Making Volunteers Part of Outreach Strategies
February 21, 2024
Author: Carlie Hornback
Who is better suited to recruit volunteers than volunteers themselves? When I started out in Volunteer Management I worked for a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer program. CASA volunteers are assigned to children and youth in foster care to serve as an advocate in court and the community. The organization I worked with had over 1,000 volunteers and as a member of the recruitment and outreach team, I was always building new strategies to increase our volunteer team.
Our CASA volunteer Outreach Team was one of our most lucrative strategies. This team was made up of about 30 current CASA volunteers who wanted to help support the organization in additional ways. The members of the outreach team had experience doing the work of a CASA volunteer and could honestly speak to their personal experiences as a volunteer with the organization. Each member had a unique love for the mission.
We had 3 professional staff members on our team so the work of our volunteers was critical. Some of the key ways we used outreach volunteers were:
To staff outreach tabling like street fairs, volunteer fairs, and community events,
To speak at our information sessions and share personal stories with prospective volunteers,
To serve as speakers at fundraising events, community presentations, and company partnerships meetings,
And as subcommittee members to advise on outreach tactics and strategies.
Having 30 experienced volunteers to help execute recruitment provided a dynamic and diverse perspective of the role. Our volunteer team was able to expand our network and bring in new volunteers. These prospective volunteers might not have chosen to volunteer with the organization if they did not see someone they could relate to serving in the role already.
As a staff member, our team had to make an effort to train, organize, manage, and acknowledge the work of our Outreach Team. Some of the key ways we created cohesion and reliability amongst the team were:
Holding consistent meetings to provide updates and feedback to the team,
Building and executing trainings that focused on organizational branding, elevator pitches, story crafting, and public speaking,
Keeping a consistent and open line of communication,
Providing outreach assignments in advance and sending reminders,
And making an effort to show appreciation for the team through acknowledgement, gifts, and food.
I recognize that this example could be on a much larger scale than some organizations have access to. However, whether you are using one volunteer or thirty, there is value in finding ways to incorporate volunteers in outreach strategies. Some additional ways you can use volunteers to increase your outreach are:
Using volunteers on your social media,
Having volunteers write a blog post about their experience,
Incorporating volunteers in your events to talk about their experiences,
Asking volunteers to bring a friend to a volunteer project or event,
And encouraging volunteers to host a virtual fundraiser, share fliers, and wear organization swag in the community (EX: t-shirts, hats, bags).
We are all working to increase awareness for causes we care about and one of the most effective ways to do that is to increase the size of your community. Building strategies to use all the members of your team increases the reach. The bigger your reach, the bigger your impact.
If this is something you are hoping to achieve, but do not know where to start, reach out and let’s work together to grow your community by using your existing community!