Tips to improve volunteer recruitment: lessons from building a programme from scratch
In short
To improve volunteer recruitment, start with a role someone would genuinely want to give time to. Get the basics right too, such as an easy way to apply and quick replies. Catherine Rose also advised advertising where your ideal volunteers spend time, offering flexibility and removing barriers like long inductions.
In this Lunch and Learn, Catherine Rose shared what she learned setting up a volunteer programme from scratch at Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. Her tips cover the role, the basics, where to look, flexibility and barriers.
Key points
Start with the role: ask whether someone would want to give their time to it, and describe it honestly.
Get the basics right before you advertise: a simple way to apply, quick replies and clear onboarding steps.
Advertise where the people you want to reach already spend their time, online and in person.
Flexibility over when and how people volunteer is one of the strongest ways to attract new volunteers.
Remove barriers by supporting people through checks, keeping induction short and letting them see the role before they commit.
Watch the full session below, including the open discussion where volunteer managers swapped ideas that worked for them. Under the video, we’ve summarised the key takeaways.
Make the volunteer role worth applying for
Catherine’s first question when recruitment stalls: is this a role someone would want to give up time for, and what’s in it for them? Make the advert appealing, but don’t oversell. As one attendee pointed out, a task that sounds dull to you can feel worthwhile to someone who sees its impact.
Get the basics right before you advertise
Make applying easy and visible, even if it’s just an email button on your website.
Reply quickly. Silence after someone gets in touch is very off-putting.
Explain the onboarding steps and how long they take, especially for roles with several stages, like minibus driving.
Give everyone a named point of contact and show them where to find help.
Where to find volunteers
Think about who the role is for and where that person spends their time.
Groups that match the role: Catherine tried sports clubs for active minibus drivers, and museum job boards for a collections role, which was oversubscribed.
Local partners: schools, The King’s Trust (formerly The Prince’s Trust), the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Jobcentres all sent volunteers her way.
Social media, including targeted posts. You never know who will pass a post on.
Your local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS), for events and advertising.
Why flexibility helps volunteer recruitment
NCVO’s Time Well Spent 2023 found that flexibility over how much time people give, and how they give it, were most likely to encourage people who hadn’t volunteered recently. Catherine suggested offering remote roles where you can, letting people choose their hours, and avoiding set commitments unless the role truly needs them. For young volunteers, she offered short after-school shifts and breaks during exams.
Remove the barriers that stop people starting
Checks: only ask for a DBS check where the role needs one, and sit down with anyone who needs help completing it.
Induction: cover only what’s essential at the start. Catherine’s welcome pack was two pages, plus a one-page volunteer agreement.
Format: video or a face-to-face session can work better than a long document.
Confidence: help people picture themselves in the role with a day-in-the-life post, taster sessions or an informal chat.
Questions from the session
How do you reach older volunteers who aren’t on social media?
Go where they physically go: cafes, community centres, faith groups, and clubs where they take their grandchildren. Local newspapers often welcome a volunteering story with a good photo.
Should adverts lead with the word “volunteer”?
Catherine’s adverts used it, but opened with the reader’s interests. If a role isn’t getting interest, try different wording, such as “help out with”, and see what works.
Recruiting volunteers with Volunteero
With Volunteero’s recruitment tools, you publish an opportunity once and it appears on your website search board, the Volunteero Marketplace and GoVo. The Marketplace brings in nearly 20% of new applicants across our client base. Book a demo to see how it works.
Related reading
About Catherine
Catherine Rose set up the volunteering programme at Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation from scratch, recruiting over 90 volunteers in just over a year. She previously worked in volunteering development at the Ramblers, supporting over 23,000 volunteers, and at the time of the session was moving to become Volunteer Development Manager at youth charity OnSide.
Written by
Co-founder and CEO
Ashley Staines is the co-founder and CEO of Volunteero. After seven years in investment banking, he started it to make volunteering easier to organise.
