4 Ways To Keep Your Volunteers Year After Year
Over the years, I have had the privilege of working first-hand with multiple nonprofit organizations in my area with their annual fundraising event. As I established relationships with each of these events and worked alongside their volunteer committees, I began to notice a few things. First, some organizations had the same volunteers returning year after year and others did not. Second, some organizations had volunteers I could have easily assumed were paid employees (though they were not) and others had individuals that acted like they had no clue why they were there or what they should be doing. Lastly, some organizations had so many volunteers eager to work I’d run out of things for them to do and others were scrambling to get the tasks done in time.
It made me stop and consider what were these organizations doing so differently to garner such polar opposite results from their volunteers and how could I bottle that up and pass it along to other nonprofits that are struggling with their volunteer retention.
I interviewed, I observed and I pondered . . . . and out of all this exploration, I give you my 4 tips towards successful volunteer retention.
View Them as a Valuable Employee
Training a volunteer should be like training a new employee. You want those contributing to your company to feel knowledgeable, appreciated, and engaged; otherwise, chances are they won’t show up for work the next day. Volunteers are no different, other than there is no paycheck at the end of the day. Their “paycheck” instead becomes the feeling of doing something good for a greater cause; that they helped make a difference. So . . . set them up for success from the get-go and they will be asking YOU if they can return the next year, instead of begging them!
Give Clear Expectations
Probably one of the worst mistakes you can make with a new volunteer is sugar coating their job description. You need to be upfront from the start with expectations otherwise your volunteers will feel you tricked them into helping. Have a clear outline of the tasks they will be handling, the number of hours they will be working, if meals are provided, etc. The more information you provide from the beginning, the less chance of disgruntled volunteers later. Outlining your expectations in a document they sign, minimizes the risk that they missed something you told them. (And a rule for you: Don’t overstep the boundaries of the job description you promised. Sign your own accountability document if you need it!)
Underwhelm the Training
Once you have volunteers on board, take the time to train them properly. The key to success here is to be clear, purposeful, and underwhelming. Making a job seem more complicated than it needs to be, will certainly send a volunteer running. Start the training off slow, allowing everyone to meet each other and understand the purpose of your event and how the team will be working together. Pair down the training from here to be focused on their specific job. Make sure you are not feeding them too much information at once. It may be more work for you, but holding shorter training over an extended period will allow for better retention than a long crash course (and ensure they leave the penguins at the zoo!) Lastly, make sure their tasks are purposeful and well suited for their personality. There really is a job for everyone, it’s more about making sure you give the right job to the right person. Meaning, don’t give the introvert the job of selling raffle tickets, while the extrovert is tasked with putting programs on chairs. Chances are they will both un-volunteer for next year in a flash.
Appreciate Their Efforts
The last piece to the retention puzzle involves showing your appreciation. As mentioned earlier, volunteers are not paid; so demonstrating your gratitude for them showing up should be a top priority. Welcome your volunteers feedback on how they felt about their jobs or how they feel it could be (or even the event could be) improved. Show genuine gratitude by looking to implement changes based on their suggestions/concerns. Make sure they are just as well taken care of as your attendees, give them meals, breaks, little gifts; whatever is appropriate for your style of event. And most importantly, don’t let them fall off the radar when the event is over. Keep them connected throughout the year. Send them a birthday card, updates on how the money they helped raise is being spent, or a $5 gift card to Starbucks just because they are awesome! It’s the little unexpected things that make someone feel special, appreciated and a part of a team that is making a difference.
Before I go I want to leave you with the lighthearted story below. The moral is absolutely one of the top reasons that an event experiences high turnover with their volunteers.
At the Zoo
A man was delivering penguins to the zoo when his van broke down on the highway. A fellow stopped to see if he could be of assistance. "Oh, I'm in some real trouble here," said the first man. "I've got to take these penguins to the zoo today, and now I'm not sure I'll get there."
The helpful fellow volunteered to put the penguins in the back of his car and take them to the zoo. The man with car trouble gratefully accepted this offer and promised to get to the zoo as soon as possible.
A little later, the man was on the road again and went immediately to the zoo. He looked everywhere but did not see the helpful fellow or any of the penguins. In a panic, he drove back into town. Just as he was wondering what in the world to do next, he saw the "volunteer" walking across the street with all the penguins waddling along behind him.
He ran up and said, "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to take the penguins to the zoo!" and the volunteer replied, "I did, and we had such a good time there, we decided to come into town for ice cream."
Moral: When working with volunteers, clear instructions and good training is always necessary.
-- Author Unknown
Volunteers are the backbone to a great event and finding them is hard work! Have clear expectations, train them well with meaningful jobs, and show your appreciation for their efforts and your retention rate is sure to skyrocket!