3 Ways To Attract More Volunteers At Your Nonprofit
While there are many aspects of nonprofit organizations that keep them running successfully, there are two elements that keep nonprofits moving and growing in new ways each day: the mission and the volunteers. While the mission of an organization isn’t too difficult to keep up, finding volunteers can sometimes pose a challenge. The following outlines some effective ways to get people on their feet and excited about volunteer work at nonprofits in their community.
Ask in Person
There’s nothing that compares to the energy of an in-person conversation. A lot can get lost over text messages and emails: in person, your passion and excitement are more apparent. This energy has a greater chance of spreading to them because they are actively experiencing it. While this method of attracting more volunteers might seem like the obvious move to make, you might be surprised by how often the power of an in-person conversation is overlooked. Most strong networking connections are made in person, but more often than not, people spend time networking over social media applications and other similar networks. By taking the time to get to know someone without a screen in between you and them, you’re sure to make novel, long lasting connections with like-minded individuals in your community.
Benefits vs. Necessities
When recruiting volunteers, it can be easy to focus primarily on the necessity of the organization you’re recruiting for. However, with a little bit of maneuvering your language and focus, you can take away the aspect of necessity and replace it with an individualized focus on personal benefits. As much as people like to feel necessary in their presence, people are often more driven by how opportunities can benefit them, such as the unique ways an organization allows them to grow, educate, and connect them to the world. This is why it is so crucial to focus on the benefits of an opportunity when recruiting for nonprofits. A simple shift in the language you use can make a large, positive impact on the way people hear the opportunity.
Targeted Recruitment
While going out into the community without set requirements for the volunteer work you’re recruiting for can be an effective way to pull a handful of gems from a large sample size, it can often be more effective to target specific groups with niches relevant to your nonprofit for the volunteer work you’re looking for and receive a large response from a smaller group. This means going out to local universities, town meetings, or community events where the people you’re looking for will be. When you go out recruiting with a definitive idea of the types of minds you’re looking to hop on board, you’re more likely to use language that appeals to them and therefore have a larger recruitment rate among the group.
With these things in mind, your nonprofit organization is sure to see some new, needed faces ready to dive into the work. A little shift in language can make a huge difference, and is sure to get you the volunteers you need.
