Volunteer Retention

3 Strategies for Nonprofit Volunteer Retention in a Virtual World

Steven Shattuck

Donor retention gets a lot of attention, and with good reason. Generally, the average nonprofit retention rate has hovered around 40% for years. However, when you increase that rate by simply 10% (or hopefully more), you can raise tens of thousands of dollars more at your organization. 

Similarly, when you engage and retain volunteers, you’ll save money on recruitment and training activities for the future, helping you focus more intently on your mission. 

The first step to increasing your volunteer retention rate is showing your appreciation appropriately to those who engage with your organization and contribute to your success. 

This will help you develop effective and beneficial relationships between your organization and your valuable supporters. Luckily, there is a lot of overlap between the strategies that help retain donors and the strategies that help retain volunteers. At the end of the day, supporters of every kind want to be recognized, appreciated and engaged.

Here at Bloomerang, we designed our nonprofit software solution with retention in mind. We help thousands of nonprofits improve their retention rates by developing strong relationships with supporters every day. From our ample experience, we’ve developed a list of appreciation strategies that your organization can employ to cultivate your relationship among volunteers. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into some volunteer appreciation and stewardship ideas that can help you develop relationships and improve your retention rates. 

1. Provide Non-Traditional Volunteer Activities

Social distancing may have limited your ability to host in-person volunteers. But beyond the pandemic, you may have supporters who love you but don’t live near your office or service area, or who are unable to help in-person due to a disability. In any case, it’s a good idea to have virtual volunteer opportunities so that all of that passion doesn’t go under-leveraged.

There are many ways for volunteers to help out from the comfort and safety of their own home. Consider, for instance, the following merchandise ideas: 

  • Peer-to-Peer Fundraising. Encouraging supporters to leverage their networks to create new donor opportunities is a high-value activity with a low cost of donor acquisition. For example, if you have birthday data on your volunteers, suggest they host a Facebook birthday fundraiser that benefits your nonprofit.
  • Letter Writing. Volunteers are great people to say thank you to donors; even more so that staff members. Thank you phone calls to donors are also a great use of volunteer time and energy. It doesn’t just have to be donor-facing. Consider asking volunteers to write letters of advocacy to local politicians, or sign petitions for change that benefits your organization. 
  • Social Media. Sharing is caring! If you have a campaign that is being promoted on social media, don’t be afraid to ask volunteers to go out and engage with those posts. It will help drive engagement and show the network algorithms that it’s content worth promoting to a higher percentage of the newsfeed.

When you make volunteerism more accessible and the opportunities more diverse, you can go beyond just pulling weeds or painting walls and really begin to engage your volunteers in unique ways that pay dividends!

2. Foster Community Among Supporters

Now more than ever, society craves the comforts of a tight-knit community. We’re more physically separated from one another than we have ever been. When you’re able to foster community among your supporters, you can satisfy this need for social interaction and connection, even while everyone remains socially distant. 

Using some of the remote opportunities and technologies that have become available this year, nonprofits like yours are able to create virtual opportunities for community gatherings amongst their supporters. While it does present a bit of a challenge, your nonprofit can still engage your supporters remotely; all it takes is some additional planning and prep work. 

The first step to create community among your remote supporters is to start with excellent virtual event opportunity ideas. As you begin, we recommend analyzing past successful virtual fundraising ideas. Make sure to rework them so that the event can be free for donors and volunteers to attend—after all, this event is to show appreciation rather than ask for funding. 

For instance, consider some of the ideas listed on Bloomerang’s virtual fundraising ideas guide: 

  • Online cooking night. Do you know a local chef in the community? Is there one on your team? Ask them to lead your supporters through a mouth-watering home-cooked meal. Send out the list of ingredients ahead of time. Then, you can video tape (or live stream!) the instructional video so that your supporters can follow along. 
  • TED Talk events. Offer TED Talk or other educational event opportunities so that your organization can present valuable information about your cause to your supporters. Create an engaging and informative presentation during which you can present new trends and research information about your mission. 
  • Virtual happy hour. Spark discussion by encouraging all of your valued supporters to gather together via virtual conferencing platform and enjoy their favorite beverages. Plan out discussion questions ahead of time to make sure everyone gets involved in the conversation.
  • Virtual book discussions. Book clubs are a great way to encourage people to come together for an engaging discussion. Look for a book that highlights the importance of your mission, then offer virtual book club opportunities so that your supporters can “gather” together regularly. 
  • Send physical gifts. Never underestimate the power of a small token of gratitude and the immense impact it can have on relationships with your supporters. Try branding these items to your organization so that you can spread awareness of your brand while showing your appreciation. Facemasks, stickers and t-shirts are low-cost and functional ways to let volunteers show off their pride for you, while getting your name and brand out in the community. Include a section in your budgeted expenses for volunteer appreciation gifts and try not to exceed that limit. 

