Form 1 Senior Corps Focus Group Questions and Survey

Senior Corps Focus Group Questions and Survey

Focus Group Questions

Performance Questions:

1. What is the goal or are the goals of your program?

   1. How do you know if you are meeting that/those goal(s)?

2. How do you explain the goals and achievements of your program to others?

3. How do you describe the achievements demonstrated in your performance measures?

4. Which current national performance measures best represent the goals of your program? Why?

5. What additional information do you track outside of CNCS requirements?

Volunteer Recruitment Questions:

6. What skills and experience does an ideal applicant pool bring?

7. What skill and experience gaps exist in your current pool?

8. Do you think your current pool reflects the community you serve? Why or why not?

9. How does your current pool differ from the community you serve?

10. Do you see costs associated with recruitment as a barrier?

Innovation Questions:

11. If you could start over with what you know now, what about your existing program would you change?

12. What resources do you need most when changing your project or implementing a new project?

13. Which of these resources are most difficult to obtain? Why?

Incentive (Stipend/Cost Reimbursement) Questions:

14. What do your volunteers say about compensation for their work?

    1. Do you believe a higher stipend or reimbursable amount would attract additional or different kinds of volunteers?

    2. If offered a different kind of incentive, like a scholarship, do you think that would attract additional or different kinds of volunteers?

15. What kinds of financial resources could you contribute to the current stipend or cost reimbursement funds CNCS provides?

16. What would be the biggest barriers to contributing to the current stipend or cost reimbursement funds CNCS provides?

Expanding Partnerships Questions:

1. Thinking about organizational partnerships, what works well in your current partnerships?

2. What can be improved in your current partnerships?

Survey Questions

Performance

1. Think about the current performance measures you report to CNCS. Which performance measures do you currently report on?

   1. Current measures (list here): _____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

2. None

3. Not applicable

2. Now think about your program activities. What portion of your overall program activities are represented in the performance measures you currently use? Activities included in Other Community Priorities should not be considered as represented in performance measures for this question.

   1. All

   2. Most

   3. Some

   4. Few

   5. Not applicable

3. Do you track activity or progress that is not reported to CNCS?

   1. Yes

   2. No

   3. Not applicable

4. If yes, what else do you track? _______________________________________________________________________

5. Why do you use this additional information? Please select all that apply.

1. Better represents our mission

2. Another funder requires it

3. Gives us helpful information to improve services

4. Other: ________________________________

Recruitment

6. How do you recruit applicants? Please select all that apply.

   1. Word of mouth

1. Agency website

2. Volunteer website

3. Newspaper

4. Other:_____________________________________

7. What are the recruitment goals for your project each year? ___________________

8. Do you have difficulty in meeting your recruitment goals?

   1. Yes

   2. No

   3. Not applicable

Innovation Questions:

9. Are there other projects in your community that engage older adults in service?

   1. Yes

   2. No

10. If there are other projects in your community that engage older adults in service, think about how those projects compare to your project. Do you believe potential volunteers choose to serve with those projects INSTEAD of your project?

    1. Yes

    2. No

    3. Not sure

    4. There are no other projects in my community that engage older adults in service

11. If there are other projects in your community that engage older adults in service, to the best of your knowledge, why do volunteers choose to serve with those projects?

    1. Interesting and rewarding volunteer opportunities

    2. Flexible scheduling or work environment

    3. Good compensation offered

    4. I don’t know

    5. There are no other projects in my community that engage older adults in service

5. Other: ________________

Incentive (Stipend/Cost Reimbursement) Questions:

12. If you could only select one, which cost reimbursement or program incentive do you think is MOST important to volunteers?

    1. Insurance

    2. Recognition event

    3. Recognition award

    4. Meals

    5. Transportation

    6. Stipend

    7. Stipend increase

13. If you could only select one, which cost reimbursement or program incentive do you think is LEAST important to volunteers?

    1. Insurance

    2. Recognition event

    3. Recognition award

    4. Meals

    5. Transportation

    6. Stipend

    7. Stipend increase

14. To what extent would an opportunity to earn a scholarship attract or retain volunteers?

    1. To a great extent

    2. Somewhat

    3. Very little

    4. Not at all

15. To what extent would an opportunity to earn a scholarship attract or retain volunteers if provided the ability to transfer the scholarship to another person.

    1. To a great extent

    2. Somewhat

    3. Very little

    4. Not at all

Expanding Partnerships Question:

16. How do you partner with other organizations? Please select all that apply.

    1. We provide or receive financial support

    2. We provide or receive volunteer support

    3. We provide or receive recruitment support

    4. We provide or receive staff and administrative support

    5. Other: ___________________________

    6. Not applicable

17. Has your program developed formal, sustained partnerships with any of the following? Select all that apply.

    1. Small businesses

    2. Institutions of higher education

    3. National corporations

    4. Local financial institutions (banks, credit union)

    5. Private foundations

    6. Other: ____________________________

    7. Not applicable

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