Communicating With Volunteers: Best Practices for Volunteer Programs

Updated: 9/2/2026

Communication touches nearly every part of volunteer management. Volunteers need clear information when they register, prepare for a shift, receive schedule changes, complete training, or hear about future opportunities. Staff also depend on communication to fill open shifts, answer questions, share program updates, and maintain relationships with volunteers between opportunities.

For volunteer coordinators, the challenge is often less about knowing that communication matters and more about managing it consistently. A single program may rely on email, text messages, phone calls, newsletters, automated reminders, and in-person conversations, each serving a different purpose.

Having a clear approach to volunteer communication can reduce confusion, make expectations easier to understand, and help staff stay connected with volunteers without creating unnecessary administrative work.

If you are looking specifically for guidance on communication frequency and timing, see our volunteer communication plan. For a broader look at recruitment, scheduling, engagement, and retention, our guide to volunteer management provides additional recommendations.

Why Volunteer Communication Matters

Volunteer communication affects much more than whether an email gets opened.

Clear instructions can help volunteers arrive prepared for an opportunity. Timely reminders can reduce missed shifts. Follow-up communication can encourage someone to volunteer again. Regular updates can also help people remain connected to an organization during periods when they are not actively serving.

That matters because volunteer participation represents meaningful organizational capacity. Independent Sector currently estimates the value of a volunteer hour at $36.14. When an experienced volunteer gradually disengages, an organization can lose both service capacity and the knowledge that person developed through their involvement.

Communication also has to work within the realities of nonprofit staffing. Volunteer coordinators are often responsible for recruitment, scheduling, training, reporting, recognition, and other responsibilities in addition to communication.

A sustainable communication approach should therefore help staff provide volunteers with useful information without requiring every message to be created manually.

Choose the Right Communication Channel

Email, text messaging, phone calls, printed materials, and in-person conversations each have advantages. The most appropriate choice depends on what needs to be communicated and how quickly a volunteer needs to respond.

Email generally works well for information that volunteers may need to reference later. Orientation instructions, policy updates, event details, newsletters, training materials, and links can all be shared effectively by email.

Text messaging is better suited to genuinely time-sensitive information. A weather cancellation, last-minute schedule change, or urgent need for additional volunteers may warrant a text because recipients are more likely to see it quickly. Since frequent text messages can become intrusive, organizations should reserve the channel for situations where immediacy matters. Our guide to texting volunteers covers additional considerations around consent and appropriate use.

Some conversations are better handled personally. A phone call or face-to-face conversation may be appropriate when discussing a volunteer concern, asking someone to take on greater responsibility, or recognizing a long-term volunteer for an important contribution.

Printed communication can also remain useful. A handwritten card or mailed thank-you may carry more significance than another message in an inbox, particularly for recognition or major volunteer milestones.

Before choosing a channel, consider whether the information needs to be received immediately, saved for future reference, or communicated in a more personal way.

Make Volunteer Communication Easy to Understand

Most volunteers read your messages in the middle of everything else. They are between work, family responsibilities, and the rest of the day, so the message needs to make the next step obvious quickly.

For scheduling communication, put the details that matter most where they cannot be missed: date, time, location, and any required action. If a volunteer needs to confirm attendance, complete a form, bring something, or use a specific entrance, say that clearly and early.

Subject lines matter too. “Schedule Change for Saturday’s Food Distribution” gives the volunteer useful context right away. “Volunteer Update” does not.

It also helps to keep each message focused on one subject. If one email tries to cover a shift reminder, a fundraising request, a parking update, and a newsletter item, there is a good chance something important gets missed.

Clear communication is not about oversimplifying. It is about organizing information around what your volunteers need to know and what you need them to do.

Send Relevant Messages to the Right Volunteers

Not every volunteer needs every message.

A volunteer scheduled for weekday meal delivery does not need the update meant for your Saturday warehouse crew. A long-time volunteer may not need the same guidance as someone who just registered for a first shift. When every message goes to everyone, relevance drops quickly.

That is where segmentation matters. You may need to communicate by program, location, role, scheduled event, experience level, or participation history. The exact categories depend on how your volunteer program runs.

Volunteer management software makes this easier because you can message the right group without maintaining separate email lists or spreadsheet exports. That reduces unnecessary communication and gives each message a better chance of being opened, read, and acted on.

In most programs, relevance is what keeps communication effective. Volunteers pay more attention when the messages they receive clearly connect to their actual involvement.

Make Communication Two-Way

Volunteer communication should provide a clear way for people to ask questions, report problems, or provide feedback.

For email communication, use an address that volunteers can reply to whenever possible and make sure someone monitors the responses. A volunteer who receives an automated message but cannot determine how to reach a staff member may be less likely to ask for clarification when they need it.

Organizations can also create regular opportunities for feedback. Short post-event surveys, periodic volunteer surveys, informal conversations, and exit discussions can all help coordinators understand what is working and where volunteers are experiencing difficulties.

Not every suggestion will result in a change, but volunteers should know how to share their perspective and feel confident that someone will review it.

Communication can also have a direct effect on whether volunteers remain involved. We discuss that connection further in How Communication Can Increase Volunteer Retention.

