Soapbox Engage Blog

Many nonprofits lean heavily on volunteers to accomplish all kinds of tasks and carry out their mission. In fact, many charitable nonprofits have no paid staff and are run exclusively by volunteers! They’re undoubtedly one of the most valuable resources for nonprofits of all shapes and sizes.

But how do you find these stellar volunteers who eagerly give of their time and talents? There are loads of recruitment strategies and methods out there, and some might be more appropriate for your organization than others.

We’ve gathered some tips and resources to help fill your directory with high-quality volunteers that match your unique needs and contexts.

Table of Contents

• Choose a volunteer coordinator
• Clearly define volunteer expectations
• Have specific volunteer job assignments
• Provide valuable orientation, training, and supervision
• 5 ways to boost volunteer recruitment

Boost Volunteer Recruitment and Retention With Good Leadership

While volunteers are a valuable resource, they also add an extra layer of management and leadership needs. It’s essential to develop an effective volunteer management process to increase volunteer engagement, boost retention rates, and ensure your organization is focusing on the mission.

Some nonprofits only rely on a few volunteers each year, while others recruit thousands of volunteers daily! The extent to which your organization relies on volunteers determines how extensive your volunteer program should be.

Here are some practical steps you can take to manage your volunteers well, no matter the size of your nonprofit.

Choose a volunteer coordinator to oversee everything

Consistency in leadership can go a long way when it comes to building a strong volunteer program. Designate one person in your organization to lead your volunteer recruitment, training, and management programs. Even if you decide to expand to a volunteer management team, designating one point person can help you avoid a lot of oversight and disorganization.

Overseeing a volunteer program is a big undertaking! And the bigger your volunteer team is, the more demanding the job! Your volunteer coordinator should handle things like writing recruitment and training content, assigning jobs to volunteers, providing feedback, conflict resolution, and even volunteer recognition! Additionally, your volunteer coordinator or committee should serve as a voice for volunteers to the rest of the nonprofit.

Clearly define volunteer expectations and rules

Almost everyone who wants to volunteer has great motives and desires. Still, it’s essential to screen volunteers to protect your organization and the people you serve from anyone who might pose a risk.

Define your nonprofit’s beliefs, values, and rules. It’s critical to have clear policies and guidelines for your volunteers. This ensures everyone has the same expectations and standards. More importantly, clear policies can protect your organization from liability.

Having specific volunteer job assignments makes recruitment easier

Volunteers usually want to know precisely what they’re getting into and what to expect. It’s also essential to clearly articulate the purpose of the volunteer job and how it serves the larger vision and goal.

Having clear job descriptions (and even titles) also helps you define qualification requirements and how many hours people can expect to give. Plus, people like to be recognized for a specific role, especially when they bring valuable skills and experiences.

Even though you’re recruiting volunteers, that doesn’t mean you should put just anyone in each position. Writing job descriptions helps ensure you get the right people for the job.

Provide valuable orientation, training, and supervision for volunteers

Just like paid staff, volunteers want (and need) direction, feedback, development opportunities, and supervision. All volunteers deserve to receive training and information to help them accomplish their tasks effectively and even develop new knowledge and skills.

Additionally, you might not be paying them a salary, but one great way to boost your volunteer retention is to offer valuable training and resources throughout the year.

And, your volunteers do require and value direction, feedback, and support, just like your paid staff. Make sure your volunteers have a supervisor who will respond to concerns and ensure everyone’s in a position to thrive.

5 Ways to Boost your Nonprofit Volunteer Recruitment

Now that you’ve taken the time to create a quality volunteer program for your nonprofit, it’s time to recruit some high-quality volunteers for your team. There are many strategies and approaches to this, so--like many things in the nonprofit world--it may take a little experimenting to see what fits your organization best.

1) Communicate consistently and build relationships before you need volunteers

Just like with fundraising, relationships are essential when it comes to recruiting volunteers. Strong relationships help people feel connected to your organization and understand your needs before asking them to contribute their time and talents to the cause.

Consistent communication helps build these relationships. It’s a year-round effort to build trust so you can recruit when the need arises. This is especially true if you anticipate making short-notice requests for volunteers.

