Volunteers are the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations, providing support in many forms – ranging from board and committee positions to the many individual tasks that go into community initiatives and events. Photo credit: On Broadway, Inc. Green Bay
By Allie Acridge, Wisconsin Volunteer Coordinators Association President
People typically volunteer to help fulfill one or more personal goals, as illustrated in this graphic. Conveying how your volunteer roles might provide one or more benefits can help recruit and retain new volunteers.
Reasons for volunteering change over time. We used to see volunteers come into nonprofits to help however they could. Although people are still sometimes willing to help out in any capacity, more often we see that a specific sense of purpose and meaning motivates people to volunteer.
As volunteer coordinators, we often interact with people who come in and want to make an impact they can see. Most volunteers don’t come to nonprofits for awards, gifts, appreciation events, or recognition. They want to feel that something they do impacts the mission. Our goal as volunteer coordinators is to make volunteers feel like they are part of the organization.
Corporate groups may want to come in for team building or a service day. Although it is amazing to see businesses encourage employees to use paid time to give back, sometimes this can create more work for volunteer coordinators. Many nonprofits (though not all) are small and do not always have large projects available for groups to help with. This can make more work for a volunteer coordinator, who might even need to create something for a group to do. A relatively new approach that is gaining popularity is for businesses to offer their employees volunteer time off (VTO) to use on a flexible basis throughout the year. This approach allows employees to choose an organization they wish to support and to complete their service a time that works for them as well as for the organization. It’s truly a gift to see businesses take corporate social responsibility seriously and want to improve their communities.
Community members come to nonprofits to fulfill something they are personally looking for. We see a huge variety of reasons for volunteering: a retired nurse wanting to do something in the hospital, someone wanting to volunteer at a food pantry that has helped them in the past, a parent wanting to volunteer at their child’s school, a survivor of domestic violence wanting to give back when they are in a better place, someone who watched hospice help their loved one now wanting to offer similar support t hospice patients. Some volunteers might have their own reasons such as wanting to get out of the house and move around in the winter because it helps with arthritis. The list of reasons is never-ending!
When a volunteer comes to a nonprofit, it’s important for the volunteer coordinator to get a sense of what the volunteer would like to get out of their experience. These can be hard conversations if it turns out the organization can’t fulfill the volunteer’s expectations, but it’s important to get on the same page to avoid disappointment later—and the volunteer coordinator may be able to make a referral to a different organization that would be a better fit for the volunteer’s intentions. For example, at the Wisconsin Volunteer Coordinators Association, we have affiliate groups all over the state that are in touch with what’s happening in their respective communities and can make a suggestion that aligns with a given volunteer’s skills and interests.
Volunteer opportunities that allow people to embrace their passions, whether for pets, art, sustainability or any other topic not increase engagement and loyalty. Credit: Eagle River Revitalization Program, Viroqua Chamber-Main Street
People’s willingness to spend their time volunteering is always appreciated, and careful consideration of a volunteer’s own goals and current organization needs will result in a better experience all around. Organizations that build strong personal relationships with the community will find they benefit in the long run, as these networks build awareness and support of the program and mission. Too, individual circumstances change, so what doesn’t work as a volunteer opportunity today might be a perfect fit in the future.
