Your Next Volunteer Recruitment Flyer: What to Include

We often get questions about what to include on a volunteer recruitment flyer. Sometimes I feel that the assumption behind the question is that flyers and brochures can do the heavy lifting of recruitment. In other words, “If I can just get this right, miracles will happen.”

Unfortunately, we can’t promise that. Your volunteer recruitment flyer is not a “silver bullet” tactic that will somehow miraculously produce a result.

Effective volunteer recruitment is more than simply the right call to action, advertisement, volunteer recruitment flyer, or social media post.

It’s about developing the right tactics to reach the right audience and using them in tandem to influence behavior change.

Questions to Ask Before You Develop Your Volunteer Recruitment Flyer

It takes a more comprehensive volunteer recruitment strategy to convert followers into joiners.

Last week, I went into detail on what you should include in a volunteer recruitment plan that gets results. When developing a volunteer recruitment flyer, you’ll want to have these things figured out before you begin to design your flyer so that you have the information you need to plug into it.

Check out our Volunteer Recruitment Plan Template: The Complete Guide for Your Nonprofit HERE >>

Your volunteer recruitment plan should include the following elements:

Project goals for the number of volunteers you want to recruit, by when and for which roles
Targeted geographic area within which you will focus your attention
The target audience you hope to reach
The must-have and nice-to-have volunteer qualifications for each role
The audience personas, or ideal volunteer archetypes, you hope to attract
Your recruitment communications platform
What recruitment channels you will use and when
How you plan to evaluate the progress of your volunteer recruitment

A volunteer recruitment flyer is one of the channels you can choose to get your message out.

But before you decide this is the best method to include in your arsenal, ask yourself the following questions:

Where can you place the volunteer recruitment flyer where your ideal audience can see it (for example, if you are hoping to recruit students, are there bulletin boards they frequent)?
Who can you enlist to give your volunteer recruitment flyer to others (for example, if you are trying to reach people who’ve recently moved to the area, can local realtors include your flyer in their info kit)?
If your team will be handing out the flyer at your next outreach event, do they know what to say (for example, do they have a quick elevator speech prepared to use when they are working your table at the next volunteer fair)?
How can your paper volunteer recruitment flyer be translated to a digital version so that it can be easily shared with larger groups?
Where will the volunteer recruitment flyer send people for more information? Is it simply the home page of your website, or have you created a special web page where interested people can explore more and take action?
Is there a direct contact on your volunteer recruitment flyer? Is it a phone number or email that is staffed daily and where a live person will pick up the phone and expects their call (or will answer their email the same day)?
What are the most important messages you want to share in the flyer that align with your recruitment campaign? Are you focused on recruiting for certain roles? Are there unique perks of volunteering? What’s the impact volunteers make?

There are more questions you might ask, but you get the picture. Your volunteer recruitment flyer will not live in a vacuum, so it’s important to consider the context within which it will be shared and by whom.

Consider how you might train anyone who will be handing out the flyer in what to say when they do, as well as frequently asked questions they should be ready to answer.

Wondering how to foster peer-based volunteer recruitment, check out Volunteer Nation Podcast Episode #013: Is Volunteer Word of Mouth All It’s Cracked Up to Be HERE >>

What to Include in Your Volunteer Recruitment Flyer

Below is a list of tips for creating a compelling volunteer recruitment flyer that works with your organization’s brand.