When you design your organization’s strategic plan for the year, be sure to factor in both your fundraising events and your stewardship/appreciation events. There should be a good mix of both in your prospective calendar, creating a balance so that you can present involvement opportunities and show appreciation opportunities to supporters. 

This balance is what creates the best communities. Your supporters should neither feel like you’re pestering them for funding nor like they’re not helping the cause. 

3. Recognize and Encourage

There was a study conducted at Harvard discussing how praise and positive feedback results in increased “self-activation.” The study states,

“People whose best-self concepts were activated felt better and were more resilient to stress, more resistant to disease and burnout, better at creative problem solving and performance under pressure, and formed stronger long-term relationships with their employer.”

In terms of your volunteers, this means that recognizing and encouraging their work not only means that they feel appreciated, but that their quality of work will also likely increase in the future! 

Meanwhile, when donors give, the brain releases “feel-good” chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. These are the same types of chemicals that are released when we receive recognition and positive feedback. Increasing these feel-good chemicals for your donors makes it more likely that they’ll continue giving in the future. 

The first half of this strategy is to recognize your supporters for the work that they’re doing with your organization. There are several ways that you can do this: 

  • Feature volunteers in your monthly email newsletter. This is a great place to dedicate content in your email newsletter, taking some of the burden off of you for what needs to be created every month to populate the newsletter. Plus, you can brag about volunteers to a large group of recipients.You can also do the same in your annual report! Be sure to acknowledge the impact that some of your volunteers have had on your mission. 
  • Spotlight volunteers on social media. Try creating a Volunteer of the Month program where you give a social media shout out to different volunteers each month. Share a little bit about them and explain how they’ve been helping your organization. Volunteers will look forward to seeing who is featured and will love seeing their own name appear! 
  • Give shout-outs during get-togethers and meetings. If one of your volunteers does something especially caring or goes out of their way to help your organization in unexpected ways, tell the team about it! Giving bravos to your team about the wonderful work individuals are doing shows that you care about their hard work and encourages others to also go the extra mile. 

The second important part of this strategy is that your nonprofit should encourage volunteers to continue doing good work in the future. Don’t simply recognize, but be sure to also give a next action item for supporters. For example, if you spotlight Janine on social media, you might end the post by saying, “Keep it up, Janine!” This takes a recognition opportunity to the next level and encourages future action. 

When you use the recognize and encourage strategy to show your appreciation, make sure to include these four key elements in your shout-out to supporters: who they are, what they did, how it helped, and what they can continue doing. This gives people both the specifics of the support as well as the big picture impact. 

Showing appreciation for your valuable supporters is an important part of nonprofit stewardship strategies. Be sure to create your own stewardship program in order to show your supporters that you care and to encourage them to continue engaging with your organization. 

Look back over this guide and see if there are opportunities where you can combine multiple ideas into one strategy. For instance, start a Volunteer of the Month program and send a goodie bag of branded merchandise to the winner! Or, start a happy hour book club with your supporters so that they can enjoy a beverage while discussing their most recent read! 

There are infinite ways that you could show your supporters that you care about their contributions to your mission. Get creative! 

About the Author: Steven Shattuck

Steven Shattuck is Chief Engagement Officer at Bloomerang and Executive Director of Launch Cause. A prolific writer and speaker, Steven is a contributor to “Fundraising Principles and Practice: Second Edition” and volunteers his time on the Project Work Group of the Fundraising Effectiveness Project and is an AFP Center for Fundraising Innovation (CFI) committee member.

