Form 1 Senior Corps New Grantee Volunteer Discussion Guide

Small Group Discussion with Senior Corps Volunteers

Introduction

Thank you for agreeing to speak with us today. As (program staff) may have told you, we work for a research company called ICF, and Senior Corps leadership has asked us to help them better understand how their programs are working. To that end, we are talking with SC volunteers to learn about their experiences and perspectives. In particular, we’re interested in hearing your thoughts on (SC project).

Recruitment and Motivation to Join Senior Corps

1. How long have you been a SC volunteer?

2. How long have you been working with (name of grantee)?

3. How did you hear about SC?

4. What motivated you to join SC?

5. Before you worked on (name of new SC project), did you work on another SC project?

• (If yes) After working with (the previous SC project), what made you consider volunteering for this (new SC grantee project)?

• (If no) When you decided to join SC, did you know you wanted to work on (the new SC project)? If yes, why?

Experience Working with SC project

Training

6. Please describe what, if any, training you received working on (the new SC project)?

• Who provided this training?

• How well did it prepare you for your role?

7. Do you receive any ongoing training? If so, please describe (content, duration)

Responsibilities

8. About how many hours per week do you serve as an SC volunteer?

• Are these all for (the new SC project), or do you work on other volunteer programs too?

9. What are your main responsibilities with (the new SC project)?

(For Senior Corps members who worked with the previous SCP, FGP, or new RSVP grantees serving the same service area as the former grantee)

10. How would you compare your experience working on (the new SC project) compared to when you worked at (the prior SC grantee)?

• What was similar?

• What was different?

  • Probe for recruitment, training, community benefits, member benefits, and overall volunteer management techniques