No matter what your nonprofit’s volunteer base looks like, enhancing a volunteer’s experience will benefit your organization and maximize volunteer turnout at future events.
Any organization that relies on volunteers can struggle to attract and retain passionate and capable individuals from time to time. But by providing a rewarding and memorable experience, you will keep your nonprofit top of mind for community-minded individuals who are planning their next service commitment.
How to Attract New Volunteers
Just as a great capital campaign is essential for increasing your donor base, good marketing can be used to attract new and energetic volunteers to your organization.
Perhaps the best resource for attracting new volunteers is by word of mouth through your current volunteers. People with similar likes and life habits have a tendency to socialize together. Your volunteers are also in a better position to recruit their friends because a relationship already exists. Your volunteers can also help answer any questions and overcome any objection that new recruits may have. Just ask them to help spread the word.
Social media can also be a powerful tool in attracting and recruiting volunteers. Get active on at least some of the major social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X to name a few) to reach the most number of potential volunteers and spread the word about your organization. Post content related to your organization that engages your audience and encourages people to act. These posts can be filled with photos of the cause(s) you support — children, homeless animals or nature. The story line should be inspirational. The content should spur your audience to consider what they can do to help. Social media gives you a channel for having ongoing contact with your nonprofit’s stakeholders, including current and potential volunteers.
Give Volunteers Everything They Need (and a Little More)
It's important to retain new volunteers so they become repeat volunteers. To maximize the return on your recruitment efforts, following are some ideas to keep your volunteers satisfied. Of course this list is not exhaustive, so be creative and add a few of your own. It never hurts to ask your volunteers what they expect from the experience.
-
They want you to be prepared for them. Like everyone, your volunteers’ time is extremely precious. Be considerate of this and don’t bring them in until you have everything organized. If your organization is unprepared, your volunteers might perceive you as being inconsiderate of your time.
-
They want good training. Take the time to explain the task, demonstrate it with everyone watching, and observe them while they perform the task on their own. This will give your volunteers the opportunity to ask questions as they arise since it is extremely difficult to cover all aspects of the assignment through demonstration alone. Talk to volunteers just as you would a coworker.
-
They want to know that they are helping to make the world a better place. Let your volunteers know how their work is helping your organization reach its goals. If possible, give them specifics on how much their work has contributed to the community. For example, when members of my firm volunteered at the Maryland Food Bank, the organization told us we sorted 39,759 cans of chicken broth and moved 4,766 pounds of food, which translated into 3,843 meals that would distributed.
Our team loves volunteering at the Maryland Food Bank!
-
They want to be appreciated. Deep down everyone wants to know they are appreciated. Never underestimate how a simple "thank you" enhances a volunteer’s experience. Expressing gratitude can be as simple as taking the group out to lunch or providing a small gift to them.
Other ideas include:
-
Do something nice for their families. It is important to realize that it is not only the volunteer who is making a sacrifice to your organization.
-
Post event appreciation photos to your website and social media sites.
-
Ask your nonprofit’s clients if they would consider creating handmade gifts for volunteers.
-
Send a handwritten thank you card to the volunteer’s home. In the age of never-ending email and texts, receiving handwritten letters is rare. It's nice to show your volunteers that you took the time to handwrite and mail a note.
Ask for Feedback from Volunteers
Volunteer surveys can help you collect feedback as to what went well and what didn’t go well from their perspective. There are numerous volunteer survey templates available online. Or, it might be beneficial to ask volunteers complete a simple one-page survey at the end of their on-site commitment.
Be Ready for Change
Your organization’s volunteer program should be reviewed from time to time. You’ll want to change things, for example, to keep your volunteer opportunities interesting for long-time volunteers. You’ll also want to tweak your volunteer program to respond to the feedback you receive from the surveys.
Need Help?
Our nonprofit experts are ready to bounce around ideas with you about volunteer recruitment, fundraising, internal control, donor retention or any other issue that’s on your mind.
Contact us here or call 800.899.4623.
