How to Strategically Recruit Volunteer Event Support
There’s a lot that goes into planning a successful nonprofit event – logistics, vendors, sponsors, invitations, and so much more. Even with a massive to-do list, don’t forget one of your most valuable resources: volunteers!
Volunteers provide event support that won’t impact your budget. They’re the face of your event as they help your guests. And – if they have a good experience – they’re people who can further your mission beyond the event.
In this post, we’ll lay out three steps to strategically recruit volunteers and strengthen corporate partnerships through great volunteer experiences.
Recruit volunteers from corporate partners
In a perfect world, each of your corporate partners will sponsor your upcoming event. But, the reality is, they won’t – and that’s okay! If a corporate partner isn’t able to sponsor your event financially, ask them to commit to supplying volunteers from their company instead.
You could even create a “volunteering” sponsorship tier to include their logo below your other sponsorships. That way, they can still support your nonprofit and gain brand recognition, even if budgets are tighter this year. This would also increase their accountability, reducing the chance of volunteer no-shows.
Strengthen corporate partnerships with great volunteer experiences
When you recruit volunteers from your corporate partners, it’s likely that you’ll be making a lot of first impressions – and a good first impression can lead to so much more.
At Field Day, we often say that a great volunteer experience at work is a low-barrier entry point for someone to become more involved in their community. They learn about a nonprofit for the first time, discover a new passion, and raise awareness within their network. They volunteer with their family, become donors, and may eventually serve on a committee or board.
To make a great first impression with your volunteer experience, the following steps are crucial:
- Make sure volunteers feel prepared. Have a volunteer registration page that centralizes important details like the time, place, location, activity descriptions, and who else is going. With Field Day, you can create a volunteer event page for your corporate partner, with automated event reminders for registrants. Plus, a direct communication channel for you to answer questions or send announcements.
- When volunteers check in, gather up the group. Introduce your nonprofit’s mission, explain the purpose of the event, and go over their duties. Make sure volunteers feel confident in what they’re doing and know they play an important role.
- Follow up with a thank you and celebrate their impact. After the event, let all volunteers know exactly how their work supported your mission. (We’ll dive into this in the following section!)
Communicate impact to your corporate partners and volunteers
Don’t only thank your corporate point of contact. Volunteers should receive appreciation that comes directly from you. This can be a milestone in nurturing first-time volunteers into passionate supporters of your nonprofit.
People feel good after volunteering – building on this momentum is critical! That’s why Field Day enables nonprofits to share an impact statement with individuals following corporate volunteer events.
How did their work contribute to your mission and impact the populations you serve? Incorporate them into your nonprofit’s story – be specific about what they did and how it supports the bigger picture. Close with a call-to-action of more ways to get involved with your nonprofit, like inviting them to volunteer with you in the future.
In conclusion
Recruit volunteers from your corporate partners. You’ll find reliable support for your gala, and gain an opportunity to strengthen your relationship with the company and its employees.
People make up companies. Strengthen your partnership with a company by building strong relationships with its employees. The more employee engagement it tracks with your nonprofit, the better chance you’ll have to secure a (growing!) corporate donation in the future.
Catalin Wong is a Sr. Marketing Manager at Field Day. Field Day is a community engagement platform that allows companies and teams to engage with nonprofits and bring their employees together to give back to their local communities.
For nonprofits, Field Day is a free, easy-to-use volunteer event management tool. Organize all your group events, get discovered by local companies and their employees, and track it all in one place. Learn more or create your nonprofit profile.Follow Field Day on Instagram on LinkedIn.