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How to Respond to Volunteer Burnout & Loss of Interest

Sandie Kirpalani

It is fun and exciting when you have a lot of motivated volunteers who have fun and work well together. Over time, you might notice that some volunteers are losing interest and that your team is showing some changes.

Most volunteers get involved because they are passionate about your cause and want to make a difference in the world. With this in mind, what led to the volunteer losing interest or becoming burnt out? And, what can you do to stop this from happening or to get the volunteer reengaged? It is important to identify and address these signs before they become damaging and lead to losing a valued volunteer. In this article, we have identified some signs to look for and possible ways to address them.

Signs that a volunteer might be losing interest or getting burned out:
The volunteer is cynical or negative when they used to be positive.
The volunteer shows anger or frustration more easily.
The volunteer seems to have lost enjoyment in the act of volunteering.
The volunteer shows distinctive changes in personality.
The volunteer was outgoing and is now more standoffish.
The volunteer starts confiding that they are feeling overwhelmed by the work, especially if they previously found it manageable.
Changes in reliability or productivity of the volunteer.
Changes in responsiveness from the volunteer.


Possible reasons why a volunteer is losing interest or becoming burnt out:
The volunteer has feelings of ineffectiveness and/or lack of accomplishment.
The volunteer does not feel like their work is having an impact.
The volunteer has not been given a specific task or role.
The volunteer has not been asked to give their opinion.
The volunteer feels that their personal life is not being respected.
The volunteer was not thanked or acknowledged for their service or contribution.
The volunteer has too much on their plate.
The volunteer is having trouble dealing with difficult emotions and/or situations that they’re encountering while volunteering

Strategies to combat loss of interest and burn out:
The best strategy to keep volunteers interested and avoid burnout is by making sure volunteers and their managers have great working relationships and open communication. Paying attention to and looking out for the signs we listed above is a great place to start. Engaging with and getting to know your volunteers is an important step in being successful with not only volunteer retention, but also being able to identify any volunteer issues. By watching for uncharacteristic behaviors in your volunteers, you may be able to solve issues before they become a problem.

Starting with open communication right when volunteers first sign up is the easiest way to implement this strategy. You should be honest about what the work will entail. You should also be upfront if the work will be emotionally challenging or may involve difficult and/or challenging situations. It is also important to be honest if a volunteer’s expectations do not fit the reality of the role they want to fill. Not doing so could lead to frustration and disappointment for you and the volunteer.

Another component of communication that can help to avoid loss of interest is to schedule regular check-ins with volunteers to ask how they are feeling about the work and solve any issues that they might be experiencing. Listen carefully to what they have to say and make any changes that you are able to. If they express that they are feeling overwhelmed or burnt out, lighten their load or suggest that they try a different job.

Equally important is helping them realize their impact and the ways they are making a difference. Change is not always obvious and can take a long time. If you can share the story of their work, what it means to your organization, how it contributes to your mission and how it affects the community, they will feel like they are accomplishing their goal of making a difference. Otherwise, they may not get this information and may start to feel like they are ineffective or wasting their time.

Providing appropriate training sessions for your volunteers can also help avoid loss of interest. Making sure that the volunteers know exactly what to expect and giving them clear direction will help to make the volunteer feel valued and confident. Try to be flexible as possible regarding volunteer scheduling and respect their time. Try to be understanding if someone has to cancel or change their shift. We have all had last minute things come up. A good strategy is to provide some guidelines outlining what to do if a volunteer needs to cancel or reschedule a shift. This will make it clear that you are respecting that they are volunteering their free time.

Handling volunteers who have lost interest or are burned out:
Even if you have great communication and take preventative measures, loss of interest can still happen. If it does, and the volunteer lets you know, it is important to listen and be sensitive to what the volunteer is going through. This can go a long way in helping to keep them from feeling negative about their time volunteering or your organization. It may even lead them to come back when their circumstances have changed. If possible, ask what led them to become uninterested or burnt out. The information they provide could help you to improve your strategies and avoid loss of additional volunteers in the future.

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Volunteer Appreciation: Identifying Incentives That Matter

Rebekah Coenen

A year ago, volunteering looked a lot different than it does now in 2020. While the COVID-19 health crisis keeps a lot of volunteers safely at home, I still remember the bustling of volunteers at springtime events only a year ago. While I’m sure we will all be back to a new normal eventually, I realized there was value in my nostalgic reflection.

