National Volunteer Week :: What Your Volunteers Need to Be Happy via The Balance

What Your Volunteers Need to Be Happy

Are You Appealing to Today's Volunteers?

The Balance: 10.10.2017 by Joanne Fritz

Although volunteer participation has decreased in recent years, charities need volunteers more than ever. And many people, of all ages, want to volunteer. There are even, in the US alone, some 15 officially recognized special days that involve volunteerism.

Volunteer Weekly

Now could be the very best time to take a look at your volunteer program and spiff it up so that your volunteers will want to come and stay.

But volunteerism has changed and volunteer expectations have evolved. Today's volunteers may seem more demanding, but they really should be. It's no longer enough to just put out a generic call for volunteers and then treat them all alike once they show up. Volunteers expect to give in order to get something back.

A study from JoinInUK.org pretty much sums up what volunteers want. The points from the study can be summed up with the word GIVERS. Here's what those letters mean:  

G. Personal growth and well-being

I. Increased sense of purpose, such as knowing just how they make a difference.

V. Voice or how volunteers are asked to give their time.

E. Easy to sign up, to get there, to get the job done.

R. Recognition. Being thanked, appreciated, and celebrated.

S. Social opportunities like making new friends and working on a team.

Here are ten ways to work all of those expectations into your volunteer program.  READ MORE >>