What is your call to action like? Is it as good as Amplify Your Voice? If not, consider how to engage a volunteer, no matter what time of the day or night it is, with the skills that they possess right now. Do they like to blog? Make it easy for them to create a blog post about your organization. Do they want to get involved in your next phone-a-thon, special event, walk-a-thon? Then post the date and signup sheet there too. Make it exciting with pictures. Make it easy. They’ll come back again and again to keep working with you.
Have you heard of Volunteer Match? This is one place where you can find volunteers to help you with your programs and fundraising campaigns.
Ask your volunteers
What are you good at?
What could you be the best at?
What makes you happy?
What excites you?
What makes you feel accomplished and good about yourself?
What are you most proud of having accomplished in your life?
What do you enjoy sharing or experiencing with other people?
Because I asked these questions, I learned what their skills and abilities were. But I also learned what would keep my volunteers happy, excited, and motivated to come to our nonprofit.
For example, one volunteer was an amateur photographer. He photographed our events, and uploaded these photos to flickr. Because he got to practice his art, he was also willing to do some data entry for us. If you need nonprofit event photography in the Portland, Oregon area, I would recommend Kyle.
Another volunteer that I worked with was skilled in creating volunteer schedules. She also wanted to learn how to grantwrite. So I taught her how to write grants. She made a volunteer schedule for our career fair, and helped organize other volunteers, which I was profoundly grateful for. So if you need a good grantwriter or volunteer manager, I would highly recommend Jenny.
How can you appreciate your volunteers today?
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