Recruiting and Keeping Volunteers

Gail from the Michigan State Association gave a great session on volunteerism at the USYS workshop in January.

Here are some of the high points….

Volunteers spend on average 90 hours per year volunteering, BUT 69% of volunteers only work for ONE organization….MEANING YOU HAVE TO GET TO YOUR VOLUNTEERS BEFORE THEY COMMIT TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.

Most people volunteer because they are asked!  YOU HAVE TO ASK AND NOT WAIT FOR PEOPLE TO COME TO YOU

Those who volunteer tend already to be busy. The most common volunteer profile is a married woman with children who works part time. ANYONE YOU KNOW??

And despite unemployment, the number of people who stop volunteering year to year is growing…32% in 2006, 36% in 2006

Those who volunteer tend to donate at least $25.00 to the organizations they are involved with..MAKING THEM VALUABLE NOT JUST FOR THEIR LABOR BUT FOR THEIR WALLETS

People volunteer primarily to improve their communities, to benefit their children, to network, to gain new skills and for self satisfaction SO YOU NEED TO TAP INTO THESE MOTIVATIONS WHEN PRESENTING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

THEY QUIT VOLUNTEERING DUE TO unorganized volunteer experiences, lack of recognition, insufficient resources, untrained leadership, no sense of accomplishment and mismatched skills and jobs.  IN OTHER WORDS, FOR THE SAME REASONS THEY LEAVE JOBS THEY DON’T LIKE….and given these people are not getting paid, it is a whole lot easier to walk away.

So, in a nutshell, look to busy people to volunteer, and ASK. Once you get them, make sure they are appreciated. Give them jobs consistent with their interests, ask for feedback, train them and give them the freedom to do the job the way they think it should be done!

And maybe you will have more and happier volunteers with a lot less turnover.  GOOD LUCK