Back to Basics: Volunteers, We Are For Good Podcast

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Overview

Volunteers - they're our organization's heart-powered engine AND muscle. Our rabid fans. Our mission-based PTAs. And we gotta talk about how to make the best use of their time, passion, expertise and story to power our missions. We simply cannot exist without them. We chat through how to find them, how to tap into their passion, how to retain them year-after-year, review engagement Pro Tips and provide that age-old We Are For Good arc to this Back to Basics: Volunteers discussion. Join us🎧 And don't hesitate to dog-pile on the engagement Pro Tips by adding your own in the community. Let's lift each other up!

“People are looking for purpose right now. The pandemic has left people with a sense of gratitude and wanting to give back. Make a call for volunteers! Now is your time to align with those who share a passion for your mission.”

— Jonathan McCoy, CFRE

Episode Transcript

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Episode Overview

Now is your time to make a call for volunteers (2:50)
Your volunteers are your mission sized PTA - they will help you take your mission to the next heights (3:10)
Who are your rabid fans? (4:20)
Core beliefs around volunteers (5:30)
Where to get started (9:30)
Pro tips for greater volunteer engagement (16:50)

Powerful quotes

“How do you toss a pebble into the hands of those who simply don’t want to make a transactional gift, but start a movement?” -Becky

“The people who are volunteers in your organizations are investing one of their greatest assets, their time. Honor that and treasure it.” -Jon

“Everybody has a sphere of influence. Every believer of your mission has doors they can open all around them.” -Becky

“If you can toss a pebble in 10 hands, the ripple will go into 10 networks you may never have had access to.” -Becky

“Allow your volunteers to pour their passions into something they really believe in.” -Becky

“People are looking for purpose right now. The pandemic has left people with a sense of gratitude and wanting to give back. Make a call for volunteers! Now is your time to align with those who share a passion for your mission.” -Jon

“Along with paid staff, volunteers are a nonprofit's greatest asset.” -Jon

WHO ARE YOUR RABID FANS?

Believers
Donors
Volunteers
Crowd Funders
Petition Gatherers
Board Members
Social Influencers
Staff
Mission Lovers
Community Members who believe in what you are doing

Our Core Beliefs Around Volunteers

Create a culture that values volunteers
Everybody has a sphere of influence. Every believer of your mission has doors that could be opened around them.
You must build an intentional annual engagement strategy with volunteers so the conversation is ongoing - not just during event times. Give them actionable ways to help - to give, to share, to speak up, to step into new roles, to be competitive
Volunteers can make your messages more viral, more heard, and more personalized simply by being involved. Finding them, getting them onboard, and mobilizing their efforts should be a coordinated process.

WHERE TO GET STARTED

Audit your programs, services and staff duties. Where are the gaps? Where could we direct someone’s passion in a way that fulfills them while also helping us fulfill our mission? Where could we use an extra set of hands? Where could we use a voice? A door opener? A story? Those are the opportunities you need to market and align with rabid fans.
Targeting Your Audience - Who are the people who have raised their hands previously? Who are your champions online? What are your most loyal donors over an extended period of time? Who gives several times each year? Get to know these friends and align their talents and abilities accordingly.
- Also, include volunteer opportunities in your newsletter, website, social channels, etc.
Be intentional. Create direction for volunteers. Build that engagement plan, so there’s intentionality behind that direction. And don’t be afraid to ask. Ask them for their gift, to rise to a leadership role, to share your story.
Tell your story and tell it well. This will attract your believers. You’ll be able to leverage a story best when it’s a multi-channel story and shareable online.
Equip your believers with messages, tools, and channels to apply the mission muscle in an organic way. Volunteering is about selflessly giving of your free time to a powerful cause.

RESOURCE: Check out ep. 25. Cultivate + Mobilize Rabid Fans

Pro Tips for Incredible Volunteer Engagement

Have clearly defined roles & responsibilities
Provide a range of volunteer opportunities to engage volunteers at different levels of commitment.
Make volunteering easy for recruits. Put links up on your website, respond to inquiries on social media, create an email address solely for volunteers, etc. Just make it so that it’s easy to identify where someone needs to go to ask about volunteer opportunities.
Focus on the benefits to volunteers, rather than to your organization
Volunteers need to be trained, and trained well.
Give them swag! Seriously. Walking billboard right there who is happy to talk to anyone about your mission who asks about the shirt. Their passion could be infectious and spark curiosity about your mission.
Steward relentlessly - love on them pre, during and post-event!
Calculate volunteer time. - Why? Because volunteers are essential to nonprofits. The time, value, manpower, network, personal investment and passion they pour into our missions truly fuel our good work. We simply cannot fully execute our organizations to their fullest potential without volunteers.
- RESOURCE: Tracking Volunteer Time To Boost Your Bottom Line – A Complete Accounting Guide