207 – Is Your Volunteer Application Process Broken?

April 2, 2026

Episode 208 – How to Build a Volunteer Ambassador Program to Attract Support 

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways nonprofits attract new supporters, but what if you could harness it more intentionally? Without a clear strategy, many organizations miss the opportunity to turn passionate volunteers into active promoters of their mission.

In this episode, Tobi Johnson explores how to build an effective volunteer ambassador program that expands your reach, strengthens relationships, and increases engagement. She explains why ambassador programs are so impactful and how they help nonprofits connect with new audiences in a more authentic and credible way.

You’ll learn how to identify the right volunteers for ambassador roles, define meaningful activities that align with your goals, and provide the training and tools they need to succeed. Tobi also shares practical strategies for equipping ambassadors with clear messaging, building their confidence, and ensuring consistency across your outreach efforts.

If you’re ready to amplify your mission and tap into the power of word-of-mouth marketing, this episode offers actionable steps to help you build a volunteer ambassador program that grows your community and attracts lasting support.

Volunteer Ambassador Program – Episode Highlights 

  • [00:00] Introduction to Volunteer Ambassador Programs
  • [02:57] The Importance of Ambassador Programs
  • [10:12] Defining Roles and Activities for Ambassadors
  • [16:46] Preparing and Equipping Volunteer Ambassadors
  • [20:37] Keys to a Successful Ambassador Program

Volunteer Ambassador Program  – Quotes from the Episode 

“People have a greater sense of belonging when they’re tapped as an ambassador. It means that your organization trusts them to spread the word.” – Tobi Johnson 

“A really strong volunteer ambassador program works best when volunteers are trained, equipped, and confident in their role” – Tobi Johnson 

Helpful Links

About the Show

Nonprofit leadership author, trainer, consultant, and volunteer management expert Tobi Johnson shares weekly tips to help charities build, grow, and scale exceptional volunteer teams. Discover how your nonprofit can effectively coordinate volunteers who are reliable, equipped, and ready to help you bring about BIG change for the better.

If you’re ready to ditch the stress and harness the power of people to fuel your good work, you’re in exactly the right place!

Contact Us

Have questions or suggestions for the show? Email us at wecare@volpro.net.

Rate, Review, & Follow Us on Apple Podcasts

If you love the content Tobi shares on the Volunteer Nation podcast, consider rating and reviewing the show! This helps us reach more people – and help more good causes just like yours – successfully engage enthusiastic, dedicated volunteers with less stress and more joy.

Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars. Then, select “Write a Review” and let us know what you loved most about this episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast so you don’t miss a thing. Follow now!

Subscribe to ProNews: Our Weekly Resource Roundup

If you’d like to stay up to date on all new podcasts, blogs, freebies, and deals posted on our Tobi Johnson & Associates and VolunteerPro websites, subscribe to our weekly ProNews newsletter.

Every Wednesday, we’ll send you a digest of our freshest content, plus a bonus! Once you confirm your subscription, you’ll get our [Free eBook] The New Volunteer Manager: The First 90 Days.

Episode #208 Transcript: How to Build a Volunteer Ambassador Program to Attract Support 

Tobi Johnson: Hey friends, welcome to the Volunteer Nation podcast. I’m your host, Tobi Johnson. And today I want to talk about how to build an ambassador program to fuel success, to attract support, to boost your recruitment. An ambassador program is sort of a no brainer because, you know, what is the number one way we hear from new volunteers? How do people hear about us? How do we recruit volunteers?

What’s our number one source of recruitment or referrals? It’s often word of mouth. So why not use word of mouth marketing more purposefully by creating a intentional volunteer ambassador program? And today I’m going to talk about how to do that. So let’s talk about how to build a volunteer ambassador program to attract support. We want that support.

And the best people to share why that support matters are volunteers themselves, right? when we imagine this, your most passionate volunteers not only give their time, but actively help attract new supporters, expand your reach and promote your mission. What about that? That’s exactly what a strong ambassador program can do for you. But it needs to be approached with a little bit of intention.

Certainly volunteers are already referring folks to your nonprofit. But how about boosting it and creating a more intentional plan so that volunteers know exactly what to say, exactly where to send folks, and feel confident and appreciated for referring folks to you. In this episode, I’m going to cover how to find the right volunteers, what roles and activities they can take on as volunteer ambassadors.

and how to set them up for success so they can confidently act as your primary spokesmodels. An ambassador program can be super, super powerful. And by the end, I’m gonna give you actionable steps to start your own program and begin tapping the power of word of mouth marketing. There is nothing quite like word of mouth. There’s so much credibility in an active volunteer sharing their experiences with someone else in the community about what volunteering means to them and how much your organization is doing for the community and the world at large.

