NONPROFIT
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR VOLUNTEERS? By Lorie Williamson, Blue Pencil LLC Author’s note: Having worked and volunteered for a variety of nonprofit organizations over the past few decades, I have experienced the transformation that is taking place with volunteers across the nation. If we (both nonprofits and volunteers) acknowledge and embrace this change, those who give and receive can benefit more than ever!
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t’s well-known that volunteers are an essential element of most nonprofit organizations. An estimated 25% of the adult population – 63 million Americans – contribute billions of hours volunteering, so it goes to reason that organizations should be willing to do whatever they can to retain their volunteers and keep them active. While volunteering offers vital help for those in need or the community at large, the benefits can be even greater for the volunteer. The right match can help volunteers experience personal growth, find friends, connect with the community, learn new skills and even advance a career. People volunteer for an assortment of reasons, so it is vitally important to understand where their
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motivation comes from to retain and grow your volunteer base. How well do you know your volunteers?
Volunteering has evolved
Volunteerism has shifted from a “call to service” in centuries past to an emphasis on individual choices for those who are passionate about giving back to society. With today’s online technology, nonprofit organizations and individuals can easily connect and have access to a wide variety of useful information. This creates endless opportunities for volunteering.1 But, despite the ability to cast a wide net in search of volunteers, many nonprofits struggle to attract, retain and increase their volunteer force. Much of this difficulty stems from not evolving in the same way individuals have when it comes to volunteering. While most volunteers are looking to build a relationship with an organization they can support long-term, there are often other individual motivators at play as well. Among the www.ksaenet.org
