Communicating with your volunteers is one of the most important roles of a volunteer leader. But strategic volunteer communication often gets overlooked, especially when volunteer leaders are pulled in too many directions.
Creating a communication plan and getting smart tools in place can lead to better outcomes for nearly all aspects of your volunteer program.
This complete guide will demystify and break down volunteer communications, and help you put together a winning plan. Plus, we’ll give you a head started with some templates and examples of effective volunteer communications.
Volunteer Communications Handbook Contents:
What is volunteer communications, anyway? Why does your organization need a volunteer communications plan?
Volunteer communications is the practice of reaching out to volunteers and potential volunteers to:
Successful volunteer programs typically communicate with their volunteers using multiple channels (such as email, a volunteer site, social media, live events, and print media).
Want a volunteer management tool that makes it easy to automate communications?
Learn more about how Get Connected simplifies volunteer management for organizations like yours
A solid volunteer communication plan yields highly engaged volunteers. A communications plan or strategy helps volunteer programs develop a framework for intentional, consistent communication as each volunteer moves through the volunteer lifecycle.
The volunteer communications process involves crafting a consistent message and voice and leveraging strategic communication channels.
A well-planned communication strategy creates a cohesive volunteer experience through every stage of volunteer management. It ensures your volunteers know how to get involved, feel excited about volunteering with your organization, and understand their impact.
A successful volunteer communication plan can:
Welcome to your Volunteer Communications Plan! In this section we’ll cover:
We’ll help you design a plan for communicating with your supporters during key stages of volunteer management, including:
Let’s get planning!
You’ll want to initiate communication with your audience before they join your organization.
Remember, these people are not yet volunteering with you at this point, and you’re trying to catch their attention (which often means competing for their time). So, your communication for volunteer recruitment should focus on building awareness about your organization and selling your volunteer program as a place where they’ll want to be.
What should your communications accomplish during this stage of volunteer management?
Your primary focus should be to:
Share this information to market your volunteer program and recruit new volunteers:
You know what to share with your audience. But how do you communicate your messaging?
These are some of the most effective communication channels or methods for marketing your volunteer program and recruiting volunteers:
Website and Blog
Your website is one of your organization’s hardest-working communication tools. Your website is where anyone can go to learn more about your organization, make a donation, get in touch, or get involved.
The ultimate objective of recruitment is to communicate the kind of information that gets volunteers to sign-up. Your website is often the last stop your volunteers will make before signing up.
Most of your communications should lead your audience back to your website. So, whether you’re posting on social media or distributing print materials, your communications should lead your audience back to your website.
So, you’ll want to make sure your website is in tip-top shape! Here are a few tips for creating a website that converts:
Social Media
It’s no secret that social media is an invaluable marketing tool for any type of organization. But is your volunteer program leveraging the full potential of social media to recruit new support?
Social media is a great way for people to get acquainted with your organization and get inspired. Plus, it makes sharing upcoming events and volunteer opportunities easy. So, the supporters that are already engaged can retweet and repost your messages while you watch your network grow.
Here are a few examples of how you can use social media to grow your network:
Need more ideas? Check out these social media resources:
Flyers, Press Releases, and Print Media
We live in a digital age, but printed communication is not gone for good. You can capture a wide-ranging audience with print media. Flyers, posters, business cards, and press releases are effective at catching the attention of “passersby” and inviting them to learn more.
A few suggestions for using print media:
>>> Learn how to create a compelling volunteer recruitment flyer.
Video
Video is a great way to market your volunteer program and engage new audiences.
Did you know that viewers absorb 95% of a message when presented in video, compared to only 10% when presented in plain text? So, it’s not surprising that video is now the most popular form of online content.
Helpful hint: Keep your videos under two minutes for maximum engagement.
Here are a few ways you can use video to your advantage:
Once you’ve created your video content, you can repurpose it for a variety of different marketing and recruitment needs.
Feature your videos on your website, social media accounts, community partners’ blogs and websites, local news websites, and other digital platforms that you’re using to recruit volunteers.
At this point, your volunteers have expressed interest in your organization and are eager to get involved.