Account for Volunteer Communication Preferences

Volunteer programs often serve people with different communication preferences, schedules, accessibility needs, and levels of comfort with technology.

Asking volunteers how they prefer to be contacted can be useful, particularly for programs that regularly use both email and text messaging.

For SMS communication, organizations should collect explicit consent and maintain a record of that opt-in. Volunteers who do not want to receive text messages should still have another reliable way to receive important information.

Messages should also be written in straightforward language and formatted so that important details are easy to identify. This can benefit volunteers using mobile devices or assistive technology, as well as people who are reading quickly or communicating in a language other than their first.

Age can influence communication preferences, but it should not be used as a substitute for asking volunteers directly. Individual preferences can vary considerably. Our article on creating a generational approach to volunteer communications explores this topic in greater detail.

Common Volunteer Communication Problems

Even organizations with established communication practices can develop gaps over time.

One common problem occurs when communication is concentrated almost entirely around scheduled volunteer opportunities. Volunteers receive confirmations and reminders when they are active, but people without an upcoming shift may hear very little from the organization.

That gap can make it easier for previously active volunteers to lose touch with the program. Periodic communication, such as a volunteer newsletter, can provide updates, impact stories, upcoming opportunities, and other reasons to remain connected.

Another issue is relying too heavily on a single channel. Email may be appropriate for most routine communication, but it may not be effective for an urgent weather cancellation or same-day schedule change. Having an additional channel available for time-sensitive communication can help staff reach volunteers when timing matters.

Organizations can also create unnecessary work by writing the same messages repeatedly. Registration confirmations, reminders, thank-you messages, orientation instructions, and other routine communications are good candidates for reusable templates or automation.

Standardizing those messages also improves consistency. Volunteers receive the same essential information regardless of which staff member is managing the opportunity.

How VolunteerHub Volunteer Management Software Supports Volunteer Communication

VolunteerHub has helped organizations recruit, engage, and manage volunteers since 1996. Communication tools are connected directly with volunteer registration, scheduling, groups, and participation data, allowing staff to reach volunteers based on their actual involvement with the organization.

Organizations can send targeted emails to volunteers registered for a particular event, members of a user group, a filtered group of volunteers, or an individual.

Routine system emails can also handle communications such as registration confirmations, cancellation notices, and password-related messages.

For urgent communication, VolunteerHub’s text messaging tools allow organizations to contact opted-in volunteers while maintaining SMS consent information through the registration process.

Workflows can automate additional communications based on volunteer activity. Messages can be triggered by actions such as registering for an event, joining a user group, recording volunteer hours, reaching an hours milestone, or celebrating a birthday.

User Groups also give coordinators a way to organize volunteers and communicate with specific segments without maintaining separate contact lists.

For situations where print is still appropriate, volunteer information can be used to produce mailing labels or envelopes for physical correspondence.

Building a More Consistent Volunteer Communication Process

Improving volunteer communication does not always mean sending more messages. In many programs, the better question is whether volunteers are getting the right information, through the right channel, at the point when they actually need it.

A useful review starts by looking at the messages volunteers receive across the full experience: registration confirmations, orientation details, shift reminders, cancellations, follow-up messages, newsletters, and recognition. From there, you can see where information is repeated, where gaps exist, and where volunteers may be hearing very little unless they already have a shift on the calendar.

It is also worth looking at which messages truly require staff time and which ones can be standardized or automated. Routine communication does not need to be rewritten from scratch every time to feel clear and helpful.

A more consistent communication process gives volunteers clearer expectations and gives your coordinators more room to focus on the conversations that actually require their attention.

Frequently Asked Questions About Communicating With Volunteers

What is volunteer communication?

Volunteer communication includes the information an organization exchanges with volunteers throughout their involvement. This can include recruitment messages, registration confirmations, orientation information, shift reminders, schedule changes, newsletters, surveys, recognition, and day-to-day questions.

How do you communicate effectively with volunteers?

Effective volunteer communication starts with providing relevant information through an appropriate channel. Keep important details easy to find, communicate with volunteers based on their roles or activities when possible, and provide a clear way for people to ask questions or respond.

How often should you communicate with volunteers?

There is no single communication frequency that works for every volunteer program. Scheduled volunteers may receive confirmations and reminders around each opportunity, while broader program updates may be appropriate monthly or quarterly. The important consideration is maintaining enough contact that volunteers know what to expect without sending unnecessary messages.

For a more detailed example, see our volunteer communication plan.

Should you text volunteers or email them?

Email is generally appropriate for detailed information that volunteers may need to reference later. Text messaging is better suited to urgent or time-sensitive information such as cancellations or last-minute schedule changes. Organizations should obtain volunteer consent before sending SMS messages.

How do you communicate with volunteers who are not currently scheduled?

Periodic newsletters, program updates, new opportunity announcements, and impact communications can help maintain a relationship with volunteers who do not have an upcoming shift. This can be particularly useful for volunteers who previously participated regularly but have not recently registered.

What should you look for in volunteer communication software?

Look for communication tools that connect with volunteer data so staff can contact people based on event registration, program, group, role, or other relevant information. Automation, email and text capabilities, volunteer preferences, and CRM integrations may also be important depending on the size and complexity of the program.