Tobi: There is nothing more credible than that. And so, you know, we want to figure out how to tap this lightning in a bottle. So let’s talk first about why an ambassador program matters. It’s so important.

Volunteers are already passionate about your mission, but when they become ambassadors, they amplify your voice to new audiences and lend credibility to your message in ways that traditional marketing just can’t. They also have their own networks of people. They have places that they go that you don’t. They have ways of talking with people inside their community that you may not know about.

So having ambassadors and especially a diverse set of ambassadors can really expand your reach and can really help you tap into communities that you may not be that close to right now, not just yet anyway. a strong and volunteer ambassador program can increase awareness of your nonprofit in the community. So at the very least, you have more people talking you up.

It can build stronger relationships with supporters, donors, and volunteers. There’s something really cool about being part of a collective of people who are trying to get something done. People have a greater sense of belonging when they’re tapped as an ambassador. It means that your organization trusts them to spread the word. It means that you want to partner with them in ways that go beyond simply a helping

pair of hands. So it is a very interesting, powerful way to build relationships with your supporters, both existing and future, right? It also enhances your organization’s reputation and public image. As I mentioned earlier, the credibility that an ambassador can bring is amazing. So an ambassador program is all about trust.

Tobi: It’s all about relationships. It’s all about people speaking and advocating on the behalf of others. So think about it. Someone hearing about your nonprofit from a volunteer who’s genuinely excited about your mission is more likely to engage than from a generic email or flyer. It’s authentic, personal, and highly effective. Even more effective than posting a volunteer.

opportunity online or sharing in social media. When we are face to face, human beings are communicating at their best. And so I’ve seen programs where a handful of well-trained ambassadors doubled attendance at events, increased volunteer signups, all because they were empowered to share their mission. So if you’re interested on why people step up, I also recorded Volunteer Nation episode 13. This was way back at the very beginning of the podcast in the very first few months of the podcast where I talked about is Volunteer word of mouth marketing all it’s cracked up to be and of course it is right It was a little bit of a tease on that title, but inside that episode I talk about why what is the psychology and why do people step up? Why are people talking about you?

And it’s a good foundation for today’s conversation. So I’ll post a link to that in the show notes. So check that out as well. It’ll help you understand the psychology around word of mouth marketing. All right. Let’s talk about the skills needed to be an effective volunteer ambassador. Those skills are important because this is the people side of your ambassador program.

Not every volunteer is automatically ready to take up this role. We’re not just saying, everybody talk us up. You want individuals with the right skills and qualities to represent your organization. So there are some traits you wanna look for. Number one, strong communication skills. And you can even include these in a volunteer position description.

Tobi: People need communication skills both in person and online. They should be able to speak confidently about your mission. They don’t have to be an exceptional public speaker. They can learn as they go, but they do need to know about your mission and they should be able to communicate with their own style. Second thing is passion and knowledge of your mission. Ambassadors need to genuinely care and understand the organization in order to inspire others. So they have to be tapped into your mission. So when you’re talking to prospective ambassadors, ask them, hey, why do you support us? What’s important about this mission to you? How has it impacted your life and the lives of people you know? Why this mission versus others? And you’ll start to see whether or not they have that spark for what you do.

The third thing is reliability and accountability. This is absolutely essential. Sometimes you’ll be sharing new information, late breaking information with ambassadors and you need to trust them with this information. If they commit to sharing your message or attending an event or tabling for you, you need to trust that they’ll follow through because if they don’t, then you’re left hanging, you’re left holding the bag, having to back up or having no one show up.

and that’s not gonna be a good look for your organization. So you need people who are highly, highly reliable. The fourth thing you need is folks that are comfortable with outreach tools, social media, email, community events, people who are a little bit tech savvy really thrive in this role. people don’t necessarily need to do one or the other, or both in person and online. Some people are really good online and don’t like to be in person.

That’s okay, find people who wanna be your social media mavens. Other people like to be in person, they don’t wanna spend their day on social media, then get them out tabling for you and get them out speaking at events. When recruiting, consider asking volunteers to share why they want to be an ambassador with you and ask them to give experiences or give examples of experiences when they have.

