"Involving Your Community: Outreach, Encouraging Volunteerism and Managing Volunteers"
How do you keep volunteers coming back?
Your enthusiasm generates enthusiasm. If you don't present the work as important and worthwhile, potential volunteers won't see it that way, either.Support is essential. Volunteers need regular care and feeding; honor your volunteers regularly and sincerely. Make sure they are greeted, welcomed, and that their favorite snack is handy.
Make them a part of the team. Volunteers often have great ideas about other aspects of what you are doing -- don't shut them out!
Review their work regularly, the way you would any employee -- informally very often (catch people doing things right!) and formally a couple of times a year, to review their goals, your organization's goals and any changes each of you would like to make.
Celebrate volunteerism in general!
Spend some money on your volunteers with luncheons, small gifts, special treats.
Let them know how important they are to your organization's success. Let them see how much money they are saving you or how much they help generate or what specific differences they are making. Volunteers can generate value of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for you.
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