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Volunteer-Matters

Ways to get casual volunteers interested in long-term volunteering

Gateway to volunteering

Organizations that put on events, either as their main function or to support their cause, have a fantastic opportunity.

Episodic volunteering continues to grow in popularity because it can be worked into people’s busy lifestyles far more easily than promising to fill a shift every week. That makes helping at an event an ideal “gateway” to volunteering.

Opportunities that make a good gateway to volunteering are short-term, high-energy, and low-barriered events that can attract people who wouldn’t otherwise consider volunteering.

Simple tasks, few if any hoops to jump through and, most importantly, a clearly-defined timeframe make it easy for people to put up their hands, even if they’ve never volunteered before.

Why events, specifically? There are three reasons. First, in many cases, people may know someone who is participating.

Caleb English is a person I recently met from my local community of Kamloops. He is a good example. In April will participate in an ultra-marathon called the Marathon Des Sables (250 kilometres in the Sahara desert) to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Since he started talking about, and training for, it, many of his friends and family have stepped up to help him in various ways, formally and informally. Many of them have never volunteered before. Some don’t even realize what they’re doing is volunteering. But a good experience here could encourage them to volunteer again, for this or a similar event.

Second, people have an opportunity to enjoy the excitement and camaraderie that the events engender. Of course, most of Caleb’s supporters won’t be actually going to the Sahara. They will, however, be watching and cheering him on from home. A party is being planned for the final day, where the volunteers can get together to cheer him across the finish line.

That isn’t the only example. A large number of the volunteers at the Olympics come back and volunteer for every games cycle. They plan their vacations around it. The regulars form a kind of informal club and look forward to seeing each other every time.

Event volunteers also get to enjoy at least part of the event itself, whether listening to the music at a charity concert while serving in a concession or watching a race during a shift break.

Finally, my favourite advantage of event volunteering is its variety. Events usually require a wide range of tasks, from promoting it on social media and greeting attendees at concerts to managing registration tables or serving food. This variety allows potential volunteers to choose a role that matches their interest and time availability. They may also be able to try out several different types of roles over the course of longer events.

So, how do you turn that one-time event into a lifelong habit?

While events are a fantastic gateway to volunteering, the ultimate win is to encourage one-time volunteers to come back again and, hopefully, start volunteering with you consistently.

To do that, it’s important to make them:

1. Feel comfortable right from the start.

2. Support them throughout the event.

3. Follow up consistently after it’s over.

Provide a warm welcome

Make sure volunteers are greeted when they arrive and new people have an opportunity to meet others. Be sure everyone knows exactly where they need to be at what times, the details of their role and who they should talk to if something goes sideways.

Pairing first-time volunteers with experienced ones is an ideal way to build connections and ensure they “learn the ropes”.

Ensure they are well-supported

In addition to making sure they know what to do, it’s also important to check in with them regularly. Even if someone knows who to talk to, they may not feel comfortable doing so unless they are specifically asked, “Have you had any problems?” “Did you get a chance to take a break?” “Are you enjoying yourself?”

Remember to follow up

Reach out soon after the event to thank them again and share how their efforts made a difference. If you have stats you can share (money raised, number of athletes supported, etc) that can show the impact they helped make.

This is also a good time to share information about other opportunities. Don’t be pushy, they’re still new to this. Just mention that, if they enjoyed themselves, there are other short-term ways they can help. They just need to ask. Once they’ve done a few short-term stints, you can offer longer term opportunities.

Be a gateway to volunteering

Event-based volunteering offers a powerful way to break down barriers and introduce people to the joys of giving back. Through them, you can inspire first-time volunteers to become lifelong contributors. Each new volunteer represents not only a helping hand at your event but also the potential for a ripple effect of giving that extends far beyond a single day or a single organization.

(If you’d like to learn more about Caleb and his run, Google his gofundme page, Go Far Go On.)

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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About the Author

Karen Knight has provided volunteer recruitment, engagement and training for not-for-profit organizations for more than 25 years.

Her professional life has spanned many industries, working in both the private and public sectors in various leadership positions.

Through her passion for making a difference in the world, she has gained decades of experience in not-for-profits as a leader and a board member.

Karen served in Toastmasters International for more than 25 years, in various roles up to district director, where she was responsible for one of the largest Toastmasters districts in the world.

She oversaw a budget of $250,000 and 300 individual clubs with more than 5,000 members. She had 20 leaders reporting directly to her and another 80 reporting to them—all volunteers.

Karen currently serves as vice-president of the board of directors for the Kamloops Therapeutic Riding Association.

After many years working and volunteering with not-for-profits, she found many leaders in the sector have difficulty with aspects of volunteer programs, whether in recruiting the right people, assigning those people to roles that both support the organization’s mission and in keeping volunteers enthusiastic.

Using hands-on experience, combined with extensive study and research, she helps solve challenges such as volunteer recruitment, engagement and training for not-for-profit organizations.

Karen Knight can be contacted at [email protected], or through her website at https://karenknight.ca/.



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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