It also may give you some outreach ideas, you never know. So, super helpful. So that’s it in a nutshell of why an ambassador program is important, how you can… Select volunteers for a successful ambassador program. And after the break, I want to get back and talk more about how to leverage this ambassador program for your recruitment. So don’t go anywhere. I will be right back.

Tobi: Okay, we’re back with my tips on how to leverage a volunteer ambassador program. There are activities and roles for your ambassador program that I want to call out here. Again, before the break, talked about, know, folks don’t have to do everything. Maybe some people just want to do online ambassador work. Other people want to do in person. That’s okay. It’s better to have folks that can do both, but not necessary. So, Once you have the right people, the next step is defining what they’ll do. A well-designed ambassador program gives volunteers clear activities that advance your goals. So you want to make sure that you’re clear what your goals are with this group. Is it getting more people signed up on your email list? Is it recruiting more volunteers to complete an application form? Make sure you have some type of clear, tangible goal so that you can…

Report that back to your ambassadors and let them know if they’re making progress. There’s some other activities that you want to get them involved in and I want to call out a few here. One is sharing mission-focused messages on social media, posts, photos, or stories that highlight your work. Now, it can be amplifying posts you’ve already posted or it can be creating new content. Either way, it’s going to help you meet up and reach more people.

Second is hosting or attending community events and tabling. Representing your nonprofit, answering questions, and handing out materials, really important. It’s important to train people on this as well. You’d be surprised how many people don’t know how to table effectively. I grew up and worked in grassroots organizations. I’ve done plenty of tabling in my day. And you know, there’s just some basics that people get wrong, like sitting behind the table in a chair.

That’s not how to table. Stand in front of the table. Give people things. Talk to them. Shake their hand. You know, be in touch with people. The table’s just behind you to put stuff on. It’s not what you sit behind. And certainly you shouldn’t be sitting behind a laptop. Those are just my top tips. They’re my pet peeves when I go out and I go to an exhibit hall or I go to a community event and I’m like, folks, let’s learn how to do this right. All right, next thing.

Tobi: You can have folks invite friends or colleagues to volunteer opportunities, fundraisers, house parties, birthday events, et cetera. A personal invitation goes a long way. Now, if your volunteer ambassadors are organizing these events, they may need you to come and maybe talk. But generally at these events, it’s always best to have the volunteer stand up, share their story.

and talk about why your mission matters. I remember when I was a volunteer at a statewide health care advocacy program here in Tennessee. And at house parties, they would often tap me to stand up and tell my story because I was very interested and passionate about everyone getting access to health care. I think health care is a right for everyone. And as a college student, I got a kidney infection and I did not go to the doctor because it was summertime and I did not have health insurance. And so I put it off, put it off, put it off. And I put it off until I had a raging, raging fever and I was completely dehydrated. I was in bed for days. Finally, I went to a doctor and they said, wow, you have a kidney infection. You could lose your kidney. We need to get you on antibiotics right away, which they did.

Unfortunately, those antibiotics were too little too late. And so I was forced to go in the hospital and spend, I think it was about three days in the hospital getting rehydrated and getting really high impact antibiotics in my system through an IV. And in the end, the bill was $10,000, $10,000. And so luckily my grandmother stepped in and helped me out. I also got

Medicaid, so I got some public support and it didn’t bankrupt me and I didn’t have to drop out of school. But I would have if I would have not gotten support. But you know, if I would just had health insurance, if I would have just gone to that doctor and if that doctor would have prescribed me a $5 bottle of antibiotics, that hospital visit would have never been necessary. And that’s what happens when people don’t have health insurance.

Tobi: And so I would tell this story over and over again. And it was so powerful to folks because I’d hear from other people who didn’t have access to health care. And so you can see how powerful these ambassador stories can be during these volunteer opportunities, these house parties, fundraisers, events. Just a five minute story can be so powerful.

Volunteer ambassadors can also collect testimonials or stories, helping you highlight the impact of your organization to potential supporters. your ambassador program can also include storytelling and story banking. The key really here is to match activities to both the volunteer strengths and your organization’s priorities. This isn’t an anything goes, it really is a structured ambassador program.

For example, a confident public speaker might host events while social media savvy volunteers could share posts and stories online. Again, help volunteers choose what’s right for them, but also stay focused on your goals. The more aligned and meaningful the activities are, the more motivated your ambassadors will be and the more effective your program will become. But again, you want to track and communicate.

where they’re getting traction and make sure they understand that they are appreciated and that their work is making a difference. All right, let’s talk about preparing and equipping your ambassadors for service. It’s really important to set them up for success. A really strong volunteer ambassador program works best when volunteers are trained, equipped, and confident in their role. The more confident they are about speaking about your nonprofit, the more influential

they are when they’re speaking with the public. So here’s what that looks like. Providing clear messages and talking points. Volunteers need consistent language so your mission is accurately represented. We don’t want people just winging it here. We want to share with them specific talking points. Now they don’t have to memorize them and say them verbatim, but you want them to get the general gist of these are the things that we’re focusing on right now.