“What excites volunteers to come back, year after year?” I wondered. More specifically, I thought, “What will excite volunteers to return next spring, after we get through all of this?”

First and foremost, I’m sure it will be community spirit that brings volunteers back through the doors of our local nonprofits, festivals, and marathons. You know what they say – distance makes the heart grow fonder. We’re all eager to reunite and (re)start contributing to the missions that matter most to us.

Beyond that, I’m sure good ol’ incentives will be another motivator to returning volunteers, especially in the years to follow. From my reflections of last year, I identified what really made incentives valuable to our volunteers.

So, jump in my time machine and travel back with me just one short year to identify incentives that mattered.

The sun was shining and the air was light with the promise of warmer weather around the corner. Volunteers were bustling around from table to table preparing for the local fun run, ‘Spring has Sprung’. Tented tables for check-in and distributing bibs for the runners accompanied by merchandise tables and food trucks, lined the perimeter of a parking lot.

I found one volunteer, Steve McMillian, while he filled orange water coolers to be put out throughout the 5K and 10K course. He has been volunteering for SHS, as he affectionately called it, for 3 years. “I moved here about 5 years ago and my buddy always seemed to have this new stuff in the spring. Finally, I asked him where he was getting it from, and he told me about SHS and their awesome swag bag,” McMillian said. His friend would have a new tee shirt, sunglasses, bottle opener, even a phone case one year. “The big thing is the logo is always really cool and different. It really feels like they spend time thinking about what is actually good stuff to get.” 

Plenty of other events use swag to incentivize volunteers to sign up for a shift or two, but seems that SHS has it down to a science. When I asked other volunteers what their favorite piece of swag was this year, I got a few different answers, but the top three favorites were tee-shirts, pens, and free meal during your shift. 

I was surprised something as simple as a pen made it on the list. Second time volunteer, Macy Roads, summed it up, “getting a good pen that writes well and lasts a long time – that’s hard to come by. I wouldn’t say it’s the only reason I am back again this year, but it didn’t hurt.”   

Once the race started I caught up with Susan Hampton, the head volunteer coordinator for SHS, to find out what she had to say about the legendary “swag bag” of Spring has Sprung. She wasn’t sure whose idea it was originally, but now they are rolling with it. “It has become sort of a tradition,” she said. She works with the other committee members of the team to come up with fresh new ideas every year, but a few of the things remain that same. Remember those pens? 

“A revelation we had this year was that not everything needed our logo on it.” She referenced the phone case from a few years ago. She still had her phone in it, actually. One of their more popular ideas, “but we plan on revamping and making it trendy, instead of just the same logo as the tee-shirt like this one.” 

Other events often get products from local or national vendors with that company’s logo on it, but SHS has turned the swag into advertising for their event to encourage more volunteers by providing desirable items. “If you have cool looking sunglasses people are going to ask where you got them and open it up to a conversation about the event instead of just the visual,” Hampton said.

While some events also include free entry to be a volunteer, SHS does not. Hampton said the committee has considered, but many of the volunteers are needed during the event, “it would really shrink the shifts the volunteers running would be able to work.” The race also raises money for a good cause, “I would hate to take away any money we raise for the Youth Shelter.” 

So, you can get more than just a bag of incentives in exchange for spending your weekend helping out at the Spring has Sprung race, you can help make a difference too.

Jumping out of my time machine and moving forward again, we all might benefit from reconsidering our volunteer incentives. Consider what volunteers will want (ex: pens that write well), what volunteers will need (ex: a free meal to keep their energy up), and what will matter to them (ex: a small volunteer registration fee that will go straight to a good cause).

Looking forward to volunteer days we’ll have together again down the road. Stay well.

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Volunteer Retention: How to Keep Your Volunteers Coming Back

Joe Lawler

A positive volunteering experience can lead to a life-long relationship with an organization. How can you make sure your superstar volunteers stay engaged, year after year?

Show Genuine Appreciation

Their work matters! Show you care.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. A short “thank you” email will let your volunteers know they are appreciated. It only takes a few minutes, and it is an easy way to acknowledge what their help means to you and your organization. (You might even try upping your show of gratitude with a handwritten note for volunteers who went above and beyond!)

