Volunteer Recruitment Plan Template: The Complete Guide for Your Nonprofit

Many organizations are struggling to find enough volunteers, so this week, we’re sharing a volunteer recruitment plan template that includes everything you need to launch a successful volunteer recruitment campaign.

As we transition from a pandemic to an endemic, many volunteer-involving organizations are still struggling to rebuild their volunteer workforces, and for good reason. With “pandemic epiphanies,” “the great resignation,” and “quiet quitting” on the rise, an exhausted public is re-thinking the quality of their lives and how they want to spend their days.

The question is – how will this impact volunteerism?

Workers are changing industries and jobs at a breathtaking pace. Recent research from McKinsey has noted that employers can expect to lose up to 40% of workers in the next 3-to-6 months. In addition, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, worker productivity in the second quarter of 2022 fell 2.5% in the last year, its steepest annual drop since 1948.

To compound these trends, the phenomenon of “quiet quitting,” or doing as little as possible on the job, is changing what companies can realistically get done. Experts cite extreme burnout and disenchantment as primary drivers of this shift in worker mindset.

According to Gallup’s research on the global workforce, “With only 21% of employees engaged at work and 33% of employees thriving in their overall wellbeing, most would say that they don’t find their work meaningful, don’t think their lives are going well or don’t feel hopeful about their future.”

The pandemic has not only impacted workers, but it has also affected students. Math and reading scores for 9-year-olds across the U.S. dropped dramatically between 2020 and 2022, erasing decades of academic progress. Students in 2022 declined 5 points in reading and 7 points in mathematics compared to 2020. This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first-ever score decline in mathematics.

In today’s context, the traditional volunteer recruitment template or plan isn’t going to cut it. It isn’t about creating the perfect flier to hand out at your next tabling event. It isn’t about asking your volunteers to bring a friend, posting to social media, or carpet bombing your mailing list with direct mail.

It’s not about a single “silver bullet” tactic that will somehow miraculously produce a result.

It’s also not about throwing up your hands and asserting that “people just don’t want to volunteer anymore.”

In today’s noisy world, filled with distractions and dominated by entertainment-based content, nonprofits need to be more sophisticated than ever in communicating with potential supporters.

It’s not about giving up on your community, it’s about taking an active part in rebuilding a sense of community throughout your nonprofit and its supporters.

To do so, it’s about developing a solid communications strategy to reach and inspire your community to get involved, remind them how much voluntary service can mean to their lives, and design experiences that foster well-being and resilience.

Below is a volunteer recruitment plan template that can help you do just that.

Volunteer Recruitment Plan Template for Your Nonprofit

Here’s why most of today’s volunteer recruitment strategies fail: They lack a cohesive, multi-channel strategy that’s designed to attract an ideal volunteer, that is also chock full of mission-focused messaging that inspires potential supporters.

They also ignore the current context that makes recruitment more challenging (but not impossible).

Without a repeatable, step-by-step system that can be launched regularly, perfected based on real data, and improved with every cycle, volunteer organizations fall victim to either the “next shiny object” or the “we’ve always done it that way” approach.

This year, I reworked the volunteer recruitment plan template I share with our VolunteerPro Membership community and my Volunteer Recruitment Accelerator coaching clients.

The “great reshuffle” in the current employment market may feel like a kind of disruption that can only harm nonprofits. But consider how increased worker flexibility, well-being, and engagement brought about by a new job might also help nonprofits who are seeking people with a renewed lease on life.

How might these changes positively affect your ability to attract volunteers?

There’s no time like the present to find out!

Key Volunteer Recruitment Plan Template Elements

Consider using the following elements in your volunteer recruitment plan template to help you get a jump start on re-building your mission impact, fueled by inspired volunteers who are ready to take action.

Project Goals

Why volunteers are needed and what they will achieve
- Short Term – Recruit and train [insert number] volunteers by [insert date]
- Long Term – Maintain program staffed by [insert number] volunteers

Targeted Geographic Area

County, region, city, zip code, etc.

Target Audience

This campaign will focus on recruiting volunteer counselors who are [insert information on ideal characteristics and any minimum qualifications (e.g., computer literate, bi-lingual, etc.)].

Volunteer Qualifications by Role

Volunteer Role:
- Must Have: [insert minimum required skills, knowledge and abilities]
- Nice to Have: [insert added skills, knowledge, abilities and attitudes]
Volunteer Role:
- Must Have: [insert minimum required skills, knowledge and abilities]
- Nice to Have: [insert added skills, knowledge, abilities and attitudes]
Volunteer Role:
- Must Have: [insert minimum required skills, knowledge and abilities]
- Nice to Have: [insert added skills, knowledge, abilities and attitudes]

For more on how to clarify the skills you are seeking, see How to Match Volunteers with Rockin’ Roles: Your Complete Guide HERE >>

Audience Personas

Description (gender, age, education, occupation, etc.)
Why They Volunteer… (what they hope to gain from the experience)
Their Core Values… (what they believe in)
They Need to Have… (preferred communication style, schedule, flexibility, type of recognition, etc.)
Where They Can be Found… (preferred communication media, work time, leisure activities, hobbies, related interests, etc.)

For more on how to pinpoint your ideal volunteer, see How to Conquer Recruiting Volunteers Using Personas HERE >>

Recruitment Communications Platform

Mission Statement [insert program and agency mission statements]
Tagline [insert program or agency tagline – 8 words or less to convey unique value proposition of organization]
Program Impact Statement [insert program impact statement – 1-2 paragraphs that positions your program in the environment in which you work and describes what you have done in the community]
Philosophy of Volunteer Involvement [insert philosophy of volunteer involvement – 1 paragraph that reflects your organizational values, explains why volunteers are an important part of your work, describes how they carry out your mission and your hopes for the future]
Elevator Pitch [insert sample elevator pitch – 1 paragraph script (30 seconds or less) for a conversation that is customized to the audience’s needs and includes information about how the program is different, answers why it is in existence, includes both questions and statements and ends with a call to action]
Value Proposition [insert bulleted list of talking points that convey the value volunteers, working through the program, add to the community]
Brand Personality [insert a few personality traits you want prospective volunteers to associate with your program]
Benefits for Volunteers [insert a bulleted list of benefits and rewards volunteers have an interest in and will receive by working with your program]
Talking Points [insert a list of key messages that explain the community problem, what your program does to solve it, how volunteers help, and what specific steps you want interested volunteers to take to apply]

For more on how to create compelling messaging, check out How to Write Volunteer Recruitment Messaging That Converts HERE >>

Recruitment Channels and Timing

Which communications tools and channels will be used, how, and when (e.g., email, social media, website, advertising, word-of-mouth, etc.)

For ideas on how to spread the word, check our Complete Guide to Word-of-Mouth for Superior Volunteer Recruitment HERE >>

Recruitment Plan Evaluation

How the campaign will be assessed, both while it is in progress (to adjust) and at the end (to inform future efforts)
What key performance metrics and micro-conversions will be reported and when

These are some of the most essential elements to include in your volunteer recruitment plan template. But having a written document alone doesn’t ensure success.

Your plan must include your best analysis of what your ideal volunteer is looking for and how your organization can meet their needs. You must take time to understand their key barriers to service and offer solutions that help smooth the road for volunteers to join and stay engaged and productive.

So, take the time needed to thoughtfully build your plan – this investment will save time in failed campaigns, re-starts, and flagging support for your good cause.

Happy recruiting!

Need Help Getting Started Building a Volunteer Recruitment Plan Template for Your Nonprofit?

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!