Tobi: Now these talking points can be updated as things change, new initiatives come out, maybe there’s a new campaign, or there’s a new role you’re recruiting for, you can update these and send them out to your ambassadors. Train them in your brand and mission. This can be a short orientation, a video, or a live session. They need to know how to speak about your organization. What kind of acronyms do you use? What kind of acronyms do you not use?

What is the best way to use the logo? What are things you don’t say that are taboo about what you do? People don’t know, so you’ve got to express that to them. If you have a style guide for communications, give it to your ambassadors. Third thing is equip them with the tools, social media graphics, email templates, event materials, resource sheets, whatever is needed, laptops, projectors.

tablecloths, brochures, whatever’s needed so that they’re not scrapping for stuff. There is no quicker way to burn out volunteers than not give them the resources they need. And it just leads to them not being that excited about it after a while. So we want them to feel like they’re really supported. And then delegate with confidence. Define your expectations, track your activities, give feedback regularly, have folks complete a very short form after every event or every shift they do that talks about what they did and what they learn and what they need.

When they’re out in the community, they’ll realize really quickly what’s lacking in your comms materials and they can tell you what they need. When ambassadors are well prepared, they can confidently act as your spokespeople. They’ll feel empowered and really your organization really benefits from this consistent authentic touch of people who care about you enough to advocate for you out in the community. That’s a pretty cool thing. It’s a pretty cool gift for people to give you. The other bonus here is that ambassadors themselves gain skills, build relationships, network, and deepen their connection to the mission. This makes this a win-win situation. So let’s recap these keys to building a successful volunteer.

Tobi: Ambassador Program. I also want to note that I did a, and I can’t remember the episode number or the name, but I did an episode on how to set up an advocacy program. When you’re bringing volunteers in who are going to work on a specific issue or cause area, it’s similar to an ambassador program, but it’s a little bit different. And so I’ll post a link to that in the show notes.

I did a three part series on advocacy and nonprofit advocacy because there’s so much of it that’s needed. So I’ll post those three links in the show notes. If you’re interested in doing something that’s an advocacy program, that’s more focused on moving a specific issue forward. Ambassadors are more about just simply getting the word out about your nonprofit. That’s the difference. So let’s recap the successful keys to building a volunteer ambassador program. Step one or key one is recruiting volunteers with the right skills and passion.

Second thing is to define meaningful activities to advance your organization’s goals. It’s not just talk us up, it’s talk us up to do X, to recruit more volunteers, to send more folks to our programs, to get more media mentions, to build our follower base. Whatever it is, you need to be clear about what that is. Third thing, train and equip them so they can confidently represent your nonprofit. You want them to be confident and assured that they’re doing the right thing. You don’t want people to feel like they’re not doing the right thing or question whether or not they’re doing the right thing because you want to trust them and they want to trust you. It’s a two-way street, and then give regular feedback. And don’t forget to track and celebrate success. Get your ambassadors together. Your ambassador program should include celebration and recognition. We know this. It’s Volunteer Engagement 101. We need to be recognizing our volunteers for both effort and achievement both. And so let’s make sure you do that.

Tobi: If you take one action today, start by finding one or two volunteers who might become ambassadors for your ambassador program. Give them a small, meaningful role to test the waters. Maybe it’s just one outreach event you want them to help out at. You will be amazed at the impact even a tiny ambassador program can have on your nonprofit’s credibility and reach. So give it a go, pilot test it.

And remember that a strong ambassador program doesn’t just spread your message, it grows your community, it grows your connections, and it grows the people who are involved in it. So it’s a win-win-win-win. So I hope this has been helpful today. If you found today’s episode particularly helpful, I hope you’ll subscribe to us and listen. We have lots more information and helpful tips. Share it with your nonprofit network.

And let’s continue building volunteer programs that inspire and attract support. Also, if you’d like it, share it with a friend or colleague who might need some volunteer ambassador inspiration and a better approach that gets traction. Finally, we like our ratings and reviews, so if you give us one, we’d be super happy. All right? So see you next week, same time, same place, on the Volunteer Nation. Take care, everybody.