filed under: skills & competencies


Organizational Development Skills and Competencies

Specific skills used in development of organizations for trails and greenways work: creating and building a nonprofit organization; managing boards and staff; recruiting, training, and rewarding volunteers; managing finances and legal issues.

by American Trails Staff

Skills for Organizational Development

  • Creating or adapting organizational structures
  • Recruiting and managing members
  • Establishing and maintaining a board of directors
  • Establishing committees and working groups in the organization
  • Creating work plans, timelines, and tasks for staff and volunteers
  • Identifying goals and objectives for long and short term

Skills for Publicity and Promotion

  • Identifying and developing an organizational image
  • Developing appropriate means of promoting the orgainzation's goals
  • Finding and working with media partners
  • Explaining benefits and values, mission, and operation of trails and projects
  • Creating and managing events
  • Writing quarterly and annual reports

Skills for Volunteer Development

  • Creating or adapting a successful volunteer program
  • Recruiting, recognizing, and rewarding volunteers
  • Identifying skill needs and training volunteers

Skills for Managing Legal Issues

  • Identifying and managing risk and potential liabilities
  • Applying state and federal laws on user and volunteer liability to reduce risk to a minimum

Published December 2019

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