Volunteers are the backbone of nonprofit organizations and play a crucial role in achieving the cause’s overall mission. Volunteers help nonprofits expand their reach and have a greater impact within their communities. By engaging volunteers with community platforms, nonprofit organizations can harness their energy, skills, and knowledge to advance their mission, expand their programs and services, and increase awareness.
Explore ways to streamline volunteer activation, communication, and scheduling through the use of digital communities and get tips on how to increase volunteer engagement, awareness and activation.
How can nonprofits leverage technology to improve volunteer engagement?
Firstly, technology can help streamline volunteer recruitment, communication, and scheduling processes, making it easier for both volunteers and volunteer coordinators to stay organized and connected.
Secondly, technology solutions may help reduce the administrative burden for volunteer coordinators, freeing up time and resources to focus on other important tasks related to program delivery and impact.
Thirdly, by leveraging technology solutions, nonprofit organizations may be able to reach broader audiences and attract new volunteers who may not have been aware of their opportunities otherwise.
Overall, technology can help nonprofit organizations improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their volunteer engagement efforts, leading to deeper relationships with volunteers and a greater impact on their mission.
How digital community platforms can help build power and activate volunteers.
Nonprofit organizations can use private digital communities to increase volunteer engagement, awareness, and activation in a number of ways, including:
- Creating a sense of community – Set up a private digital community, exclusively for volunteers, to create a sense of community and foster engagement. This allows volunteers to connect with one another, share their experiences and challenges, and benefit from peer-to-peer support.
- Sharing regular updates – Use your digital space to share regular updates about the organization’s mission, events, and volunteer opportunities. This will enable volunteers to stay informed and engaged, and also help raise awareness of the nonprofit’s cause.
- Encouraging feedback – Solicit feedback from volunteers, such as suggestions on how to improve programs or opportunities – This will allow nonprofits to improve their volunteer engagement efforts and make the most of their resources.
- Recognizing volunteers – Use private digital communities to recognize and thank volunteers for their contributions to the cause. This can help build enthusiasm for the organization and motivate volunteers to become more engaged in the future.
- Providing resources – Provide volunteers with resources such as training videos, tutorials, and other forms of guidance. This will help ensure that volunteers have the tools and support they need to be successful in their roles and expand their opportunities to contribute meaningfully to the cause.
What to look for when selecting a digital community platform to engage volunteers.
Recently, there has been an increase in nonprofit leaders looking to update their engagement strategies via a digital community platform to increase both volunteer awareness, communication and activation. When looking to update your own strategy, take these tips into consideration:
- Desktop vs. Mobile Apps – Many nonprofit organizations are turning to private digital spaces to engage their volunteers. For example, Brady has a mobile app that enables supporters to collaborate and organize around ggun violence prevention. But not all platforms are created equal. Make sure your digital community is custom branded and has both a web app and a mobile app – like Brady’s – this will help ensure equal access for all volunteers.
- Event Calendars – In-person events are powerful tools for engaging members and promoting volunteer opportunities. Make sure your volunteers have full visibility on every event opportunity by making sure your digital community platform can plug-in to all of your disparate calendars and event sources, so it can automatically consolidate them into one master community calendar. By simply getting organized, nonprofit leaders can reach broader audiences and activate more volunteers.
- Personalized Outreach – The days of generic mailers and emails are over. When communicating with your volunteer network it’s important to make sure you’re providing personalized outreach that’s relevant to each unique member. By choosing a digital community that allows admins to easily segment their users individually, or by group they can make sure every notification or in-app alert is acknowledged and effective.
- Current System Integrations – Many nonprofits already have established cloud-based volunteer management systems that allow them to track volunteer interests, availability, and skills. When adding a digital community to your toolbox, make sure it can plug it and integrate with your existing systems.
Overall, private digital communities can be effective tools for increasing volunteer engagement, awareness, and activation. By creating a sense of community, sharing regular updates, encouraging feedback, recognizing volunteers, and providing resources, nonprofit organizations can build strong relationships with volunteers and reach broader audiences.
And by using digital tools to recruit, communicate, and schedule volunteers, nonprofit organizations can also save time, reduce administrative costs, and reach broader audiences.