You’ve done the hard work of getting volunteers, but how do you keep volunteers coming back?
One of the biggest problems for non-profits is finding volunteers. The next biggest problem is, once they have volunteers, how do they keep volunteers coming back? For many non-profits, the volunteers who are there week-in, and week-out are often the best because they understand the organization and are familiar with the work.
However, volunteer retention is a much easier enterprise than constantly finding fresh recruits. In this blog, we’ll look at 5 ways to keep volunteers coming back time and time again.
5 tips for retaining volunteers
The following tips are simple and easy to do.
1. Be thankful
Show appreciation in varied ways. From a simple thank you after each day to mentioning volunteers who help to make your non-profit successful.
2. Reward volunteers
Every volunteer has their motivation. And part of that motivation is because of how supportive they are of your course. However, for some, their motivation is to get out more and help. For others, it’s about having more contact with others in social settings and other events.
Then you have retirees who are easing themselves back into work-like settings. Essentially, get to know your volunteers. And get to know what motivates them. Because when you know what motivates them, you’ll know the best way to reward them.
3. Share success stories
Similar to the first tip, it’s a good idea to showcase how your volunteers to help your non-profit succeed. Showcasing a success story, shows you’re paying attention to the work of your volunteers—and that you appreciate it.
4. Provide an experience
Nurture engagement by providing experience connected to your cause. Provide volunteers with experiences, but not tasks associated with your organization. This tip ties into the second tip concerning rewarding volunteers.
5. Grow your volunteer pool by word of mouth
This may sound like an odd tip for keeping volunteers. Because, on the surface, it sounds like a way of getting more volunteers. And it is. But did you know that when a volunteer recommends a non-profit to a friend, that friend is more likely to help out and commit than trying to recruit a stranger?
This is simply because people trust their friends and family. And if your volunteers like working for your non-profit so much that they’ll recommend their friends work there—you know you’re doing something right.
How to keep volunteers coming back
Take a look at the people who volunteer for your organization. And then think about the ones who keep coming back and keep making a difference. These are the people who you want to cultivate as volunteers who keep coming back.
These volunteers are worth your time, and if you truly want them to stay, you’ll learn more about them and figure out what makes them tick. And then reward them, show them they matter.
Follow these 5 easy tips and you’ll have a much higher chance to keep volunteers.
