Aatmanirbhara,
One of the best things about working at VolunteerMatch as a leader of volunteers is that I have insight into what volunteers want—and, I get to share it with you! We just completed our annual survey of over 1,000 volunteers and we're crunching all the numbers.
Here are some interesting things we learned so far:
The top two factors that volunteers use to decide where to volunteer are 1) Feeling strongly about the mission of an organization and 2) Enjoying the specific volunteer task.
This is similar to what we've seen in the past. It's a good reminder to share specific information about about our mission and what the volunteer work is like in our recruitment messaging to prospective volunteers.
25% of respondents have volunteered virtually, and will continue to do so. 40% haven't volunteered virtually yet, but are open to virtual opportunities.
Creating virtual opportunities was something many organizations tried during the pandemic, but it's something that a quarter of volunteers want to continue doing, and something that even more are open to considering. Don't sunset those virtual or remote opportunities - volunteers are looking for them!
Finding volunteer opportunities through apps or volunteering websites (like VolunteerMatch!) is the most popular discovery method for prospective volunteers. 28% say it's how they find opportunities they're most interested in doing.
Okay - so volunteers taking a VolunteerMatch survey might be a little biased on how they prefer to find opportunities, but in the past we've seen 'Word of Mouth' as number 1 (it's now #2 with 22%). And rounding out the top three is an Organization's Social Media (17%). Having an online presence for recruitment - both on volunteering websites and your organization's social media - is clearly a winning strategy.
I've invited my friend, colleague, podcast co-host, and publisher of the Volunteer Management Progress Report Tobi Johnson to talk about this research on on March 29th and I hope you'll join us (see more information below)! Tobi and I will discuss this data, how it compares to what she hears from leaders of volunteers, and what this means for our work recruiting and engaging volunteers.
Jennifer Bennett, CVA
Director, Education & Training | VolunteerMatch
