Web & Social
Media Strategies
for Volunteer
Engagement
With Karen Bantuveris
How this webinar works
• A link to the slides and a recording will be sent after
the webinar
• If you’d like to ask a question during the webinar,
you can type it in the box on the right side of your
screen
• Use the hashtag #fgwebinar to tweet about this
webinar
About the presenters
Karen Bantuveris
Founder and CEO
@VolunteerSpot
Lee Johnson
FirstGiving
Nonprofit Sales Consultant
Who is FirstGiving
Fundraising solutions
Personal Support for your nonprofit, donors, and
fundraisers
Easy, tested, and secure transaction processes for the
donor
Peer-to-Peer
Fundraising Pages
and Event
Registrations
Donor
Analytics and
Market
ResearchOnline Donations
This webinar is for you if you…
• support an organization as a formal or informal
volunteer leader.
• find yourself coordinating volunteers even
though that’s not part of your job description.
• would like to have more volunteers and more
volunteer leaders supporting your
cause/organization.
• would like to lower ‘flake rates’ or boost
volunteer retention rates.
Q: Why Volunteers?
Q: Why Volunteers?
A: To get important work done!
Q: Why Volunteers?
A: To get important work done!
A: To cultivate committed champions to our
cause/organization who are long-term
advocates, donors and leaders….
And in doing so….
get important work done!
Volunteer Avoidance Cycle
Wish U
Had Help
No TimeDo it
Yourself
60% of nonprofits
cite lack of funds as
primary obstacle to
providing volunteer
management
~ Reimagining Service
2010
Volunteer Avoidance Cycle
Wish U
Had Help
No TimeDo it
Yourself
Journey of a Volunteer
Thanks to Chris Jarvis, @RealizedWorth
for sharing this model
Journey of a Volunteer
Thanks to Chris Jarvis, @RealizedWorth
for sharing this model
Social Media:
Easy Access, Rapid &
Meaningful Promotion
Common Social Media Tools
Social Media: Any online technology or practice that
lets us share (content, opinions, insights, experiences,
media) and have a conversation about the ideas we
care about. Socialbrite http://socialbrite.org/glossary
Free Web Tools for
Coordinating Volunteers
WebsiteGroup
size
Public or
Private
Specific
jobs &
shifts
Donations of
food &
supplies
Ongoing
needsExtras
No limit Both, add
links to
Facebook/
Difficult No No Collect fees, mobile
check-in
20+ custom
registration fields
No limit Public, add
links to
No No No
Global event
mapping,
community
conversations
API available
No limit Public,
Registration
required
Recruit both
skilled and
unskilled
volunteers
No Yes Micro-volunteer
from your mobile
device
10-400
signed up
per
sub-team or
activity
Both, add
links to
Facebook/
Easy Yes Yes
Schedule multiple
days/months
Hours tracking , 5
custom registration
fields (Premium)
Volunteer Engagement Best Practices
1. Find ‘em! (cultivate community)
2. Onboard Quickly & Be Specific
3. Setup to Succeed
4. Measure & Share
5. Recognize Volunteers
1. Find ‘em! (Cultivate Community)
• Where are they already hanging out? Build your
Community!
• Facebook Fan page, LinkedIn Groups, Twitter, Blog,
Email list (see recorded FirstGiving webinars for best practices)
• Engage others to involve their friends & network
• personal appeal
• social media appeal
• Consider service groups
• workplace service, service learning, Scout Troops, faith
groups, community groups (Jr. League, Rotary, etc.)
1. Find ‘em! (Cultivate Community)
MeetUp Community Examples
1. Find ‘em! (Cultivate Community)
Workplace Service - Keller Williams
International Example
2. Onboard Quickly & Be Specific (examples)
+ Clear & specific – gets amplified!
31 RTs in 1 day to > 47K people
Δ Add location hashtag (e.g. #Tohoku) to find
geographically possible volunteers (RTs in Chicago
likely not very productive)
‒ Event is 3 days out and link lands on a map
Risk: Folks forget OR too many people show up
then think Second Harvest has enough supporters
and doesn’t need them next time.
