3 Tools for Nonprofits that Will Save You Hours of Volunteer Management
As nonprofit professionals, we've all been there.
That event is coming up in three weeks. So for that event, you have a list of volunteer slots. And... a list of 50 million people (board members, volunteers, those BFFs who come through for you) who might volunteer for you...
And then what? Do you send 50 million emails listing the available volunteer slots, asking people to return your email with their available time?
What happens when all of those people want to work the same time slot?...
This is the solution you've been looking for.
Volunteer Recruitment or Volunteer Retention?
So many non-profit trainings are about volunteer recruitment! How do we find volunteers? Where do we find volunteers?!
Recruitment should not be your problem.
Instead, focus on volunteer retention.
How? Create a positive experience for your volunteers by creating a line of communication that gives volunteers what they want.
You're about to read a solution that's:
Less laborious on you as a non profit professional,
Helps the clients you serve develop relationships with others, and
Makes the experience for your volunteers simpler.
How do we do volunteer communication effectively so we don't have this endless cycle of volunteers?
Effective Volunteer Communication
So, how can you do volunteer communication effectively so it's not difficult for you...or your volunteers?
Create a Facebook Group for your volunteers
Email a Google Sheets document
Use Google Forms
No matter what kind of organization you are or how old your volunteers are, that's your answer.
If you're thinking: "well, most of my volunteers are seniors. This doesn't apply to me." My guess is if you survey your senior volunteers, more of them are on Facebook checking up on their grandkids more often than they check their email.
How do you manage volunteers digitally?
Think about it: Do you want to be in the middle of 20 different back and forth emails saying: hey, will you serve cookies?.... how many cookies do you need?... When are people showing up?
You could use Google Sheets to solve your problem.
Google Sheets helps you take out yourself as the middleman. No back and forth.
They're going to go in and sign up.
By the time 20 people see so many other people signed up to bake cookies...so they'll make snickerdoodles instead.
Isn't it incredible when as a nonprofit professional you hear: stop doing the gruntwork!
Create this simple system and you'll get:
More engaged volunteers
More informed volunteers
More volunteers showing up when you need them
All without 500 different emails, phone calls, carrier pigeons, whatever.
How can I use Google sheets?
Remember those 50 million emails you were sending out listing the available volunteer slots?
Asking people to return your email with the time they're available to work?
If this sounds like how you manage your volunteers: stop.
Stop being your own enemy. Cut out all those emails. Do things more efficiently.
Create a Google Sheets that has your needs and open volunteer slots.
You can even highlight board members roles in pink telling board members at least six of them need to work.
Then you can send out an email, and maybe post it in a Facebook group: Click here to sign up for your slot!
After sending that to 100 people, you'll probably get 10 emails...instead of like 80.
Take yourself out as the middleman.
Use these digital tools to manage your volunteers, and you'll save yourself time... and you'll save them time, too.
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