Use Your Org’s Branding (colors, fonts, and logo) – consistency fosters trust, and keeping things consistent ensures your readers don’t get lost when they go from the flyer to your website for example; also, things look better on your outreach table if they match
Include an Accent Color – To point to a phone number or call to action, you can also add one color to your brand array that stands out (red and orange are popular); you can also choose one of your brand colors to stand out as your accent color
Use 2-3 Different Fonts (title, sub-title, and body text) to add visual variety – If your organization only uses only one typeface, choose another one that complements it (in general, San Serif for titles and Serif fonts for the remaining text work well together or vice versa)
Use Icons to Create Space (e.g., helping hands, a target, a leaf, a question mark, etc.) – by using simple graphic elements, you can help readers quickly scan for what they’re looking for; they also add a visual element and can communicate even more
Choose the Layout That Works Best for Your Info – Flyers can work both in a horizontal and portrait orientation; choose what works best with your copy and image
Resist the Urge to Overstuff the Flyer with Text – People need to spot it from about 10 feet away, so include the most important info in a large font that people can spot
Choose a Single Compelling Image – People are moved by emotions, so use a picture that includes people or animal faces; if possible, use a close-up photo of a group of happy volunteers (or animals) from your nonprofit, rather than a stock photo (help your reader imagine how fun volunteering can be!)
Refrain from Using Jargon or Insider Speak – Your volunteers will learn this vocabulary soon enough, but at the beginning it will only turn them off
Use Free Tools for Easy Graphic Design – You don’t need to be a designer to create simple, fresh layouts; while tools like Canva include tons of designs to choose from, pick those that are simple and for which you can update the fonts and colors to match your brand
Re-purpose Your Volunteer Recruitment Flyer – rather than re-inventing the wheel, use the base flyer design and copy for social media posts, presentation slides, paid ads, web page layouts, etc. The paid version of Canva can help you re-size your flier with a click

The purpose of your volunteer recruitment flyer is to grab your reader’s attention, explain why volunteers are needed, and inspire your reader to take the next steps to learn more. The goal of the flyer is to start the conversation, not necessarily to result in an immediate conversion to a volunteer. So, approach it that way.

Here are some items to include in your next volunteer recruitment flyer, top to bottom.

Start with a Compelling Headline – Focus on something that will pique the interest of your ideal volunteer and includes a benefit (for example, Help Your Community Prepare for the Worst, So They Can Be Their Best)

Test the quality of your headline with Co-schedule’s Headline Analyzer HERE >>

Include the Basic Volunteer Recruitment Info – Here’s a simple formula you can use for your next flyer:
- What’s the Problem? – The community problem or volunteer challenge you are addressing with this role
- What’s the Solution? – The organization’s intervention for solving the problem that requires volunteer support
- What’s Involved? – The schedule, training, support, etc. that are available to volunteers
- What Do You Need Me to Do? – A call to action with specifics about next steps

Share Why Volunteer Support Matters – What is only possible when volunteers are involved. What’s the BIG WHY or rationale for volunteer involvement

End with Social Proof as to Why Volunteering Makes Sense – Include volunteer testimonials and quotes about their experience to breathe life into your flyer and to make your ask more compelling

For more info on how social proof works, check out our July Pro Roundup: Using Volunteer Testimonials as Social Proof HERE >>

Volunteer recruitment flyers can be helpful tools for piquing interest and starting a conversation about service. But they can’t do it alone.

So, consider not only what you will include on that piece of paper, but also consider how, when and with whom you will use it.

Need Feedback on Your Volunteer Recruitment Flyer and Much, Much More?

Try Our Volunteer Recruitment Accelerator Coaching Program

This focused, private Volunteer Recruitment Accelerator Coaching Program is specifically designed to help charities, causes, and public sector organizations attract enthusiastic, reliable volunteers, at will, and on-demand in as little as three months.

Stop guessing about what to do next and wasting time hunting and pecking for half-baked answers.

Instead, work directly with a strategic advisor with years of boot-on-the-ground experience in both volunteerism and today’s outreach and marketing tactics.

Start re-building your volunteer base more quickly with these four program components:

1.) A quick start call to get you oriented to the program

2.) An audit of your current volunteer recruitment strategy and digital presence to find low-hanging fruit for immediate action

3.) Our self-paced Volunteer Recruitment That Works online course and bonus lessons

4.) 8 private implementation coaching calls focused on a purposeful set of program deliverables designed to get up to speed quickly.

Interested in learning more?

Book a free, no-obligation 30-minute discovery call, where we will drill down on the essential “what’s working now” tactics you must get right to grow your volunteer team and share how we can help you get from here to there more quickly.

LEARN MORE & BOOK YOUR CALL >>

We only accept a handful of private coaching clients each year, so don’t delay!