Δ Add an online signup sheet link or ‘volunteer
interest’ Google Doc to the landing page
• capture volunteer contact for future needs
• signing up for a specific spot firms up
commitments
• volunteers can amplify to their communities
• auto-reminders boost turnout rates
Second Harvest Japan
2. Onboard Quickly & Be Specific (examples)
+ Reach out on multiple
channels
+ Includes actionable signup
link
Δ Twitter: Add location and
theme hashtag (e.g. #SFO,
#Running, #GirlPower) to find
location and interest-aligned
volunteers
Δ Add event details (date, and
# needed to tweets &
facebook)
Girls on The Run DC and Bay Area
Newsletter Blast
2. Onboard Quickly & Be Specific (examples)
Girls on The Run Race Setup and Race Day
2. Onboard Quickly & Be Specific (examples)
Olive Tree, NOLA
+ Immediate needs & local tagging
+ Check-in as brand-building
+ Once they check in – you can text ‘em later
! Not likely to recruit immediate additional
volunteers – but possible – especially if need
is well-articulated and time-bound. “E.g.
Need help filling sandbags NOW! 20 needed
until 6pm.”
3. Setup to Succeed: Before
Thank ‘em!
Background on your organization
Map and directions to the service location
Where to park and which entrance to use
Who will greet them
What to wear/bring (water, snack, work gloves, etc.)
Safety concerns and physical requirements
Confidentially requirements and sensitivity issues
Background checks?
SOCIAL MEDIA PACKAGE!
3. Setup to SucceedSample Social Media Strategy
25
Create a Citywide Hopscotch Game!
Flickr•People involved in project•Flickr group leaders
Blog•Local mom/dad bloggers•Play bloggers•Newspaper blogs
Create a hashtag
Tweet location each day
TwitPics of completed work
Submit photos to relevant Flickr groups
Tagging system
Create a photo pool
Guest blog
Share notable stories
Include continually updated map
Twitter•Neighborhood groups•Child-serving orgs•Local government
3. Setup to Succeed: Day-of
Introduce yourself and wear a name tag.
Thank ‘em for coming & make it FUN!
Big Picture Review – summarize why it matters that they are serving today in one or two sentences.
Make it Personal – ASK: Why are you serving? It’s THEIR story!
Is a site tour appropriate?
Nametags available (pre-printed if possible)
Review safety procedures, comfort stations (food, restrooms, etc.), and key work processes
Photos/video permissible? << Encourage it, take ‘em, provide a Flip for
those with out video smartphones
4. Measure & Share
• Results Measures: e.g. # families fed, # books
distributed, # trees planted, # patients treated
• Process Measures: e.g. # volunteer hours,
#administrator hours, # race stations staffed
• Community Measures: • Facebook mentions/likes/comments
• Flicker and YouTube posts
• Twitter followers, RTs and MTs
• email list, etc.
4. Measure & Share
Amplify Volunteer Stories & Invite User Contributions• Via Social Media:
Blog Articles
Facebook Shouts
Twitter Kudos
Flicker
YouTube
• Via Email
Stories, stats and links
• On Site
Photos, progress
‘thermometers’
4. Measure & Share
5. Recognize Volunteers
• Track hours and results and publicly recognize
blog, facebook, YouTube, etc.
• Invite progression in Volunteer Journey with more
responsibility, options and decisions.
• Ask for feedback & act on it!
• Send a Thank You Note! Simple, specific, sincere!
http://www.VolunteerSpot.com/ebooks
5. Recognize Volunteers
Volunteer
Service Badge
Volunteer Engagement Best Practices
1. Find ‘em! (cultivate community)
2. Onboard Quickly & Be Specific
3. Setup to Succeed
4. Measure & Share
5. Recognize Volunteers
In Closing
• Choose your social media and web tools and use
them consistently to speed a volunteer’s journey with
your organization.
• Remember: Why Volunteers?
To cultivate committed champions to our
cause/organization who are long-term advocates,
donors and leaders….
And in doing so….
get important work done!
Special Offer
from
VolunteerSpot’s easy to use FREE online sign up sheets and
volunteer scheduler is all most groups need to coordinate volunteers.
Premium service is perfect for organizations wanting extra features
like hours tracking and custom registration fields (think t-shirt size,
group affiliation, emergency contact, etc.)
Use promo code FGVS100 to get six months Premium Service of
VolunteerSpot for the price of one. Offer Expires 8/1/11.
http://www.VolunteerSpot.com
Upcoming webinars
July 14
Back to Basics: Harnessing the Power of
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
All webinars are 1pm EST/ 10am PST
Connect with us in our social spaces
Facebook: facebook.com/firstgiving
Twitter: twitter.com/firstgiving
FirstGiving Insights blog:
http://insights.firstgiving.com
Online Fundraising blog:
http://blog.firstgiving.com
FirstGiving for Runners blog:
http://runners.firstgiving.com
Thank you!
Interested in learning more about FirstGiving?
Lee Johnson
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (415) 243-0757