Guest Post: What’s in it for me?
Create a “Call for Volunteers” flyer that “makes a difference” for your organization.
One of the major trends I hear from organizations coming out of COVID is around re-engaging with volunteers. It seems that many are struggling to bring people back into volunteering who were distanced due to the challenges of the pandemic. But people are also finding it difficult to recruit new volunteers.
There are many aspects to successfully recruiting and engaging volunteers, but one key component is how you communicate about your organization's needs, and how you let potential volunteers know how their time will make a difference in their own lives, and the lives of others.
I'm excited and honored to share a guest post with you from a dear friend and past colleague, Bistra Nikiforova, Ph.D. Bistra has over 15 years of experience training teams and individuals in improving their public speaking skills and developing and evaluating communication and marketing content. She supports projects by setting reasonable goals with defined outcomes to improve efficiency and empower individuals to grow their expertise. Bistra is passionate about discovering the real needs of her clients and finding inclusive and equitable solutions that satisfy these needs.
If your “Call for Volunteers” flyer looks like the one below, chances are you have no evidence if you gained any volunteers because of it.
The major reason why these flyers do not bring volunteers is because they do not connect with potential volunteers by directly telling them “What is in it for me as a volunteer?”
Stating that “they make a difference” doesn’t cut it. You need to be more specific than this! A few questions to consider when thinking about your answer:
Are they going to get additional skills training that they can add to their resume?
Would they be able to apply their professional knowledge and skills?
Are they going to meet new people and build new social contacts?
How flexible different positions are?
Are they getting a free t-shirt, breakfast/lunch, goodie bags, etc.?
How what they will do REALLY impacts the organization and the clients?
There are four ways to answer these questions on your flyer:
Use a quote from a current volunteer: a general quote if you are listing multiple positions, or a specific one, if you are listing only one position.
Use words and imagery that touch the hearts and feelings of potential volunteers. A flyer with a call for hospice volunteers used this example: “When you volunteer, the rewards are many: your wages come in the form of love, perks in the form of hopes, and promotions in the form of blessings.”
Call out specific expertise that a position needs – “Are you an expert in personal finances? As a Money Minders volunteer you can help older adults stabilize their finances and feel confident and hopeful about tomorrow!”
Use numbers/stories/quotes from clients to show the impact of volunteers. Those are more powerful than telling them they make a difference! “The 500 fruit trees our volunteers planted last summer provide daily healthy snacks to 4,000 students!”
Choose one, no more than two strategies in the flyer to avoid overcrowding it with text.
In summary, your outreach materials should be created to clarify the positive impact your services or products have on the target audience. This applies not only to volunteers but also clients, partners, and donors.
If you would like to receive feedback on your outreach materials, contact Bistra at bnikiforova2015@gmail.com or LinkedIn.