October 17, 2026
Dear [Hiring manager's name],
Three hundred and twenty volunteers move through Cedar Valley Community Alliance in a given year across six program areas, and the number I actually get judged on internally isn't how many I recruit, it's how many come back for a second shift. I want to bring that same retention-first lens to an organization ready to stop treating volunteer turnover as just the cost of running programs on unpaid labor.
Redesigning onboarding and recognition programming lifted year-over-year volunteer retention from 52 percent to 74 percent, and our 320-plus volunteers now contribute more than 14,500 hours a year across 45 events and ongoing weekly programs, all tracked in Volgistics. I compile quarterly impact reports for 5 funders representing $380,000 in annual program support, and I manage a $45,000 volunteer-program budget covering training, background checks, and appreciation events without going over in three straight years.
Before Cedar Valley I built a three-tier volunteer training curriculum at Bright Path Youth Services that four partner chapters later adopted, cutting time-to-first-shift from 21 to 9 days, and I ran 100 percent background-check compliance across three consecutive annual audits with zero findings. I hold a Certified Volunteer Administrator credential and started my career staffing shelter volunteer programs at Riverside Humane Society.
I'd welcome a look at [Organization name]'s current volunteer retention numbers and program calendar, and I can outline where I'd start within the first month.
With appreciation,
Casey Lopez, CVA