Keeping your volunteers and their schedules organized requires strong, strategic communication and trusty communication tools.
When it comes to keeping your volunteers organized, much of your communication with volunteers will be practical in nature.
You’ll need to capture the right information in order to get them signed up and scheduled for training or upcoming shifts. You’ll also want to give your volunteers information about what to expect when volunteering with your organization and how to perform their jobs well.
Here’s what your communication should achieve when organizing and managing volunteers:
Share and collect this information when organizing your volunteers:
These are the best channels to meet your communication objectives during registration and onboarding:
Many of your volunteers use email and check their accounts regularly. Email is the most reliable way to communicate need-to-know information with your volunteers and begin building relationships with your volunteers.
Therefore, you will most likely conduct most of your communications with your established volunteers through email.
Email is also a dynamic tool, making it easy to attach training videos, send PDFs, share links to your online registration, and much more.
It’s also a great way for volunteers to communicate with you. You can initiate back and forth with your volunteers over email and keep track of your communications much easier than phone calls.
Texting and Mobile Apps
These days, more volunteer programs are finding success by communicating with volunteers through text messaging. Text messaging yields high open rates, making it a reliable form of communication. But text messages are harder for people to avoid. So, you want to be strategic in how you leverage this communication channel.
Here’s how you can use texting to organize your volunteers:
If you plan to implement text messaging, you’ll want to ask your volunteers to opt-in to receive text messages and notifications on their mobile devices.
Volunteer Management Software
Sending every volunteer individual reminders about their upcoming shifts is simply unrealistic (and impossible). While personalized communications are important in engaging supporters, you also need efficient and practical solutions for keeping in touch.
Volunteer management software is an all-in-one solution that does it all, including:
No more spreadsheets, paper logs, and endless email back-and-forth here!
Following up with your volunteers is an important step in your communication cycle, but it’s often the first that falls away when volunteer leaders get too busy.
Follow-up communication generally occurs within a week of a volunteer’s completed shift, event, or project (or following a donation).
Your follow-up doesn’t have to be complicated. Simply acknowledging your volunteers’ contributions can inspire them to come back again.
Here’s what you can achieve in your follow-up:
Need a few ideas for your volunteer follow-up? Start here:
Keep it simple with these communication channels:
In most cases, you’ll want to send a follow-up email to every volunteer after they participate.
For your regular volunteers who you can count on to show up every week, you probably don’t need to send a follow-up email every shift. Instead, send an email at the end of each month or quarter thanking them for their time.
Your follow-up message may look something like this:
Dear [Volunteer],
Thank you so much for your participation in [Project Name] on [Shift Date]. Together, our volunteers planted 150 trees and cleared 75 pounds of trash from Community Park.
We hope you will join us again as we continue our work to provide cleaner, greener spaces for Springfield County.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Interested in volunteering with us again?
Check out the opportunities below and click the link to register today!
Volunteer Management Software
Your volunteer management software can automatically send follow-up emails with customized messages.
You’ll even have access to volunteers’ personal hours and impact data, so you can share this data readily. This data is especially important for your student and service-learning volunteers, corporate groups, and other volunteer groups who like to have an official record of their volunteer hours.
Surveys and Forms
Thoughtful volunteer programs incorporate their volunteers’ unique voices and perspectives.
Your follow-up is a great time to send a survey and gather feedback to learn more about your volunteers, their motivations, their experiences, and areas of improvement.
Get the best questions to ask in your surveys, plus learn about the best tools for creating and distributing your surveys in our Volunteer Surveys Guide.
Successful volunteer programs spend more time and energy on volunteer engagement and retention. That’s why your communication shouldn’t stop after your volunteers complete their shifts. What’s more, strive to maintain communication with your volunteers throughout the year.
Your primary objective here is volunteer engagement and retention. More specifically, you’ll want to work toward the following outcomes throughout the year:
Wondering what you should say to keep your volunteers active throughout the year? Give these ideas a try:
There are lots of ways you can keep volunteers engaged with your cause even long after they participated.
Get creative with your communications at this point, and don’t be afraid to try out new ways to engage your audience!
