How to Attract the Best Volunteers And Keep Them

Having a well planned and executed volunteer recruitment strategy is crucial for helping nonprofits achieve their goals and serve their community. Another 5 ways to recruit more volunteers for your nonprofit way to engage volunteers is to provide opportunities for professional development and advancement. This can include training, mentoring, and leadership development programs.

Write Volunteer Role Descriptions

Sure, your nonprofit needs help…but that’s probably not the most compelling reason for people to want to volunteer with you. Friends of friends may make the best volunteers to serve on a committee. Successful nonprofit executives from Forbes Nonprofit Council offer firsthand insights on nonprofit leadership & trends. Before you reach out, consult your volunteer database or exit interview records to understand why that volunteer left.

• Warm body recruitment is more appropriate if you’re recruiting a large number of volunteers for (usually) very short periods of time or for a specific event.
• The first step to effective nonprofit volunteer management is volunteer recruitment.
• City officials like city council members or the city manager can be excellent resources for helping you with volunteer recruitment.
• Volunteer centers on campus often feature volunteer opportunities on community boards, so ask if they can include a flyer or QR code to your registration form.
• This could include public speaking, gardening, data entry, or social media advocacy.
• Their enthusiasm for learning and giving back to their communities is unmatched.

Volunteers are the heartbeat of any organization, and keeping them engaged is just as important as recruiting them in the first place. To make volunteering feel more rewarding, focus on recognition and meaningful experiences. Simple gestures like thank-you notes, shout-outs on social media, and volunteer appreciation events can go a long way. But beyond that, give volunteers a sense of purpose by showing them the real impact of their efforts. Share success stories, provide updates on how their contributions are making a difference, and even offer skill-building opportunities through training or leadership roles. When volunteers feel valued and see the results of their work, they’re much more likely to stick around for the long haul.

Community Membership

Using the software, organisations can easily post job openings and manage the applications they receive. The software allows recruiters to quickly review applications and contact potential volunteers, while also providing a platform to track the progress of existing volunteers. Using CRM or another type of database can be an effective method for recruiting volunteers. CRMs can provide organisations with valuable insights into the demographics and interests of their volunteer base, which can help identify new recruitment opportunities.

Sustained engagement with volunteers

In fact, 14% of all RSVPs on our own platform come from automated bring-a-friend prompts! Use volunteer management software that empowers supporters to easily post about their next opportunity and share custom sign-up links with their friends and family. These range from national-level nonprofits, political campaigns, unions, and advocacy groups down to the smallest local schools and committees. Another way that corporate partnerships can help organisations recruit volunteers is by leveraging the company’s communication channels. Many businesses have a large employee base and a wide network of contacts which can be used to promote volunteer opportunities to a broad audience.

• Review current roles and responsibilities and determine where gaps are and if you could require additional support to meet organizational needs better.
• In a sector where there is often more work to do than staff to do it, volunteers can boost a nonprofit’s scope, reach and impact.
• But how do you find and inspire individuals who share your commitment to the cause?
• It is also important to provide training on soft skills, such as communication and teamwork, in addition to any specialised skills that are required for the role.
• These reflections help refine your programs for future volunteers, much like how customer experience survey questions help improve service quality, while also signaling that you value their time and input.

Attract and Recruit Volunteers: An 8-Step Guide

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn provide organisations with a wide reach, making it easy to connect with potential volunteers and promote volunteer opportunities. Social media can be used to build relationships with potential volunteers and create a sense of community around the organisation and its cause. For example, a tech company may partner with a local school to provide volunteers who can help with a coding program for students.

Make the application easy to use on mobile and desktop, so people can easily sign up. Most organizations use a combination of several channels to promote their volunteering program. It’s imperative to know your target audience in order to choose the right ones. As with online fundraising, digital marketing is essential for increasing your reach and spreading the word about your work.

Recruitment

This type of ad relies on keywords, which means you’ll need to be intentional about choosing the right keywords for your volunteer opportunity or program. Choose a keyword that is specific to your organization or event so you don’t have to compete with other organizations for a high-volume keyword. Local businesses and organizations within your community can be your allies as you work to recruit more volunteers. Try catering your volunteer opportunities to your community partners’ interests so they’re extra excited to get involved. Instead of casting a wide net, opt for a more targeted recruitment strategy.

Make it easy for anyone to volunteer by offering a variety of simple ways to participate. For instance, short-term projects are less intimidating and easier for new volunteers to join. With short projects, potential supporters will be able to manage their workloads themselves, which helps motivate them to do their best work. To improve accessibility and cater to more diverse potential volunteers, consider offering translations of your registration form in other languages, too.

During Volunteering

For example, you’ll need far fewer volunteers at a small lecture event than you will at a community-wide dance-a-thon. Your recruitment message is the key information you share with your community about your organization, inspiring them to join your cause. This message should be both enticing and authentic, representing your organization’s collective voice. Your imagination is the only limitation when it comes to creative volunteer recruitment strategies. You can also add a QR code to your physical advertisements so you can link your physical and digital marketing materials. This allows people to easily access your website, more information about the opportunity, and your volunteer application.

Marketing volunteer opportunities aren’t just about what’s said or the story that’s told. To reach potential volunteers, nonprofit professionals need to meet them where they spend their time. If you’re juggling dozens or hundreds of prospective volunteers, spreadsheets quickly become overwhelming. Volunteer management software centralizes every aspect of the recruitment process, making it easy to post openings, review applications, and communicate at scale. Volunteers clearly see how they fit into your mission, and they meet like-minded people as they go through orientation and training. Camaraderie grows when volunteers are aligned with your organization’s cause and are well-informed about how to contribute.