Pro RoundUp: Our Top 10 Countdown of VolunteerPro Fan Favorites
In last week’s blog, the VolPro team shared our personal podcast recommendations from around the internet. This week, we’re looking a little closer to home and counting down the top 10 VolunteerPro fan favorites from our very own blog and podcast.
With this list, we hope to remind you of some of your own favorite content from the year, and introduce you to awesome new resources you may have missed. This is our list, based on downloads and page visits, but definitely let us know in the comments if there is something else you would have included (and why you loved it).
Now without further ado…enjoy!
VolunteerPro Fan Favorites: Top Ten Blog Posts of the Year
Blog Post #10: 5 Unappreciated Reasons Why Volunteers Quit
Keeping volunteers challenged and fulfilled is all about knowing what their motivations are. In #10 of our VolunteerPro fan favorites, Tobi shares the five key drivers that motivate unpaid workers and how to use them to create irresistible volunteer opportunities.
BONUS: This post includes a link to a free download to help you design a focused plan to meet volunteer needs throughout their lifecycle: The Ultimate Volunteer Experience Roadmap!
Blog Post #9: How to Crush Your Next Recognition Speech with These Volunteer Appreciation Quotes
In this blog post, we’ve curated a heartwarming and insightful array of volunteer appreciation quotes that are sure to please. Plus, we’re capping off the list with some quick tips and a formula for delivering the best volunteer recognition speech ever in less than 10 minutes!
This post will help you knock your next recognition speech, thank you card, or volunteer appreciation event out of the park, and leave your volunteers with the warm fuzzies they deserve.
BONUS: This post includes a major time-saver: a free Volunteer Quotes Social Media Bundle, with 30 customized images for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, all with inspirational quotes your volunteers will love.
Blog Post #8: How to Write Powerful, Targeted Volunteer Recruitment Ads
In this post, Tobi reminds us of the first rule of writing: know your audience. But she takes it one step further in relation to volunteer recruitment ads: know your purpose.
The purpose of your outreach is rarely just about getting a number of people showing up to help. The purpose is always mission-driven, and your messaging will be served by putting it first.
Your recruitment should have a starting point in your organization’s strategic plan, and an endpoint with the volunteer recruitment ads you write. In this post, Tobi shares how to write, target, and personalize those ads to the potential volunteers you wish to reach.
Blog Post #7: How to Give Meaningful Volunteer Gifts that Volunteers Will Love
If you’re like most organizations that rely on volunteers, you naturally want to show your gratitude with small volunteer gifts or tokens of appreciation.
But…do the volunteers really use what you give them? Do they value these gifts, or do they just end up in the storage closet (or worse, the trash!) and easily forgotten?
When we give gifts, we want to them to be meaningful. We want the recipient to understand the care behind it. Volunteer gifts should reflect that sentiment, but with one key difference.
When it comes to rewarding our supporters, we also want to do it strategically and speak to volunteers’ intrinsic, rather than extrinsic motivation. In #7 of our VolunteerPro fan favorites, Tobi looks at those motivations and suggests some tokens of appreciation that will have the most impact.
BONUS: This post includes a free eBook download: Volunteer Appreciation: 50 Simple Ideas to Show Your Love, with tips and suggestions organized around five research-based intrinsic motivations.
Blog Post #6: How to Recruit Volunteers Online with Powerful Calls to Action
Most volunteer managers know how to recruit volunteers online, but many are leaving talent on the table by not encouraging interested visitors to take the next step toward joining. The good news is that there are specific, proven things you can do to quickly level up how you are communicating with future volunteers online.
Calls to action — or CTAs — are the single most important piece of content you can place on your website or landing page to encourage action. As such, you want to be sure your CTA is as optimized as possible. The best way to do that is to work with human nature, not against it.
In this blog post, Tobi looks at the research to better understand how our brains interact with CTAs and focuses on two key elements: copywriting and design.
BONUS: This post includes a link to VolPro’s free eCourse, Better Volunteer Recruitment in 6 Easy Steps, to help you learn how to cut through the clutter and connect with enthusiastic supporters.
Blog Post #5: 10 Must Haves for a Well-Crafted Volunteer Job Description
Volunteer job descriptions are an important communications and accountability tool. They map out expectations and indicate clear boundaries. They can also describe what’s possible, helping volunteers see that they are about to become part of something bigger than themselves.
