The old saying is true – “Many hands make light work.”
Great volunteers can be a huge asset to your nonprofit, donating hundreds or thousands of hours of work each year to your cause.
When your nonprofit is new, young, or small, finding volunteers and plugging them in to a role they enjoy can be tricky.
But it can be done.
You see, volunteers can help with all types of work in your organization when you take the time to do it right.
And if these are tasks you can take off YOUR plate, awesome! You just freed up your time to do things that only you can do to grow your organization.
Planning is key, so if you haven’t built structure around your volunteer program, it’s time to do that.
After all, it takes work to find new volunteers and you want them to stick around.
Here are 4 tips for finding volunteers who can provide extra hands and help you fulfill your nonprofit’s mission.
1. Share your great volunteer opportunities everywhere.
While this one may seem obvious, sometimes we get so wrapped up in the day-to-day that we forget to let people know we need help.
Be strategic when deciding where best to find the most suitable volunteers for your nonprofit’s needs. If you’re looking for 100 volunteers to help at a one-day event, for instance, use outlets that reach a large audience like social media and your local news channel.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a single volunteer who can teach financial empowerment workshops a couple of times a month, searching within your banking networks may turn up leads that easily help you identify an ideal candidate.
Friends of friends may make the best volunteers to serve on a committee.
2. Specify the Jobs and Skills Needed.
Finding volunteers is a lot like recruiting employees.
There are key points potential volunteers want to know before they sign up. Most of this can be made readily available to them in ‘volunteer position descriptions,’ which you’ll want to create once you know what specific help you need from volunteers within your nonprofit.
In your Volunteer Position Description, be sure to outline:
- The types of activities volunteers will be doing.
- Expectations and desired result of activities.
- The amount of time they are committing to (i.e. hours and frequency – 9am to 11am, 2 days a week, 2 weeks a month).
- The skills you need them to possess.
- Requirement and restrictions, like background checks, age limits, and waivers to be signed.
All of these are key things interested individuals will look for when they are considering volunteer opportunities, so sharing this information ahead of time with prospective volunteers is important to attracting the right person.
3. Make it a win-win.
Sure, your nonprofit needs help…but that’s probably not the most compelling reason for people to want to volunteer with you.
Instead of making the theme of your recruitment about your nonprofit’s needs, help prospective volunteers see what they’re going to get out of their volunteer experience with you and what they will gain by it.
Focus on things like:
- Engaging in fun, meaningful experiences.
- Making a difference in the community.
- Meeting new people.
- Helping others in need by using skills and talents.
- Supporting something they believe in.
Giving each volunteer position description a title and stating that they’ll be a strategic part of your team or staff goes a long way, too.
You can also tell them about the perks they’ll receive by volunteering with your organization (if you choose to offer these things), like:
- Tickets or free entry to events
- Stuff we all get (commonly referred to as S.W.A.G.) – branded t-shirts, mugs, koozies, etc.
- Public recognition in social media and newsletters
- An annual volunteer appreciation party
All of these benefits and perks can be included in the position description or in online position postings, so don’t forget to include them!
4. Give them a great experience.
Think about the last time you signed up to volunteer with an organization. Was it easy and user-friendly? Were the instructions clear? Were the communications you received informative and friendly?
Be sure people signing up to volunteer with your nonprofit have a positive experience because this will help shape their initial impression of you…and they’ll probably tell their friends and family about it.
Here are some tips:
- Offer a hassle-free application process.
- Provide clear instructions about completing the application.
- Be sure hyperlinks work, if you’re directing people away from a social media post or online page.
- Capture enough information in the application to help you screen candidates – especially if you’re seeking to fill a special position.
- Let prospective volunteers know when they can expect to hear from someone – and if that’ll be by phone or email.
- Assign one person within your nonprofit as the point-of-contact, if prospective volunteers have questions.
- Be kind and understanding when communicating with them. After all, they probably have a million and a half questions and are excited to get started!
- Match their interests with your needs.
Of course, once you find great volunteers, you probably want to keep them! So be sure you have plans in place for leading your volunteers through fun, meaningful experiences and thanking their socks off for their time and energy and service to your nonprofit’s mission.
Great article on volunteers.
Thanks so much for sharing these are great tips for finding volunteers! Volunteers are invaluable to nonprofits so making sure they feel valued and appreciated in return is so important. Engaging with volunteers and getting feedback on their experiences and how they want to help is a good way to find and retain great volunteers as well.