Volunteers. The generous people who donate their time and resources to helping you further your cause. It may seem like they’re a scarce resource, but did you know there are over a billion volunteers in the world?
If your organisation isn’t capturing as many volunteers as you’d like, or you have big plans coming up and need some extra hands to help out, it might be time to take a look at your website and make sure it’s optimised for volunteers. Here are 6 ways to do it.
1. Create a Simple Navigation
As simple as it sounds, you'd be surprised at how many charity websites don’t have a clear and obvious path to sign up for volunteering or viewing available roles. When a visitor on your website wants to look for something specific, they’ll go straight to your menu bar, making it one of the most critical (and often overlooked) sections on your website.
Keep your navigation options simple and straightforward. You should aim to have no more than 4 or 5 options (with intuitive sub-options if required), each with precise and descriptive titles. About us, Programs, Volunteer, Donate, and Contact Us are all useful to have in your main menu.
2. Prioritise User Experience
(Very) simply put, user experience (or UX) is how people feel after visiting your app or website. Your website is a tool for advancing your mission and bad user experience turns people away from your site, meaning you’re likely missing out on potential volunteers and building an unprofessional association with your organisation.
The user experience honeycomb by Semantic Studios is a great summary of the 7 critical factors your website needs for a smooth user experience. In summary, the information on your website should be helpful, usable, credible, and valuable. And, most importantly, easy to find.
Other factors which impact your website’s traffic and conversion rates include fonts and colours, images, headlines and CTAs, contact information, and page load time. It might sound rather technical, but all these factors play a significant role in giving your prospective volunteers an easy user experience on your website and making it as likely as possible that they’ll sign up to help out.
3. Be Clear About Your Volunteer Programmes
Matching up volunteers to suitable roles is an art form. Make it as easy as possible for yourself (and your potential volunteers) by providing clear, up-to-date information about the roles and requirements. Including task details, dates and times and locations will help your prospective volunteers filter themselves out. The last thing you want is to go through the time-consuming process of onboarding someone, only to find out that they can’t make the times your dates you require.
A volunteer program can be short-term, long-term, or undefined, depending on the person's availability and time of the specific project. Therefore, it’s vital to state the duration of the volunteer program. Inform your potential volunteers about what they'll do and how long it will take.
4. Feature Highlight and Past Volunteer Testimonials
We all want to work and serve in a place where we’re valued and our efforts make a difference. Having past volunteers' positive testimonials on your website serves as social proof for your organisation and enables you to attract and retain passionate and talented volunteers.
Here are some questions you can ask your volunteers during and after your program, whether by email, questionnaire, phone call or survey. Make it as personal as possible to get real and most personal answers.
- What were three things you enjoyed about your volunteer work?
- Why did you choose to volunteer with our organisation?
- What is, in your opinion, the most valuable aspect of supporting/ participating in our organisation?
- Please tell us about your success working with us and how you achieved it?
- Would you like to change anything about our volunteer program?
From these, you will be able to get volunteer feedback and testimonials. You could also ask for a short video interview that could be compiled as a documentary and featured on your website.
5. Say Thank You in Several Ways
Words of appreciation are never too much, especially to those who've donated their time, skills, and resources. Shower your volunteers with praises on your volunteer page.
You could also offer an accomplishment certificate or badge at the end of the program to show their selfless support and impact in your program. Encouraging them to share the badge or certificate on social media can also help you reach a wider audience. Whatever you do, don't forget the place of thanks. It strengthens your bond with volunteers, encouraging them to do more.
6. Be Clear About The Benefits For Them
Volunteers aren’t necessarily completely altruistic. Whether the cause matters to them personally or they’re doing it to further their career, it never hurts to mention the benefits of volunteering!
Benefits include making a difference to a cause that matters, connecting with a community of like-minded people, an enriched sense of purpose, and increased mental health and wellbeing.
Not to mention, 60% of HR manages are more likely to employ a candidate with volunteer experience on their resume.
Final Thoughts
The impact of volunteers on nonprofit organisations can’t be over-emphasised. They’re the essential driving force behind many charity organisations and community work projects. Sometimes, they eventually become board members, dedicating their lives and resources to advance charity work.
Optimising your website to attract and retain volunteers will help your organisation achieve its mission and make more impact.
Do you know if your website is volunteer-friendly? Reach out today for help making sure your website is capturing as many volunteers as possible!