KNSW Club Volunteers

Volunteers make an extraordinary contribution to Australian society.

 

Volunteers are the lifeblood of our community and come from all walks of life: working people, students and professionals, young people and retirees, from every town and community.

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Clubs who have created a culture of volunteering, year on year are much more likely to be successful, achieve their goals, be more fun and enjoyable to be apart of, have more social benefits and above all have a strong sense of belonging between the club and its participants.

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Here are 3 simple ways to empower your volunteers.

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1. Encourage Your Volunteers To Share Their Ideas

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Your volunteers come from different backgrounds and experiences and will have different reasons for being involved with your organization. Additionally, your volunteers have different ideas of how to attract volunteers just like them. Take advantage of their fresh perspectives and ask your engaged volunteers about their ideas for how to improve current outreach efforts and for new fundraising ideas, too.

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2. Develop Marketing Kits For Each Campaign

Develop compelling marketing kits with each campaign — be it fundraising or championing for more volunteers — which consistently enforce the purpose of your organization.

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To help your volunteers spread the word about your cause, put together example social media messaging, hashtags, statistics, and photos for people to share. Giving your supporters pre-written messaging and media about your campaign is a great way to save them time and make it easier to share the most accurate and impactful information about your most recent initiatives.

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Don’t forget to equip your volunteers with the most foundational resources as well. This should provide them with the tools to communicate what your organization does, what it stands for, who you impact, etc…you’d be surprised how often this is overlooked!

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3. Celebrate Your Volunteers

We all know it’s our  amazing volunteers that keep our Clubs going, so take time to thank your volunteers and highlight their efforts. Thanking your volunteers personally and publicly will encourage them to stay engaged with your organization and inspired to share your mission.

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Think about hosting regular appreciation events to celebrate their contributions and highlight the impact their work has made. 

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You can market your organization by highlighting your volunteers online, too. Consider interviewing your volunteers for blog articles and social media posts. Ask questions about what inspires them to volunteer and the best things about being involved with your organization.

 

Whether it’s an article or social media post, the volunteers will likely share their interview with their own network and will help spread awareness about your organization.

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Consider writing handwritten Thank You cards and drop them in the mail. With electronic communication being the norm, the time and effort that goes into putting pen to paper can truly show your thankfulness for volunteers taking time out of their own busy lives to help. 

 

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