Every church and nonprofit leader has asked the same question at some point. Where do we find more volunteers?
The honest answer is that most of the work is not finding them. It is asking them, making the ask easy to say yes to and not losing them in the first few weeks.
This article collects twelve practical ideas for recruiting volunteers. Some are about how you ask, some about what you offer and some about what happens after someone says yes. None of them needs a budget.
Key takeaways
- A personal invitation is one of the most common ways people get started. In a U.S. government survey, about four in ten volunteers said they became involved after someone asked them.
- Specific asks beat general appeals. A role, a date and a time are easier to say yes to than "we need help".
- Recruiting does not end at yes. How you welcome people decides whether they stay.
- Existing volunteers are your best recruiters, if you ask them.
What the research says about how people start
It helps to start with what is known, even if the data is not new.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published a survey of how volunteers got involved with their main organization. About 43 percent said they became involved after being asked. Around 27 percent were asked by someone in the organization and around 14 percent by a relative, friend or co-worker. About 41 percent approached the organization on their own.
Two lessons follow. People who are asked are a large group, and people who come forward on their own are an equally large one. A recruiting effort needs both: a way to ask and a way to be found.
The same picture comes from an Urban Institute study of U.S. charities from 2003. Two in three charities said that recruiting enough volunteers was a problem, and one in four said that recruiting during the working day was a big one. That is a long time ago, and the setting is the United States, but anyone who has led a team will recognize it.
1. Ask people personally
A general appeal from the front, a post in a chat or a line in the newsletter reaches many people and persuades few. A personal ask works differently. It tells the person that you thought of them.
Be direct about it. "I think you would be good at this" is a stronger invitation than "we are looking for people".
2. Make the ask specific
"We need volunteers" leaves the person to guess what is involved. Compare it with "We need two people to welcome guests at the door on the first Sunday of the month, 9:30 to 10:30."
A specific ask names the role, the date, the time and the length of the commitment. It is easier to say yes to, and also easier to say no to politely, which people appreciate.
3. Offer a small first step
Many people hesitate because they imagine a permanent commitment. Offer something small and time-limited, such as a single event or a trial month.
A good first step lets the person try the work before they decide. If it goes well, a longer commitment becomes natural.
4. Write a short role description
Volunteers want to know what they would actually do. Two or three sentences cover it: what the role is, how much time it takes and whether it needs any training.
A short description also helps you. If you cannot explain a role in a few lines, it may be too vague to recruit for.
5. Ask your current volunteers to invite one person
The Urban Institute study linked asking existing volunteers to recruit others one-on-one with better retention. Volunteers bring people they trust, and people who join with a friend tend to feel at home sooner.
You do not need a campaign. A simple "could you invite one person to join you this month?" is enough.
6. Match people to roles that suit them
Someone who is good with people may thrive on a welcome team and be miserable on sound. Someone detail-oriented may love the registration desk.
The same study listed screening and matching volunteers to suitable tasks among the practices connected to better retention. A short conversation before you assign a role is worth the time.
7. Offer times that fit real lives
Recruiting is harder when every role is on a weekday morning. If your needs allow it, think about evenings, weekends, short shifts and one-off tasks.
A person with a full-time job may still be able to help once a month on a Saturday.
8. Say what the volunteers achieved
People want to know their time matters. When you recruit, share what the team made possible, such as how many families were helped, how many events ran or what the last project delivered. Use the real numbers you have.
A story about what happened beats a list of what is needed.
9. Make joining easy
Every extra step costs you some of the people who started. Long forms, new accounts and passwords are all reasons to say "later".
The simpler it is to join, the more of the interested people will actually do it. In Planify, for example, you can share one join link. The volunteer enters their name and phone number, confirms a code that arrives on WhatsApp and is then in your list, with nothing to install and no password to remember. You still decide which team they join. We describe the problem it solves in our article on volunteer onboarding.
10. Welcome them quickly
The gap between yes and the first message is where enthusiasm fades. Reply the same day if you can, and tell the person what happens next.
A new volunteer who hears from you within hours feels wanted. One who waits a week starts to wonder.
11. Use open invitations for one-off needs
For events that need extra hands, an open call lets many people step forward without you asking each one. Set how many you need and close the call when it is full.
Open call and direct assignment suit different situations, and it helps to know which one you are using. Planify supports both, and also lets you set a maximum for an open call so that late replies are told the spots are filled.
12. Thank people, specifically and often
Recognition was one of the practices that the Urban Institute study tied to better retention of volunteers. A thank-you that names what the person did lands better than a general one.
Recruiting and retaining are the same task seen at two moments. The people you thank today are the people who invite others tomorrow.
A short checklist before your next recruiting push
- Is the ask personal and specific?
- Can a newcomer try it once, without a long commitment?
- Is there a short description of the role?
- Can people join in a few minutes?
- Will someone reply within a day?
- Do you know how you will thank them?
Try to improve one answer at a time. Recruiting rarely fails because of one big mistake. It usually fails because of several small delays.
FAQ
How do you recruit volunteers for a church?
Ask personally, be specific about the role, date and time, and offer a small first step. Then welcome new people quickly so that the first experience is a good one.
Where can you find volunteers for a nonprofit?
Start with the people who already know you, such as members, donors, families and current volunteers. Ask them directly, and ask them to invite one person.
Why is it hard to recruit volunteers?
Common reasons include unclear roles, limited time, schedules that do not fit and a slow or complicated sign-up. Fixing those is usually easier than finding new audiences.
How do you keep new volunteers?
Match them to a role that suits them, welcome them quickly and thank them for what they do. Recognition and good matching were among the practices linked to retention in the Urban Institute study.