Email and Newsletter
You can always count on trusty email to keep in touch. Why not create a volunteer e-newsletter or monthly digest that highlights upcoming events, shares photos of volunteers in action, and tells stories that demonstrate your program’s successes?
Print communications can feel a bit more personal, especially when addressed to an individual or household. For budget-conscious organizations, save mail and print communications for special occasions.
Likewise, create tailored mailers and flyers for more localized or smaller programs and targeted volunteer groups (like your school’s parent volunteers or residents of a neighborhood).
Distribute printed flyers or invitations for a seasonal volunteer event. Or, take the time to write personalized thank-you cards—it’s an extra special touch, especially at the end of the year.
Social Media
Your social media may reach a wider audience than your other communication channels. Therefore, social media is an essential tool for keeping a diverse audience engaged throughout the year. When you post consistently on social media, your casual scrollers are more likely to be reminded that your organization exists (and still needs volunteers!).
Blog and Website
Your organization’s website and blog are ideal places to let supporters know what you’ve been up to lately. Post photos, discuss upcoming projects, highlight a client story, or celebrate your volunteer of the month. While your website should communicate all the essentials visitors need to know about your organization, your blog offers plenty of opportunity for creativity—so have fun with it!
Annual Report
Think of your annual report as a year in review. Your supporters want to know how their time and donations directly impact your community. It also outlines your plans for the next year, which can serve to inspire volunteers to continue working with your organization.
This resource is chock-full of report examples and best practices for writing your annual report.
Note: You can also get creative with your annual report by creating a video version that highlights the organization’s impact, successes, and plans for the future!
These days, many volunteer programs are offering remote and virtual volunteering options. Managing remote volunteers presents unique communication challenges, so you’ll need a specific plan to keep in touch with virtual volunteers.
Remote volunteers benefit from the flexibility of participating from anywhere. However, they’re also missing out on some of the social benefits of volunteering in person. Therefore, maintaining regular, thoughtful communication with home volunteers will be essential in reducing turnover.
Some goals for your communicating with virtual volunteers include:
Here are some examples of information to collect from and share with your virtual volunteers:
Fortunately for volunteer leaders, there are plenty of ways to engage volunteers wherever they are!
Email is a quick, convenient way to conduct most of your communications with remote volunteers. Because you won’t see your volunteers in person, you’ll want to invite two-way conversation. Provide remote supporters with a reliable contact person and email address for scheduling needs and questions.
Phone Calls and Text Messaging
Some of your home-based volunteers may prefer to communicate over the phone or via text. While it’s probably not possible to conduct all of your volunteer communications over the phone, you can certainly make some exceptions for your regular volunteers who respond best to a personal phone call or text message.
Website
A well-designed website is essential for virtual volunteer programs. Here are a few tips for setting up your website for (virtual) success:
Video Conferencing
Many people report enjoying the social benefits of volunteering, and this sense of community is a major motivating factor in keeping volunteers coming back. But your virtual volunteers can miss out on this sense of community. Building community among your at-home and virtual volunteer volunteers is important to keep them engaged with your organization.
Video communication tools like Zoom, Teams, or Skype may be the next best thing to meeting up in person.
Consider pairing new virtual volunteers with a virtual buddy, or mentor. Encourage regular video check-ins and virtual “meet-ups.” Or, host a Zoom meet and greet for virtual volunteers. Invite staff to introduce themselves and speak about your organization. Play trivia, host an open discussion, or just have an informal chat.
Video is also a great tool to actually deliver some of your volunteer services—think virtual tutoring, mentoring, or knitting circles!
Volunteer Management Software
Your volunteer management software is a key player in organizing remote, virtual, and hybrid volunteer programs. Volunteers will be able to register themselves and self-select opportunities online. Managing all your volunteers, whether they’re remote or in the field, has never been easier.
Need even more tips and best practices to boost your volunteer communication strategy?
We’ve organized our tips into the following categories:
Without a communications or outreach strategy, growing your volunteer pool becomes increasingly difficult.
Make great first impressions and recruit more volunteers with these communication tips:
Think about your audience, or who you’re trying to recruit. Your audience will help you decide which communication channels to use, and where to distribute these materials.