2) Be specific and use targeted recruitment to attract qualified volunteers

Saying you need volunteers could mean anything--it could involve anything from scrubbing toilets to writing complex computer codes and everything in between. Instead of putting out a call for “volunteers,” be specific about what you need. That way, prospective volunteers know exactly what you’re looking for and whether they have the skills, time, and energy for the job.

When you’re trying to recruit volunteers with specialized skillsets or unique characteristics (like computer programmers or educational therapists), it’s helpful to use a targeted campaign approach. Determine precisely what you need and where you can find such people. Once you find a source for these skilled volunteers, reach out to them directly with specific recruitment messages.

3) Build relationships with volunteer-oriented groups and local businesses

Most communities have groups of people who are looking for opportunities to serve. If your nonprofit needs a consistent supply of relatively “unskilled” volunteers, take the time to build relationships with these groups!

Whether you connect with a university fraternity or sorority or rely on a local Scouts troop or Rotary club, these are valuable relationships and excellent places to find large groups of volunteers.

And let’s not forget the oft-overlooked corporate volunteer programs! Some businesses have “Dollars for Doers” grants where the company donates to nonprofits where its employees volunteer regularly. You could recruit some high-quality volunteers and get some extra funding to boot with a bit of research to find some companies with employee volunteer grant programs!

4) Highlight the benefits of volunteering, not your organization’s needs

When recruiting volunteers, it’s time to flip the script a little. Sure, they know you need their time and talents. But what can YOU give them? Why should someone invest their time and energy in your organization?

Instead of making your needs the main storyline of your volunteer recruitment, highlight what volunteering can expect to receive when they join you! This is where highlighting your fantastic continuing education program for volunteers can really come in handy. Additionally, you can highlight benefits like:

• Transforming their local community
• Using their skills, knowledge, and talents to make a difference
• Networking opportunities
• Leadership and skills development opportunities

No matter what you choose to highlight, focus on making a difference rather than your organization’s specific needs.

5) Keep the volunteer sign-up process easy and organized

Have you ever signed up for something and felt confused by the whole process? Or, after you signed up, you didn’t hear from anyone for days--or weeks?! Perhaps you’ve tried to call for more information, and the person you spoke to was rude or unhelpful.

All of these scenarios seem far-fetched or dramatic. Sadly, they’re more common than we care to admit!

Make sure every step of the sign-up process is easy, straightforward, friendly, and communicative. Don’t underestimate the negative impact of a form that won’t load properly or an unanswered phone call!

Start by making the intake form easy with the Soapbox Engage Forms app. You can customize all the fields to gather the exact information you need. And, you’re guaranteed to have a beautiful, mobile-friendly form that works on any device.

Make sure you know who is responsible for receiving and responding to each form submission, ideally within 48 hrs. Don’t leave anyone hanging! The longer a potential volunteer waits for a response, the less likely they are to actually follow through.

Some of these volunteer recruitment strategies might seem too basic or common-sense. Sometimes the best way to stand out is to do the simple things really well!

Now that you’re on a roll with your volunteer recruitment, here are three more resources to help you continue building a strong nonprofit.

• How to Write the Perfect Nonprofit Mission Statement: A mission statement has both internal and external purposes. Unfortunately, many nonprofits overlook or minimize the value of a strong mission statement, and they miss out on some great benefits! This blog will help you write a powerful mission statement for your nonprofit (or improve your existing one).
• 7 Fundraising Metrics Every Nonprofit Should Track: Tracking and using the right data to assess your fundraising strategies is essential for all development professionals. It can help improve your donor care, boost retention rates, and raise more money. (The right data can also help you recruit more volunteers!) The key is to know which data points to pay attention to, and this blog will help you do just that!
• Ladder of Engagement: Nonprofit Fundraising Strategies: Ladders of engagement are certainly not new, but as the world increasingly fights to keep audiences engaged and connected, it’s an increasingly important tool for all nonprofits. It can help you hook your “casual follower” and move them toward becoming one of your most loyal supporters. This blog will help you develop or update your nonprofit’s ladder of engagement.