One of the biggest challenges that nonprofits face is finding and retaining a healthy roster of volunteers. With the right approach, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get people rallied to your cause, but it helps to get creative! Here are some fun and creative ways to recruit new volunteers.
How to Get People Interested
First, Be Specific
Many nonprofits make the mistake of drafting generic volunteer descriptions. Asking for volunteers is less effective if you don’t explicitly state what they will be doing.
The reason you want to highlight certain aspects of the work is that most people will assume the worst. To them, volunteering is more of a chore than a rewarding use of their time, and they imagine hours of filling envelopes or handing out flyers.
Thus, when promoting your organization, you want to make sure that new people understand what they’ll be doing and what they’ll be getting out of it. Volunteering is a fantastic way to give back to one’s community and find purpose in life – when you illustrate the positive side of the work, then you’re sure to get more interest.
Here are some tactics that can yield significant results.
Social Media
Your organization should already be online, so it’s easy to take it one step further and start recruiting from your friends and followers. When crafting a social media recruitment strategy, here are some things to keep in mind.
Use Videos and Images – record various events that you have put on in the past, and make sure to showcase your current volunteers and how much they are enjoying the experience. Video marketing is always a big draw, so utilize clips whenever possible.
Engage With Users – once you put out a few posts asking for volunteers, be sure to respond and talk to those who take an interest in your organization. Social media is all about connecting with people, so don’t forget to follow up and show your followers that you’re paying attention to what they have to say.
Post Content Regularly – if all of your social media accounts are just posts about how you need volunteers, it won’t be very enticing to new people. Instead, post content that shows more about who you are and what you’re trying to achieve. High-quality content will get noticed a lot faster, and it can help expand your social network. Staying active will ensure that when you put out the call for volunteers, people will respond in kind.