How to Inspire Volunteers to Serve and Continue Serving
Chris Barlow is my guest blogger this month and the author of this article! Check out Beeline!
While there are a lot of tactics shared by volunteer management experts, there is one overarching principle that I believe can inform your entire approach to working with volunteers, an approach that will leave your volunteers encouraged and inspired to continue to partner with you in your mission.
That principle is called the emotional bank account.
First described by Stephen Covey in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the emotional bank account is a metaphor for how much trust you have deposited with another person.
The higher the balance of trust you have in that person’s (volunteer’s) account, the safer they feel with you and the more they know that you have their best interests at heart.
Before we go further, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide* to attract new volunteers (and donors). Go check it out!
*The guide specifically shows how to find new donors, but the principles remain exactly the same to attract new volunteers to your organization.
Making Withdrawals
Here’s how I think this applies to volunteer management: every time you ask for volunteers to help, you withdraw from their emotional bank accounts.
If your balance with a volunteer is low or empty, you can expect them to feel emotional fatigue, and to not be interested in helping. After all, there are a lot of important jobs demanding their time, and your nonprofit’s needs are just one more of them.
The good thing is, I think this applies the other way, too: the safer volunteers feel with you, the higher your balance in their accounts, the less your ask for help will feel like a drain on your relationship and will instead communicate as meaningful opportunities to partner together on mission.
Therefore, the question I want to consider with you is this,
How can I build trust and make deposits in my volunteers' emotional bank accounts?
Making Deposits to New Visitors
Unless you are serving your volunteers directly with products and services and they choose to serve because they are the direct beneficiaries, your volunteers start a relationship with you by taking the fulfillment of your mission on trust.
If you help kids get scholarships, unless your volunteers meet those kids, they need to trust you’re actually delivering on this promise.
If you help alleviate poverty in poor countries around the world, even more your volunteers need to trust that you are effectively alleviating poverty (unless of course, they’re going on a service trip with you to help with that work in person).
Your website is usually the first thing new people see, so if someone new to your nonprofit visits it, how can your site build trust with them? Here are a few of the more obvious strategies that you may have already thought about:
Put the focus on your visitor and how they connect to your story
Use visuals, especially video
Tell the story of how your volunteers are the heroes
Include a page with your team, including pictures and personal touches
Make it easy to contact you
Be active on social media or channels where your donors/potential donors are
If you want more ideas on how to actually find new volunteers, check out our guide!*
(*Again, the guide references finding new donors, but it will be just as effective for your volunteers.)
These are all small ways your website can begin to build trust with potential volunteers.
The bigger question is, how can you make deposits in such a way as to ensure their emotional bank accounts are full when it comes time to invite them to help?
Making Deposits to Current Volunteers
I’m sure there are many ways you can make deposits into your volunteers’ emotional bank accounts – here are three that I’ve thought of:
1> Serve them (put their needs before yours)
Provide resources & training that helps them both in fulfilling your mission and in their own lives
Thank them regularly and be generally thankful in your communications
Encourage them with specific examples of volunteers making a difference
Create & run events that deliver an emotional impact
2> Listen to them
Send out surveys, request replies or reviews
Call to ask for feedback on trainings, communications, or anything else
Respect boundaries (especially “no”)
Affirm constructive criticism and remain calm when people are negative
3> Humbly lead them
Cast an exciting vision
Remain accountable
Admit when things don’t go as planned
Create backup plans
I think the most important thing in all of this is that the time to make deposits is long before the need for volunteers arises (and directly after).
Your deposits need to be intentional and separate from how they serve you.
Here’s a challenge for you: deposit four times for every one communication that contains an ask.
If your volunteers’ emotional bank accounts are full, your opportunities to serve will be met with good feelings and a desire to partner toward your vision. You’ll withdraw on emotional bank accounts that are full or overflowing, and volunteers will probably feel like you’ve already earned both their trust and their time.
Volunteers will WANT to give financially too, when their emotional bank accounts are full.
And . . . you’ve probably already connected the dots - Yes! Use this same principle with your donors to help to happily support your work.
If your heart is to earn volunteers’ trust by serving and valuing them, then you hardly need this article to tell how to fill their emotional bank accounts. You’ll already put yourself in their shoes and in turn know how to appreciate them.
Chris Barlow is the author of this article, the Director of Beeline, and masterfully puts his two youngest boys down for a nap every day.
Expecting to work in a cause-focused career or ministry when he grew up, he was surprised to discover his passion for business. Five years ago, he came full-circle and has been happily serving nonprofits ever since.
Beeline helps align your mission and fundraising through marketing that serves.