Unfortunately, they tend to be a bit boring and dry, full of bureaucratic language and “thou shalt’s. But, when used correctly, nothing is better to inspire your new recruit! And nothing is better to find the right recruit, too.
In this post, Tobi shares ten things every volunteer job description should have, and some special sauce ways to attract the right volunteer for the right job.
BONUS: this post also includes a free cheat sheet, The Top 10 Volunteer Interview Questions, to help you start those get-to-know-you conversations and drill down to the most important info.
Blog Post #4: 101 Quotes for Volunteers: Inspire Your Team to Reach for the Stars
Inspirational quotes can be used almost everywhere to keep your team inspired and committed to success. They can be used to punctuate your messaging with life lessons, extra motivation for a project, and a compelling vision for the future.
They’re also a wonderful way to reinforce the values that guide your organization and its people.
If you feel your messaging could use a little more pep in its step, this blog post has all the quotes to add a little spice, humor, or encouragement, grab your readers’ attention, and break up the monotony of regular communications.
Blog Post #3: This is How to Write the Perfect Volunteer Thank You Letter
Why do we only acknowledge the world-changing effort of our volunteers with a fancy party once a year during Volunteer Appreciation Week?
There’s nothing wrong with a nice dinner and presentation of awards, but there’s a bit of a disconnect between what motivates volunteers (passion, values, purpose) and what we traditionally offer as recognition for that effort (t-shirts, trophies).
There’s one quick and easy way you can bridge that volunteer appreciation disconnect – the meaningful volunteer thank-you letter. And while writing a personal note to your volunteers may feel like a daunting task, Tobi shares an easy template and the six key things you’ll want to include.
Blog Post #2: Volunteer Stipends, Interns and Employee Volunteers: Some Important Things to Know
In #2 of our VolunteerPro fan favorites, Tobi dives into the thorny legal issues surrounding cash “perks” or stipends for volunteers and the potential minefields of employee volunteers.
If you’re thinking about offering volunteer stipends or recruiting employees to volunteer, definitely read this post first and consult with your organization’s lawyer to be sure you understand how labor laws might affect you.
BONUS: This post includes a link to a free guide, our VolunteerPro Essential Guide to Managing Volunteers in Your Nonprofit. Whether you are brand new to volunteer coordination or have been at for years, the resources and advice in this guide will help you get started on the right foot.
And…the #1 VolunteerPro Blog Post of the Year: National Volunteer Week 2022: Resources & Ideas for Your Nonprofit
National Volunteer Week is the time of year when we recognize the invaluable contributions of volunteers. It’s also a fantastic time to raise awareness, both inside your organization and outside in your community, about the continuing need for volunteers and volunteerism.
Highlighting and celebrating the accomplishments of your volunteers can also inspire others in your community to step up for the first time or return to volunteering after a pandemic hiatus. In this post, Tobi shares ideas to honor your current volunteers, as well as how to use the momentum this week offers to create strategic opportunities for growth.
Top 10 Countdown: The VolunteerPro Fan Favorite Podcast Episodes of the Year
Volunteer Nation Episode #10: Engage Volunteers with a Win-Back Campaign
A lot has changed in the last two years, and there are likely a lot of reasons why volunteers have not yet returned to your organization. Questions of safety, fear about getting back out there after so much time has passed, doubts about skill and the continued ability to contribute…it can feel like a lot to unpack and attempt to resolve.
However, there are some simple actions you can take to engage volunteers who may have lapsed in service. In this episode, Tobi examines the top reasons why volunteers may be hesitant to return to service and how volunteer leaders can help them overcome those doubts in a compassionate and confident way.
Volunteer Nation Episode #9: The 4-Part Power Thank You Letter for Volunteers
Many volunteers don’t want nonprofits to spend limited resources on plaques, pins, or slick email campaigns. Volunteers don’t really want stuff, but they do want to be acknowledged, and it’s important to cultivate a culture of appreciation.
Writing thank-you notes is such an effective way to do this! In this episode, #9 in our list of VolunteerPro fan favorites, Tobi shares a simple but effective 4-part template to use when expressing your own powerful thank-you to volunteers, as well as easy ways to implement an intentional culture of daily appreciation within your organization.
Volunteer Nation Episode #8: Rethinking the Volunteer Engagement Cycle with Lori Gotlieb
In this episode, Tobi welcomes Lori Gotlieb to the show to talk about the volunteer engagement cycle, and some of the innovations going on throughout the sector right now.
