Best Practices 5 min read

Tips for Nonprofits to Recruit Young Adults

Eric Burger January 27, 2025

9:52

Did you know that Gen Z is one of the most charitable generations? 63% of Zoomers have volunteered with a charity—a 10% increase from their Millennial counterparts. Gen Z is deeply passionate, and they are looking for ways to help the causes they care about.

But how can your nonprofit leverage Gen Z’s change-oriented mindset? If you focus on recruiting young adults, your organization can build mutually beneficial relationships that last a lifetime.

Why is Recruiting Young Adult Volunteers Important?

Incorporating young adults into your volunteer management strategy is essential. Individuals in their twenties are eager to leave their mark on the world, bringing a distinctive mix of passion, open-mindedness, and creativity to your nonprofit. Zoomers offer a fresh perspective, and their drive and enthusiasm can significantly advance your entire program.

However, recruiting young adults isn’t just good for your organization in the short term; it can have long-term benefits, too. When you engage a volunteer early in their lifetime, you have the potential to create a lifelong supporter. As a young adult volunteer continues to develop and their relationship with your organization deepens, they may eventually take on other roles, such as a paid staff member, corporate sponsor, or donor.

Tips for Recruiting Young Adult Volunteers

Gen Z is ready to get involved with your organization; all you have to do is reach them! Follow these tips for recruiting young adults and expanding your organization’s reach.

Engage Zoomers on an Emotional Level

Gen Z is an exceptionally socially aware generation. With 32% of Zoomers actively involved in social activism and 51% having taken part in protests, they have grown up during the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, significant social movements, and climate change. This has led them to reject traditional ideas of "how things should be," opting instead to embrace transformative change. To connect with this socially engaged group, focus on their passion. Demonstrate how your organization aligns with their values and the causes they are passionate about. Communicate how volunteering with your nonprofit can empower them to make a meaningful impact, highlighting emotionally resonant case studies.

Emphasize Professional Development Opportunities

Young adults are just starting their careers, so they are especially interested in professional development opportunities. Show young adults that volunteering isn’t just a way for them to give back to others; it is also a chance for them to develop professional skills in a low-stakes environment.

When you’re recruiting young adult volunteers, highlight professional development opportunities like:

Volunteering gives young adults a chance to hone soft skills like communication, collaboration, and leadership that will make them stronger, no matter their career ambitions. Specific volunteer roles can also give young adults the chance to strengthen hard skills like translation, coding, project management, and writing. You can also offer special training workshops as an incentive for professionally minded recruits.
Resume-building. Volunteer experience is a valuable category on college and work resumes, especially for young adults who may not have many jobs to list. Volunteering with your organization can be a great way for young adults to show potential employers that they have certain skill sets, even if they haven’t been able to apply them in the workforce yet.
Networking and mentorship. Volunteering gives young adults a chance to connect with a wide variety of people—including other volunteers, organizational leadership, board members, and corporate partners—who are all united by a common cause. Positioning your organization as a valuable networking opportunity. You can even pair young adult volunteers with more established mentors to build even more valuable professional relationships.
It can be difficult to source recommendations from established professionals when a young adult is new to the workforce. A volunteer manager could be a great resource as a personal reference for job applications or a recommender for colleges and post-graduate studies.

By emphasizing professional development opportunities, you let Gen Z volunteers know that your organization can help them as much as they can help you!

Provide Leadership Opportunities

Young adults want to make their mark on the world, and they will be more energized if your volunteer program offers leadership opportunities with a greater potential for impact. When recruiting Zoomers, clearly outline the ways they can grow within your organization and take on more responsibility, such as assisting with project coordination and assuming formal leadership roles. You can even create a tiered volunteer leadership system or road map to illustrate growth opportunities.

Connect with Local Colleges and Universities

40% of college students get involved with social activism, and even more participate in some sort of service opportunity. Many classes, student clubs, and Greek life organizations have a service component, which could be satisfied by volunteering with your organization.

Connect with your local colleges and universities to see how you can build a partnership. Colleges may allow you to advertise on campus, and you may even be able to find a way to collaborate with professors and student organizations.

Leverage Social Media

Gen Z is very active on social media, and that’s no surprise, as the world’s first social media platform, Six Degrees, launched in 1997 when the first Zoomers were born. 97% of Gen Z use social media daily, so if you’re looking to recruit young adult volunteers, social media is a great place to find them!

Gen Z’s favorite social media platforms are, in order, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. They are less active on Facebook and, X; however, their LinkedIn usage is on the rise, which makes sense as more Zoomers enter the workforce.

To market to Gen Z on social media, develop high-quality, platform-specific content, post regularly, and respond to direct messages on time. Many platforms offer robust analytics, so take advantage of them to see which posts young adults find most engaging. You can also leverage social media to run an ad campaign targeted specifically to Gen Z.

Optimize Your Online Presence

Social media isn’t the only way to connect with Gen Z virtually. 66% of Zoomers participate in online activism, and when they are looking for a volunteering opportunity or more information about your nonprofit, Google will probably be their first stop.

Make sure that your website is engaging, up-to-date, and user-friendly, and consider adding a few features catered specifically to young adults:

Create a landing page for young adult volunteers
Highlight volunteer positions that are ideally suited for Gen Z
Feature photos of your current young adult volunteers
Underline networking, mentorship, and professional development opportunities
Share compelling volunteer impact data and case studies

And above all, your website should make it easy for Zoomers to get involved! Use calls to action and links to sign-ups and registration forms.

Add Young Adults to Your Board

Your board should represent a variety of perspectives, including younger voices. Gen Z board members can help you build a recruitment narrative that will resonate with younger adult audiences, and they may even leverage their network to help you find new volunteers.

Offer Flexible Volunteering Opportunities

Young adults have busy schedules, and they may not be able to commit to regularly volunteering—especially if they haven’t volunteered before or if they are unfamiliar with your organization. If you let Zoomers get their feet wet with flexible volunteering opportunities, you may open the door to broader collaboration.

Try engaging Gen Z with:

Position sampling, allows young adults to see whether they are a good fit without making a major commitment
Virtual volunteering opportunities
Micro-volunteering options
Flexible volunteer roles that don’t have set hours
Online self-scheduling

The easier you make it for Gen Z to get involved, the more young adult volunteers you will have!

Build Community

Young adults frequently experience feelings of isolation. As they graduate, relocate away from friends and family, and leave behind the inherent social networks of their schools, many Zoomers will be seeking a sense of community. Your nonprofit can offer that essential social connection. Cultivate community by: