Boards are designed to be the "big picture" bunch and one item that may need to be on our radar screens is marked "volunteers."

If most pregnancy care center boards asked the executive director, "How are we doing with volunteers?" the answer will often be, "We need more."

The most salient reason for the dearth of volunteers is simply time. In today's world more and more women are working outside the home and there are fewer potential volunteers to work a daytime shift at the center. This fact is not going to change soon.

A forward thinking board needs to keep tabs on this situation — closely. Each month a board must have information on the following:

Total number of operational shifts
Take the number of days the center operates and know the number of shifts. For instance, a center open five days a week from 9-5 will likely have two shifts each day (morning and afternoon), making ten per week. How many shifts need to be covered each month? The board must know.

Number of shifts staffed by a volunteer
While it is important, knowing that the center has say, 20 volunteers, is less vital than knowing how many shifts those volunteers covered. If a volunteer is not in the office, a paid staff member is filling the gap (and unable to perform other duties). We've got to know how many shifts are covered by our volunteer staff.

Are we doing better, or worse?
Check the percentage of covered shifts over a period of months and see how the center is doing. If the percentage is not getting better, the board might work consider plans for improvement. But here's the tricky part: While some centers may solve the challenge with a new emphasis on recruitment, other centers may not have the same success. The issue noted above — time and available people — could be too much to overcome.

Every center should do everything possible to recruit volunteers; yet we must also understand that in some communities the economy or other factors limit the pool of possible volunteer staff. A wise board continues to monitor this situation because if the ministry is to thrive the board may move from a volunteer-driven model to more paid staff.

While this clearly means more funding, let’s remember that sometimes people are more able to give funds than time. Should we move away from a volunteer model? Perhaps not today and maybe never. Yet, a board must address its volunteer situation and take appropriate action. If not, the board invites staff frustration and possibly a ministry crisis in the future.

Reprinted by permission from "Boards of Excellence," a LifeTrends publication. If you have a question for Publisher and Speaker Kirk Walden, contact him at kirk.walden@comcast.net.