Tobi and Lori discuss each of the steps in the traditional volunteer engagement cycle: role design, risk management, recruitment, screening, orientation and training, supervision and support, and recognition.
Lori shares the ways these roles have shifted and what areas leaders of volunteers will need to focus on to stay relevant AND offer their volunteer team the absolute best service experience.
Volunteer Nation Episode #7: 8 Ways Your Nonprofit Website Is Failing to Attract Volunteers
To potential volunteers, your website is the very first impression you have the opportunity to make. In this episode, Tobi shares eight common mistakes nonprofits make on their websites when it comes to attracting new volunteers, and offers tips on what to do instead to improve the experience of your website visitors.
The good news is, whether you are the website designer at your organization, or you have input into what’s included, this podcast episode will help you design a better experience for website visitors and more effectively convert them to volunteers.
Volunteer Nation Episode #6: Secrets to Building a Sense of Community with Volunteers
Do you remember the first time you experienced a sense of community with other people? It may have been a team sport, an academic group, or a faith-based gathering. For Tobi, it was the Norpoint Dashers middle school soccer team!
But what exactly made that sense of community so strong? Tobi examines the core ingredients that all healthy communities share and applies those principles to volunteer programs.
Tobi also shares some of the unique challenges and benefits of online communities and shares expert advice on how to build, nurture, and manage your virtual volunteers.
Volunteer Nation Episode #5: New Volunteer Vision with Rob Jackson
In #5 of our VolunteerPro fan favorites, Tobi welcomes guest Rob Jackson to discuss the Vision for Volunteering, an aspirational manifesto on what volunteering could be, recently produced by five volunteer-involved organizations in the UK.
Tobi and Rob discuss the post-pandemic crossroads at which the volunteer management sector finds itself, and whether our established ways of thinking, recruiting, and serving as volunteers are sustainable for the future growth and health of volunteerism.
Volunteer Nation Episode #4: Secrets to Managing Time and Energy
Tobi is well-known for her big energy and ability to produce high levels of quality content. However, like many nonprofit leaders, Tobi has struggled in the past with feelings of burnout and loss of energy.
She started paying attention and investigating what might help get over the hump, and in this episode, she shares what she learned and what you can do to build back the energy you may have lost over the past couple of years.
Volunteer Nation Episode #3: Why Volunteer Software Matters with Tony Goodrow
In this episode, Tobi welcomes Tony Goodrow from Better Impact to talk about how the right volunteer management software can help to expand your organization’s reach, add value, and maybe even attract new volunteers.
Tony shares nine good reasons to replace your manual scheduling and data tracking with dedicated software, and he addresses how to overcome some of the barriers holding you back from taking that leap.
Volunteer Nation Episode #2: Moving from a Scarcity Mindset to Abundance
At nonprofits, a scarcity mindset can pervade how budgets, resources, and staffing are approached. It blocks an organization’s ability to grow volunteer involvement and scale its impact.
It can affect our self-care and can result in burnout and turnover. Because it is so pervasive, it can also be very hard to pinpoint. It simply becomes part of an organization’s culture and way of being.
In this episode, Tobi will help you identify facets of the scarcity mindset with a Scarcity Self-Assessment, including nine common ways limiting beliefs might be showing up in your volunteer program or organization. She also offers five practical ways to counteract scarcity mindsets by cultivating an attitude of abundance.
And…the #1 Volunteer Nation Episode of the Year: How to Recruit Volunteers by Building a Following First
In this episode, Tobi shares specific volunteer recruitment tips on how to grow and engage with your community, with some potentially surprising stats on today’s social media engagement rates that can help you use your time wisely.
Tobi also offers ideas for list-building “freebies” (or “lead magnets”) to pique the interest of potential volunteers, along with five different types of content you can share with your list on a regular basis to help you build relationship and recruit volunteers more easily from a ready pool of people who already know, like, and trust you.
Want More? You’ll Find the Resources to Build, Grow, and Scale Your Volunteer Program Within VolunteerPro Membership!
This countdown of VolPro content reflects the needs and interests in the sector in the areas of recruitment, retention, and appreciation. But, it’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Become a VolunteerPro Member and gain immediate access to our full library of easy-to-use templates and tools, live training, and focused coaching all aligned with our proprietary pathway designed to get your organization to the finish line faster.
There is intense competition out there for dedicated volunteer talent, but that doesn’t need to stop you. 2023 can be your organization’s best year yet. A VolunteerPro Membership can help you get there.
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