Corporations and organizations large and small may need volunteers not routinely but once in a while for particular events. Unfortunately, many of these organizations do not have a volunteer database to call on when such needs arise. In addition, because they do not regularly need volunteers, they may lack experience attracting and recruiting them.
The recruiting process may also feel intimidating and time-consuming. Still, the rewards are worth the investment: volunteers are essential assets to all kinds of events, from fundraisers to community outreach and beyond.
Step 1: Before beginning the recruiting process, you must plan your event and determine its logistics and costs. Volunteers don't require compensation but factor in volunteer appreciation gifts to hand out after the event.
Step 2: Ask yourself why would volunteers show up to help out with your event? There are many reasons why they would show interest, but consider the logical ones:
They have a genuine interest in your cause. Define clear goals and an inspiring mission statement to trigger their interest and persuade them to get involved.
They will benefit from participation. These benefits are not pecuniary. Instead, they can range from extra credit in school for student volunteers to networking opportunities or sharpening a particular set of skills.
Step 3: Once you understand what motivates volunteers to participate, you can start the volunteer attracting process, which is more complicated than it sounds if you have never done it before. Here are some guidelines to help you along:
Make volunteer opportunities easy to find. Many volunteers search online for opportunities, so you should publish the information on your website or blog. Add a banner or a "volunteer" navigation button on your website to help users access the information quickly.
Publish information about volunteer opportunities on your social media pages and profiles using the appropriate #hashtags and eye-catching, relevant visuals (images or video).
Reach out to social media influencers who share an interest in your cause and ask them to shout out to volunteers who may want to participate in your event.
Use a volunteer management CRM solution like tribu to attract and communicate with volunteers. tribu has a rich database of volunteers eager to make a positive contribution to the world.
Publish a newsletter and ask your subscribers to volunteer or spread the word about the opportunity in their circles: you'd be surprised how many people show up for a good cause if you just ask.
Publish flyers in schools and public institutions with good foot traffic, waiting rooms, and other public spaces were legally allowed to advertise.
Write a press release and reach out to local media (newspapers, radio, and TV) to let them know about the event. Some will be happy to volunteer print and air time to help you along, and others may just show up during the event to see how things are going. Either way, spreading news about good causes positively impacts local communities and society.
Reach out to other businesses in your community - they may already have a database of volunteers eager to help, or they may have corporate volunteering programs that align with your cause. Let local businesses know how they will benefit from partnering with your organization from participating in your event.
Step 4: Make the volunteer registration process easy and fast. If they want to register for consideration, volunteers should not be forced to fill in lengthy and time-consuming forms. Instead, only require essential information like name and contact data, and include a field where they can write why they would like to volunteer for your cause or event in a few sentences.
These are the main steps to attract volunteers. Then, after you capture their attention and get enough to register, you can start the recruiting process and follow up with the selected candidates with more details about their role in the event and all the relevant information they need to come prepared for the job. These are different aspects of the volunteer management process, and that's why you should consider a volunteer CRM like tribu to streamline your activity.
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