Promoting volunteering

Organisations need volunteers to sustain their services, so volunteer recruitment is usually an ongoing challenge.

There’s lots to put in place before you start recruiting.

Please go to Getting ready for volunteers for our resources on this.

First things first

Is someone responsible?

Is there a volunteer coordinator or a named person whose role it is to be the point of contact for prospective volunteers? Ideally, this would be a paid coordinator. Have you considered dedicating a volunteer role/s to recruiting others?

Marketing

This isn’t just the promotional side i.e. flyers and posters. It’s the whole volunteer journey through your organisation. Everything about your organisation will attract or put off volunteers. This could be the way people answer the phone, the welcome they receive in the office, the recruitment process. Is everyone professional and warm and welcoming and friendly? Do people feel wanted, valued and included? The Volunteer Journey i.e. everyone’s journey through your organisation, is extremely important.*

Define Your Role

Here are some Top tips from Volunteering Matters:

  • Provide a clear ask – create clear task/role descriptions so volunteers understand clearly what you are asking of them.
  • Providing a wide range of ways to volunteer – A choice of tasks can increase your chances of attracting a wide range of volunteers.
  • Make sure your volunteering roles are interesting enough. Would you do them? If they are not motivating to you then they are unlikely to motivate others.
  • Be as flexible as possible – Some people like to suggest what they could do but others like to see clearly what is on offer and what you are asking from them. For example, promoting specific tasks.

Next steps

Make sure your opportunity stands out

“Remember you are competing, not just with other voluntary organisations, but also with other leisure activities (e.g. going to the cinema, shopping, football, etc) for people’s time. Think very carefully about how you promote your volunteering needs to make your opportunities stand out” – Devon Voluntary Action.

How will you catch people’s attention?

Is it inspiring?

  • Promote the difference volunteers make – People are more likely to be motivated if they can see the impact they could make through volunteering, for example, reducing loneliness for older people or improving people’s quality of life.
  • Tell a story with it – Volunteers are much more likely to engage if they can see the impact they are making. So, inspire them – tell them or show them what change they will bring. Use testimonials and case studies from beneficiaries. These work incredibly well on video. Canva is a great tool for creating promotional materials with lots of handy templates for posters and videos.

Promote the benefits

Sell the benefits of a role – what can volunteers expect from you?

Tell people what the role can do for them as well as what they can do for the role

This could be:

  • travel and lunch expenses
  • reference
  • training or other opportunities
  • develop new or existing skills
  • transferrable experience

More benefits:

  • meet new people / make friends
  • increase confidence
  • health – there is lots of anecdotal evidence that volunteering has a positive impact on health
  • happiness – Action for Happiness has ten keys to happier living and volunteering covers at least 5!

Sell your volunteer experience

Do you have volunteer testimonials?

This video is a great promotional tool for this particular organisation because it’s in their volunteers’ own words.

It shows volunteering

  • is for different people of different ages
  • has different roles – from sports coach to reception or general helper
  • involves different levels of commitment – from one month to six years, a few hours a week to 25 hours a week

It covers lots of questions for people who are new to volunteering

  • how often
  • how long
  • what role
  • why
  • what are the benefits
  • what is the impact?
 

Look at who is already engaged in your service

Volunteering Matters says Word of mouth is still top of the list as one of the most successful ways to attract volunteers so make sure you’re asking your volunteers to spread the word and share opportunities with their networks – there’s no better promotion than people talking to their friends about how satisfied they are with their volunteering role.

In the NCVO Time Well Spent Survey;

  • 28% said the reason they volunteer was “Someone asked me to help.” This shows a direct ask is really important – usually from a friend or network.
  • 37% said: “Having a personal connection with a cause or organisation”
  • 38% said: “The group/club/organisation was really important to me”

So, look at who is already engaged in your service – it could be a donor or service user….

Understand people’s motivation to volunteer

Focus on:

  • Why do people volunteer?
  • What are they looking for in a volunteer opportunity?

For an extensive list of why people volunteer click HERE.

Instead of just listing the role, its hours and requirements, think about how it might tap into their motivations with openings like those listed below:

  • Want to improve your CV?
  • Looking to get a job working with ….?
  • Need experience?
  • Want to learn new skills?
  • Want to help others?
  • Do you like meeting people?

Appeal to what people want

The Centre for Ageing Better produced the 6 principles to age friendly and inclusive volunteering pictured above.

The NCVO Time Well Spent Survey looked at the question ‘What is a quality volunteering experience?’ and came to very similar conclusions (pictured below).

So, think about how you can ensure your volunteer opportunities achieve these results.

Advertise

Here’s some great tips from Devon Voluntary Action and others:

  • Effective advertising is important. If you can find someone with promotional, advertising or marketing skills, ask them to help you.
  • Use as many different types of advertising as possible:
    • your local Volunteer Centre
    • leaflets, flyers, posters in shops and cafes etc
    • your website, website links, social networks
    • press releases
    • TV News
    • podcasts
    • newspaper ads (free papers as well as those sold)
    • specialist publications
    • e-mail news updates
    • radio coverage
    • other new technologies
    • glossy county magazines
    • community newsletters etc
  • Don’t forget your online organisation’s platforms – website, social media – and make sure info is up to date and easy to read.
  • Attend events such as volunteer fairs and other outreach opportunities.
  • Host information sessions with tea and cake.
  • Hold taster sessions where volunteers can come and see if the role is for them. This is hands on experience before they commit.
  • Open up to offers – You may be surprised what talents and experience people may offer that would be useful to your organisation.
  • Involve volunteers in as many ways as possible. Volunteers could help write your recruitment messages and promote the opportunities.

Recommended resources:

Watch the video:

Kent Coast Volunteering