4 Tips to Help Your Nonprofit Find and Retain Volunteers
The content in this article derives from Hannah Stowell’s “Finding and Retaining Volunteers” webinar hosted by Park Bank in April of 2024. Stowell is the Director of Corporate and Community Engagement for United Way of Dane County.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of many nonprofit organizations.
That’s why your nonprofit must have a sound strategy for:
- Appealing to volunteers
- Determining your volunteer needs
- Finding and recruiting volunteers
- Retaining volunteers
Appealing to Volunteers
What would make a person want to volunteer with your organization?
In other words, what’s your “sales pitch” to volunteers?
“Volunteers want to know the time they’re giving is actually making a difference,” said Hannah Stowell, Director of Corporate and Community Engagement for United Way of Dane County.
Your sales pitch should describe:
- Your organization’s mission
- Your “why”
- How your organization got to where it is today
- The passion you have for your work
- Your desire to solve the problem that your organization is fighting for
- What’s in it for volunteers and why they should be excited about your mission
“When I think about my ‘why’ at United Way, it's easy to get behind our plan for community well-being and why I want everyone to have access to a stable and secure life,” said Stowell. “It’s recognizing that things like education, income, and health are crucial to the successful lives that we can provide for folks.
“We also recognize that it's not a one-person gig; it takes a lot of folks to make changes happen. Through all this work, we're acknowledging and addressing those urgent needs to have a better tomorrow.”
Determining Your Volunteer Needs
Next, consider your organization’s volunteer needs. Do you have recurring needs, skill-based needs, or needs for long-term, committed volunteers? (Perhaps all of these.)
Determine your needs so you can place volunteers in appropriate roles once you’ve recruited them.
Stowell gave this example: “If you've got a volunteer who has great leadership skills, loves teaching, or loves speaking, maybe they can help you train and onboard future volunteers,” Stowell said. “We hear a lot about project management support, HR support, and financial skills that people might have.”
Finding and Recruiting Volunteers
Once you’ve identified your needs, it’s time to find the right people to fill those roles.
One way to go is the corporate-recruitment route. Stowell gave an example of the United Way doing this recently.
“We had conversations with our nonprofit and community partners asking what they’d like to receive,” Stowell said. “A lot of the things they wanted were simple – essential supplies like diapers and paper products, menstrual hygiene products, and snack packs.
“From those conversations, we took it back to our corporate partners who wanted their employees to be involved in volunteering. We told them: ‘Here's what the community has for needs. Can your company help sponsor the cost of these supplies and then we'll have an onsite, packing project for your employees?’”
Stowell added that many companies offer volunteer time off to encourage employees to get involved.
Also, promote the numerous benefits that come from volunteering.
“Volunteerism is great for personal and professional development,” Stowell said. “I recently gave a presentation on the different benefits and studies that show how volunteerism can improve your mental health and build your overall community engagement.
“It can sharpen skills that maybe you already have, and it can teach you skills that you might not know you have. It can also help network and bring you closer to folks you might not know yet.”
Social media is another go-to recruitment tool.
“That's where folks hear about what's going on around the community, so please post on social media,” Stowell said.
Stowell mentioned a few local Facebook groups where she finds a lot of traction, one of them being “Dane County’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors.”
Another helpful volunteer resource is unitedwaydanecounty.org.
United Way of Dane County also runs the volunteer center volunteeryourtime.org, a hub for all volunteer and donation needs in Dane County.
“To all of the organizations that need volunteers, please make an agency account so that we can promote your volunteer needs,” Stowell said. “Year-round, United Way is promoting volunteeryourtime.org not just on our socials, but in newsletters and emails that go out to a bunch of our committees and affinity groups.”
Stowell added three more helpful recruitment groups for nonprofits:
- LINC (Lead Impact Network and Change)
- REDI (Retired Employees or Dedicated Individuals)
- Women United
“Between these networks, we really have quite a wide net cast for promoting volunteer needs,” Stowell said.
Retaining Volunteers
To keep your volunteers, ensure they’re properly acclimated to your organization.
“When you think about training and onboarding, consider ways that you might be able to make it more efficient,” Stowell said. “We've got nonprofit partners that will streamline all of the group orientations to be on a certain day of each week or a certain day of each month. That's where they can mass produce these volunteer groups.
“And be patient with people when they’re learning.”
Lastly, celebrate your volunteers!
“I have found that a lot of volunteers don't want anything flashy, so you can keep it simple,” Stowell said. “Things like handwritten notes go far for a lot of folks. I also love coffee dates. I love taking volunteers out to lunch. It’s just being extra grateful.”
Stowell added that “an attitude of gratitude speaks volumes.”
Watch the full webinar here:
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