By clarifying your audience, you can create targeted communications so you know you’re getting the volunteers you need.
For example, let’s say you want to recruit college-aged volunteers for your summer youth mentorship program. You decide to create a social media campaign in partnership with a local university while distributing print and digital materials to campus partners.
Or maybe you’re hoping to appeal to families for your child-friendly volunteer opportunities. You may choose to advertise your volunteer program on Facebook groups for local families and hang posters at your local library.
Your voice, or the way you communicate with your audience, is an extension of your organization’s branding. Therefore, you’ll want to gather your team to identify how you’ll speak to your volunteers, keeping in mind that you’re also representing your entire organization.
Think about how you want your audience to perceive you:
Do you want to come across as friendly and approachable? Are you professional and business-like? Do you want to appear witty with a sense of humor?
Your answers to these questions will depend on a variety of factors, including the type of work your organization is doing and your audience.
The key is to keep it consistent. If you have different people performing a variety of communications, you might put together a short guide for communication policies and guidelines (including social media policies) at your organization.
Sometimes it can be tricky to know just how much you should be saying to your audience. When developing your strategy, try these tips for tightening up your content so that you’re giving your audience just enough to incite action:
Need some help creating social media campaigns to activate volunteers? Get inspired by these examples from real nonprofits crushing it on social media:
Download our communication templates and examples for even more social media post designs and ideas!
There’s a lot competing for your volunteers’ time and attention. That’s why keeping your volunteers engaged with your cause throughout the year is no simple task, especially when we’re feeling overstimulated and overbooked.
So how can you cut through the noise and really reach your volunteers?
If you want your volunteers to really care about your organization, you need to show your volunteers that you care about them.
Any successful communication strategy relies on these two best practices: consistency and responsiveness.
Consistent communication with your volunteers lets them know that your organization is reliable. You’ll signal to your volunteers that they’re important to your organization, and you’ll build trust among your supporters.
What does consistent communication look like?
Responsive communication means that you’re listening to and addressing your volunteer’s questions and feedback.
What does responsive communication look like?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your email inbox, it may be time to consider volunteer management software, a tool for streamlining and automating volunteer communications.
It can be tempting to think about volunteer communications as just that, speaking to your volunteers. But really, your communication strategy should also work the other way. Think about how you can encourage volunteers to communicate with you.
We totally understand that it can feel like you don’t have the time to invite feedback and conversation. But taking the time to listen to your volunteers helps forge lasting relationships between your organization and its volunteers, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for your program and your community.
Here are a few tips for creating manageable and meaningful two-way communication:
You’re used to asking for help from volunteers. But your requests shouldn’t stop at recruitment. If you want to keep volunteers engaged and coming back, you need to ask again. In fact, many volunteers simply don’t participate again because they didn’t know they were needed.
Make it a point to follow up with first-time volunteers and let them know you have plenty of opportunities to get involved throughout the year (your volunteer newsletter is a great place to start!)
Level up your ask by personalizing your opportunity recommendations based on your volunteers’ unique passions and skills (volunteer management software helps here, too).
Recruiting new volunteers is more expensive and time-consuming than keeping the ones you already have. That’s why volunteer retention efforts are essential to any volunteer program.
Did you know, a communications strategy can actually help you maintain a happy, active volunteer base?
Your volunteers want to know that their time and skills are making a real difference. How can you ensure your volunteers never feel superfluous?
Define your volunteers’ purpose and communicate impact often.
With every opportunity listing, briefly communicate how the volunteer role contributes to your program’s mission or desired outcomes.
After your volunteer participates, let them know how their efforts made an impact. You can gather your volunteers at the end of a shift, or send them an email within a week.
Then, at the end of a campaign (or throughout the year) share volunteers’ contributions and project outcomes, and highlight inspiring success stories.
Volunteer appreciation is not only proven to reduce turnover, it also increases performance and productivity!
So, if you want to keep your volunteers doing meaningful work, thank them often (both in person and in writing).
We’ve gathered tons of resources on how to communicate your appreciation. Check them out!
Congratulations! You’ve created a winning volunteer communication plan. Get even more free volunteer communications resources, templates, and examples available for download.