How can you keep volunteers engaged and committed to your non-profit over time?

1 Understand their motivations

The first step to engaging your volunteers is to understand why they chose to volunteer for your non-profit in the first place. What are their passions, interests, goals, and values? How do they relate to your non-profit's vision and purpose? By knowing what drives your volunteers, you can tailor your communication, feedback, and opportunities to align with their motivations. You can also use surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gather feedback from your volunteers and learn more about their expectations, challenges, and satisfaction.

2 Provide meaningful opportunities

The second step to engaging your volunteers is to provide them with meaningful and rewarding opportunities that match their skills, interests, and availability. You want your volunteers to feel that they are making a difference, contributing to your non-profit's goals, and learning new things. You can also offer variety, flexibility, and autonomy to your volunteers, allowing them to choose their projects, schedules, and roles. Additionally, you can create pathways for growth and development for your volunteers, such as training, mentoring, or leadership roles.

3 Recognize and appreciate their efforts

The third step to engaging your volunteers is to recognize and appreciate their efforts and achievements. You want your volunteers to feel valued, respected, and appreciated for their time, energy, and skills. You can show your gratitude in various ways, such as sending personalized thank-you notes, giving shout-outs on social media, hosting appreciation events, or offering incentives or rewards. You can also solicit feedback from your beneficiaries and share their stories and testimonials with your volunteers to show them the impact of their work.

4 Build a sense of community

The fourth step to engaging your volunteers is to build a sense of community and belonging among them. You want your volunteers to feel connected, supported, and inspired by each other and by your non-profit's staff and leaders. You can foster a positive and inclusive culture by creating opportunities for socialization, collaboration, and fun among your volunteers, such as team-building activities, social events, or online forums. You can also involve your volunteers in decision-making, planning, and evaluation processes, and encourage them to share their ideas, opinions, and feedback.

5 Measure and communicate their impact

The fifth step to engaging your volunteers is to measure and communicate their impact on your non-profit's mission and outcomes. You want your volunteers to see the results of their work and how it contributes to your non-profit's success and social change. You can use various tools and methods to track and evaluate your volunteers' performance, such as surveys, indicators, metrics, or stories. You can also use different channels and formats to communicate your volunteers' impact, such as reports, newsletters, infographics, or videos.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?