The health of a nonprofit is based almost entirely on the work contributed by volunteers. As a very small portion of donations is used to fund employee salaries, nonprofits can find it difficult to recruit the help needed to make the social impact that they set out in their mission. Volunteers who donate their time to nonprofit organizations are vital but can be hard to come by. Whether you are involved in a new nonprofit or one that has been around for years, the strategy used to recruit volunteers will vary. However, you do not need a marketing budget to attract people who want to help your cause – try these tips instead.
Use Your Network
Chances are, your family and friends already know about the work that you do with your nonprofit, and you have shared your passion with them at one point or another. They are familiar with the organization, it’s mission, and they know someone who can help them to get involved – you! Open up to your network and share volunteer opportunities. You may be surprised how many are willing and eager to help.
Seek Student-Involvement
College students are always looking for opportunities to add to their resumes to set them apart in a future job inquiry. Some professors will provide college students with extra credit in a class when they perform documented volunteering, and some classes even incorporate it as a requirement in their syllabus. Additionally, internships are quickly becoming a must-have on post-graduate resumes. As many internships are unpaid, students are becoming interested in interning for a nonprofit that offers altruism in place of monetary compensation.
Be Transparent
When a volunteer shows interest in your organization, be intentional about remaining transparent about what they would do. Showing potential volunteers behind the scenes action of what it takes to run your organization, and how their volunteerism will impact this, they will gain awareness of their impact if they were to join. Even if the tasks that your volunteers are doing are not the most glamorous, give them a sense of how important it is to the overall success and impact on the organization.
Set up Volunteering Events
Raise awareness of involvement opportunities by organizing events for potential volunteers. This can be as simple as meet and greets over coffee or can even go as far as to organize an event with free food or entertainment. Not only does this raise general awareness for the entire organization and it’s missions, but it also provides those interested with an outlet to learn more information as to how they can get involved.
As a nonprofit, recruiting volunteers should be an inexpensive task that, if done correctly, can provide innumerable benefits. Philanthropic involvement is trending and volunteers are plentiful, you just need to know where to look.