How to Re-engage Past Volunteers: 4 Creative Tips
Your volunteer retention rate is one of the most important metrics for your camp to track because it shows how successful you are at engaging current volunteers. If you’ve recently noticed a dip in retention, it’s important to strategize ways to increase volunteer satisfaction and re-engage lapsed volunteers.
Let’s explore four tips for re-engaging past volunteers and increasing program participation:
1. Refresh your case for support.
Connecting with lapsed supporters is no small feat; you must reach out to them with a compelling message that inspires them to get involved again. That’s why you need a powerful case for support to motivate supporters to start back with your program.
Ensure your case for support features the following elements:
Your organization’s mission. What role does your camp play in your community? Update your mission statement as needed to ensure that it encompasses the purpose of your camp and its programs.
The reason why volunteers should get involved. Why should volunteers take time out of their busy schedules to re-engage with your program? Include philanthropic benefits such as the ability to make a difference for local youths, along with other perks like opportunities to connect with fellow volunteers.
Volunteers’ impact. Include statistics, images, charts, and graphs that demonstrate how volunteers positively impact your camp and community at large. For example, you may include a graph showing the growth of your camp over time and how it correlates with an increase in volunteer support. You can also include personal anecdotes and testimonials, such as stories about how volunteers connected with campers to form strong mentoring relationships.
A call to action (CTA). Ensure your case for support includes a specific request for volunteers to get involved. Vary your CTA wording depending on the audience. For example, invite lapsed volunteers who are just starting to engage with your organization again to read more about your volunteer program on your website. For lapsed volunteers who seem ready to dive into participating again, you can encourage them to complete your registration form.
Your case for support to lapsed volunteers should be clear and compelling. Former supporters should feel welcome to re-engage with your organization at any time, despite the time they may have taken off from participating.
2. Create a multichannel outreach approach.
Volunteers may have changed their communication preferences since the last time you reached out to them. Leveraging a multichannel marketing strategy is the most effective way to increase their chances of seeing your message.
Bloomerang’s volunteer management guide recommends using these three platforms as central tenets of your multichannel marketing plan:
Email. Create a drip campaign for re-engaging lapsed volunteers. Start with an email providing lapsed volunteers with updates on your program since they last participated. Next, spotlight your new and improved case for support, emphasizing the ways volunteers make a difference. Round out the series by offering upcoming volunteer opportunities and include links to your registration page.
Social media. Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are the three most popular social media channels with users of all demographics. Use these platforms to share photos from past camp sessions, preview upcoming camp events and activities, and provide links to your mobile-optimized volunteer registration page.
Website. Optimize your website with updated volunteer information, consistent branding, accessible forms, and compelling CTAs. Use your online content to reassure lapsed volunteers that they’re welcome at your organization, no matter how much time has passed.
You can also use these platforms to invite past lapsed supporters to information sessions. For example, you may post a Facebook message saying, “Been a while since you last participated in our program? No worries! You’re invited to a low-key information session ahead of our summer camp season. Catch up with fellow volunteers and learn how you can get involved this summer!”
3. Personalize your outreach.
Industry research shows that marketers believe successful personalization strategies offer benefits like better consumer experiences and increased customer retention. You can catch former volunteers’ attention more effectively with personalized outreach catered to their motivations and interests.
Use the data stored in your volunteer management system to personalize volunteer communications in the following ways:
Address messages with supporters’ names. This will help your outreach stand out much more than a generic “Dear friend” or “Dear supporter” greeting.
Thank volunteers for their past involvement, such as previous volunteer or donor experience. If you have photos of the volunteer participating in your camp, you can include those in your message as well for a special personal touch.
Sign the letter with the name of someone in your organization. Attach contact information so that supporters can reach out with any questions they may have about volunteer opportunities.
Personalized touchpoints help lapsed volunteers feel more comfortable asking questions about your upcoming programs and taking steps to get involved again.
4. Provide volunteers with exciting new opportunities.
Show former volunteers that your organization is committed to creating an engaging, memorable experience for them by offering innovative volunteer opportunities. Go beyond your typical volunteer experiences to allow supporters to take on roles like:
Fundraising. Provide user-friendly fundraising tools to make it easier for volunteers to join the fundraising process. For example, look for a peer-to-peer fundraising solution that allows volunteers to easily create personalized campaign pages, even if they don’t have strong technical or fundraising backgrounds.
Virtual volunteering. Your organization may need helping hands for tasks that aren’t directly related to running your camp experience. Offer volunteers virtual experiences like designing marketing materials, acting as social media ambassadors for your organization, or running virtual orientation sessions.
Weekend opportunities. Although your camp might run during the weekdays, many volunteers work full-time jobs and have less availability during the week. Consider offering weekend opportunities for volunteers to complete other camp-related tasks, like organizing your supply room or restocking your kitchen. That allows volunteers who may have lapsed because of availability issues to still be involved with your organization.
Use information from your nonprofit CRM and supporter database to connect volunteers with opportunities that match their availability and preferences. For example, perhaps a certain volunteer recently let their involvement lapse because they moved farther away from your camp. In that case, you can invite them to engage with virtual opportunities they can participate in from anywhere.
Just because certain volunteers may not have participated in your camp in a while doesn’t mean they’re done for good. With these strategies, you can effectively reignite passion for your mission and make your camp a welcoming environment for all. To boost program retention, provide a stellar volunteer experience that encourages past lapsed volunteers to become recurring supporters once more.