, can act as a connection between the community and your organization. Their awareness of resources and how to guide clients to access them make Community Health Workers valuable to the community.
  • Build relationships with colleges offering Community Health Worker programs and consider being a Community Health Worker fieldwork site. Join the local Community Health Worker Alliance.
  • In the ramp up period, accurately evaluate the staffing needed to achieve the program goals. In some situations, having multiple part-time staff working together is highly effective, whereas, in other situations, it is more effective and efficient to have one or two full-time focused staff members coordinating the program. Providing flexible work hours for outreach coordinators may also require consideration. Outreach opportunities do not always occur during standard work hours. Outreach coordinators may need to attend tabling events, provide presentations, attend committee meetings and other opportunities on weekends or in the evenings.
  • When developing a volunteer chaperone transportation program consider locating a medical doctor who will be a program champion. This person can directly reach out to medical offices and determine if the physicians in your area will support having a volunteer attend appointments and procedures with their patients and if not what they will support. This information will be very helpful in the development stages.

 Partnerships

  • Developing a new program can be overwhelming. Consider reaching out to organizations that can help you through the development process. One example might include reaching out to an organization such as Respite for All when building a new respite program.
  • When offering transportation to nonemergency medical appointments, consider partnering with a local transportation organization that can assist in picking up multiple individuals at once. Picking up 2-3 care recipients and their volunteer chaperone at once decreases the number of drivers needed and potentially increases access to more participants.
  • A Hub and Spoke model is a consideration as an option for program implementation. This model can:
    • Develop new and foster old partnerships with community organizations who can implement your program in their community.
    • Identify new and existing care recipients and caregivers who may benefit from program implementation in new areas.
    • Identify and train volunteers in new service areas to expand your reach.
  • Neighbor-helping-neighbor models bring the community together, building a stronger environment.
  • During the program development period, there are times when meeting in person with partner organizations is more productive than meeting online. Meeting in person provides the opportunity to get to know the program partners better and more fully understand the work of each organization.

 Budget

  • Be thoughtful when developing your program budget. Line items to consider include marketing, mileage and travel reimbursement for staff and volunteer, background checks for volunteers, volunteer recognition events and swag items, staff salaries and anticipated annual raises, indirect costs if allowable, conference registration to present about your program, program materials. Items not included in your budget will need to be covered by other funding sources later.
  • When budgeting, consider leveraging other funds to cover volunteer costs such as background checks.
  • When developing your background check process, consider including opportunities for the volunteer to pay for the background check. Often, potential volunteers are willing to do so as a way to contribute to the organization.

 Intergenerational Programs

  • If you’re building a program that will utilize university and college students as volunteers, consider that many are required or choose to obtain service-learning credits prior to graduation. For example, nursing programs may be looking for organizations to provide opportunities for students to meet requirements for their community health rotation. Could your program be a source for those credits? During program development, be sure to include components that meet the service-learning requirements of the local universities or colleges with which you intend to partner. Ask champions from each of those entities to assist you in developing the service-learning curriculum. Do you need class materials for one semester or many semesters? Can you support the students with transportation funds or activity funds to encourage participation?
  • Intentionally developing the program to be intergenerational allows younger adult and older adult volunteers to support older adults. This approach also introduces volunteers to the program who may potentially become care recipients in the future.

Programs for Caregiving

  • A partnership between Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging and Family Caregiver Alliance
  • Dementia Care Programs for Family Caregivers
  • Dementia Care Program Info for Program Providers

Volunteer Driver Programs

  • Volunteer Driver TurnKey Kit: “Updated and revised by Dr. Helen Kerschner, the Volunteer Driver TurnKey Kit builds on decades of work and includes informational, educational, and technical resources. Under the leadership of Dr. Kerschner, Aging Forward (formerly Shepherd’s Centers of America) is committed to expanding and supporting volunteer driver programs and the important role of these programs to ensure older adult mobility and independence. The TurnKey Kit is available to all prospective and existing volunteer driver programs across the country. Please reach out to Aging Forward by email (staff@aging-forward.org) or phone (816-960-2022) for assistance.”

Accessible Transportation Resource Center

  • Accessible Transportation Resource Center: Created in 2022, The Accessible Transportation Resource Center’s mission is to “make transportation systems, vehicles, services, apps, and websites accessible for people with disabilities, older adults, historically underserved populations, and the general population.” This program is a cooperative agreement between the Administration for Community Living and the Community Transportation Association of America with its partners USAging, the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, and DJB Evaluation Consulting.

Grandparent and Kinship-Led Households

  • Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center
  • The first-ever National Technical Assistance Center for those who serve kinship/grandfamilies
  • “We help government agencies and nonprofits in states, tribes, and territories work across jurisdictional and systemic boundaries to improve supports and services for families in which grandparents, other relatives, or close family friends are raising children.”