How To Become A Volunteer Program Coordinator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a volunteer program coordinator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

If you want to help maximize the potential of volunteer programs, becoming a volunteer program coordinator may be just the right path for you. As a volunteer program coordinator, you are in charge of planning, coordinating, and facilitating various volunteer programs within your community, such as clean-up drives, soup kitchens, after-school programs, and more.

Other duties of a volunteer program coordinator include sourcing, educating, and training volunteers, as well as creating training material, communicating with local agencies, securing permits when necessary, and managing the program budget. They also often participate in volunteer work as a regular volunteer.

For many employers, the minimum requirement for this role is a bachelor's degree in psychology, social work, business, or some other related field. Experience working in volunteer programs is also a must, as well as the spirit for volunteerism. Moreover, a volunteer program coordinator must be a great communicator to ensure that all volunteers, beneficiaries, and other coordinators are on the same page.

ScoreVolunteer Program CoordinatorUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,210

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.20%

Asian 6.70%

Black or African American 13.84%

Hispanic or Latino 19.55%

Unknown 5.21%

White 52.49%

Gender

female 71.72%

male 28.28%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a volunteer program coordinator

Explore volunteer program coordinator education requirements

Most common volunteer program coordinator degrees

Bachelor's

67.9 %

Master's

11.5 %

Associate

10.4 %

Start to develop specific volunteer program coordinator skills

Skills	Percentages
Public Speaking	9.86%
Community Outreach	8.88%
Child Care	6.60%
Community Services	6.53%
Mathematics	4.95%

Complete relevant volunteer program coordinator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New volunteer program coordinators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a volunteer program coordinator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real volunteer program coordinator resumes.

Research volunteer program coordinator duties and responsibilities

Manage volunteer information, communication, on-boarding, and statistics in Salesforce database.
Coordinated/Conduct statewide community education forums/workshops on various Medicare topics.
Increase clinic efficiency with consistent volunteer scheduling using Volgistics database.
Maintain volunteer files through use of volunteer database management system call Volgistics.

Prepare your volunteer program coordinator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your volunteer program coordinator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a volunteer program coordinator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable volunteer program coordinator resume templates

Build a professional volunteer program coordinator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your volunteer program coordinator resume.