Track Contributions

Volunteering for a few hours a month might not seem like much, but over the course of a year it really adds up. Show how much you value your volunteers’ time by tracking volunteer hours and celebrating grand totals at the end of the year. Speaking of…

Celebrate Together

After months of hard work, everyone needs to blow off some steam and reflect on new accomplishments. There are lots of ways to celebrate!

For example, consider hosting a party or gathering to let volunteers mingle and have a little fun. If you have an annual event for donors, consider inviting volunteers, too. They may not have contributed monetary donations, but they did donate their time.

Cultivate Community

Volunteers don’t only have a relationship with your organization; they often get to know other volunteers as well! Encourage a positive volunteering community by helping your volunteers get to know each other and, importantly, feel like they belong.

One way to do this is to come up with a fun name for your group of volunteers. Call them “Event Heros,” “Race Superstars,” “Triathlon Wizards,” or work out a fun pun based on your organization’s name. Anything you do to create a team atmosphere will strengthen the relationships among your volunteers and keep them eager to return.

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Creating a Successful Volunteer Budget

Linh Ta

Let’s face it – the typically tight budget for volunteer programs can be a little straining. After all, we know that “volunteer” does not mean “free” – but when you’re juggling coordinating an event and nurturing volunteers, there’s extra meaning to “a little goes a long way.”

When it comes to budgeting, there are a range of things to consider as a volunteer coordinator: What is the best way to spend your money? What can you do without? 

And most important of all: How do you throw a great event for the attendees and the volunteers, such that everyone is inspired to return for another year?

Get your priorities straight

Identify what you can and can’t live without, the reasons why and the consequences that will occur for either decision. Be sure to know what you need so you’re able to maintain the best practices that your organization strives to achieve for its volunteer program. That means having a plan or structure in place so you know the necessities of your program are, and what you need to achieve your goals.

Recognition is key

Even with a small budget, you can find a way to show your volunteers the importance of their work and (at the same time) say “thank you.” Consider this a necessity. Whether you throw a post-event appreciation party, provide everyone with limited-run t-shirts or some other token of appreciation, these are the actions that will help to cultivate the goodwill you need to keep volunteers coming back, year-after-year.

Two birds one stone

Volunteers help out in all different areas of an event. Can you create a line-item in your budget to nurture volunteer relationships? For example: If you’re throwing a food truck festival and charging tickets for entry, is there enough wiggle room to also allow volunteers a free pass? Communicate with your colleagues and figure what opportunities there are for a win-win scenario.

Volunteers are key to your success. Finding the right budget balance between making an event spectacular for attendees, while making sure the volunteer experience is also fantastic, is critical for an organization’s continued growth.

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The Key to Happy Volunteers

kaylee@volunteerlocal.com 1 Comment

“If you build it, they will come…” (but don’t forget to hug them on the way out).

Photo cred: namimass.org

Your volunteers have arrived. They’re painting faces, pouring drinks, mediating races and checking ID’s–they’re planting flowers, setting up chairs and kissing babies. By the end of the day, the crowds have thinned, the last crew is heading home, and you, event coordinator, are standing in the glorious wreckage of a job well-done. Take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back, because you built it–and they came.

But you’re not done yet. There’s one last element to keeping those volunteers happy (and coming back), and it’s the simplest step of all: saying thanks.

Step 5: Volunteer Appreciation

Photo cred: haikudeck.com

It matters. If you can retain your existing volunteers, that means less recruitment in the future, and a more knowledgeable volunteer force working for your organization. Volunteer appreciation can be as simple as a t-shirt they get to take home, and as grandiose as a volunteer member reception at a fancy venue. Buy them dinner or send them a thank-you card, recognize them by first and last name in a pamphlet or on stage, find time to thank them in person for their efforts and their passion. Just a handshake and a smile can go a long way.

Remember that volunteers are people, too–and if you go that extra mile to foster a relationship between your organization and your volunteers, it certainly won’t hurt your chances of getting that person to come back. Plus, you need to maintain that stellar reputation you’ve worked so hard to cultivate in your community. So why not send your volunteers home with a warm fuzzy feeling? Give them every reason to tell others how great you are.

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