Eli Samuels
Flyers are effective and inexpensive marketing materials that help companies and nonprofits alike. They are used to introduce new products to potential customers, alert existing customers about an offer, raise awareness about an event, and more. Flyers can also be effective volunteer recruitment tools.
Nonprofit organizations often use them to spread awareness about upcoming volunteering opportunities and events. If you’re seeking quality and creativity, the volunteer flyer templates come in handy. They have pre-designed layouts that trim down a company's efforts to create effective posters.
This article will help you learn the components of a volunteer recruitment flyer and how to create one.
Article Contents:
- The Key Components of a Compelling Volunteer Flyer
- How to Create a Volunteer Recruitment Flyer
- Volunteer Flyer Examples
- The Volunteer Recruitment Process
The Key Components of a Compelling Volunteer Flyer
If you want to create a compelling flyer for volunteer programs, there are key elements you should always include and use correctly. Here are the six primary components of an effective flyer:
- Headline or title
- Brand name, slogan, color, and logo
- Eye-catching, useful imagery, and graphics
- A call to action
- Contact information
- Directions
How to Create a Volunteer Recruitment Flyer
Below is a step-by-step process to successfully create a volunteer recruitment flyer.
Step 1: Find a Suitable Template
Creating a good volunteer recruitment poster begins with choosing a perfect template. There are many free volunteer flyer templates from credible sources. Simply choose one that matches the look and feel you’re going for. Free design websites like Canva offer a wide variety of professional, eye-catching flyer templates. We love Canva because designs are easy to customize and download, not to mention cost-effective!
Design tip: Choose a bold font that is easy to read even from afar. Avoid slanted or overly embellished fonts.
Step 2: Integrate Your Organization's Identity
It’s important that your volunteer recruitment flyer reflects your organization’s identity. So, you’ll want to include your organization's name and logo, slogans related to your volunteer program, and colors. Recognizable branding supports your organization’s identity and authenticity, making potential candidates want to apply for the position.
Step 3: Add a Popping Headline
Once you have established a clear brand identity in your volunteer recruitment flyer template, you should choose an eye-catching headline. This is the first thing a potential volunteer will read, so it must be attractive. If you hang your flyer on a wall among hundreds of others, what would make it stand out? A unique headline that is!
Step 4: Emphasize the Clear Purpose or Goal of the Event
A flyer should always focus on what you want to bring attention to, whether it is to invite your loyal supporters to an event or promote a new program. Your goal should be to address the audience's needs so that they take immediate action.
In this case, the flyer should primarily focus on creating awareness about a volunteer recruitment program for your target audience. Clarity of purpose is key to creating a recruitment flyer that works.
Step 5: Create a Motivating Call to Action
Your flyer should motivate and convince the audience with a call to action that encourages the reader to take the next step. Here are some examples of effective calls to action:
- Volunteers needed!
- Visit our website to get involved.
- Be part of our movement. Call today.
These simple but direct calls to action help the readers understand and act on your message. Make sure to include essential details that direct your audiences to where they need to go next to get involved, such as your website, phone number, or email address.
Step 6: Include Pictures and Graphics
Designing a volunteer-needed flier with vivid pictures makes it attractive, drawing the attention of many readers. Adding eye-catching graphics with bold colors could also attract many potential customers. Note that the pictures and graphics should be relevant to the flyer's purpose and should be of high quality to catch the attention of readers.
You can use some of your organization’s photos, or professional stock photos from free websites like Unsplash. Design websites like Canva will also have free or inexpensive illustrations and other graphical elements to add interest to your flier.
Step 7: Add Your Contact Information
Adding your contact information is a volunteer recruitment flyer must-have. Include your address and phone number at a visible spot, preferably in bold. You may also consider adding your social media handles or website name. Contact information makes it easy for the applicants to find you and ask questions.
Volunteer Recruitment Flyer Examples
With thousands of templates in the market, you can develop the best volunteer recruitment flyer for your recruitment campaign. Here are some of the best volunteer flyer examples and templates to help you build your own.
You can also check out these editable volunteer recruitment templates and examples from Adobe.
Volunteer Recruitment Process
If your organization relies on volunteers, you may adopt a recruitment process like the one below, or simply choose the strategies that work best for you.
Define the Need for Volunteers
Organizations have different reasons for taking on volunteers. In short, volunteers help fill gaps in service in communities around the country. Before you recruit volunteers, you’ll need to understand where and how they fit into your organization. For example, you may need skilled or pro bono volunteers to deliver professional services. Or maybe you simply need lots of helping hands for an event. The recruitment process for each type of volunteer will look different depending on your organization’s needs.
By articulating this need for volunteers and the gaps you’re hoping to fill, you’ll make more informed decisions about the types of volunteers you’ll need to recruit.
Develop Job Descriptions
Once you know exactly why you need volunteers, the next step is to write a formal job description. A volunteer job description resembles a paid job description and should include the title, purpose, responsibilities, required time, qualifications, and potential benefits.
Informative volunteer role descriptions make it easier for qualified candidates to self-identify volunteer roles that are right for them.
Recruit New Volunteers
The subsequent step in the volunteer recruiting process is to get the candidates you need.
At this stage, you may distribute your recruitment flyer in the local paper, in community centers and university campuses, or even digitally via email.
You can learn about more volunteer recruitment strategies and ideas here.
Screen Potential Volunteers
While it's a volunteering opportunity, it is crucial to dig up a pool of candidates offering to join your company. It helps you choose the best and avoid those appropriate to your company. It is also vital to find out what your potential volunteers want to offer. Some may not fully qualify for the position but have a competitive edge in the form of the value they plan to bring to your organization.
Conduct Orientation for Volunteers
The next step is to get volunteers familiar with your organization through orientation. Introduce them to other staff members and take them through different departments and offices. In some instances, especially for highly skilled positions, you may need an extensive orientation session, preferably during the first days of joining the organization.
Train and Supervise Volunteers
Training is inevitable, especially in more complex tasks. The length of training depends on the complexity of the duties and responsibilities of your volunteers. While volunteers are not on the payroll, they’ll still benefit from ongoing supervision and support.
Training can be conducted by the volunteer manager or seasoned volunteers. It is best to plan the training program early enough to have everything in place when volunteers come. Supervision and direction ensure they deliver what is required of them.
Retain Volunteers
After establishing a good working relationship with your volunteers, you will want to keep them. One way of retaining volunteers is by thanking and recognizing their achievements and giving them the freedom to express their ideas and concerns. You should let them feel that they are not wasting their time by being there. You can also bolster your retention efforts by capturing each volunteer’s interests and allocating them tasks based on their skills and passions.
Get Help with Volunteer Management
Investing in a reliable volunteer management system makes your work easier by offering everything you need to manage your volunteers. Robust volunteer management software aids hours tracking, scheduling, volunteer check-in, group management, event planning, and more.
