Recruiting volunteers and board members for a nonprofit organization is an important task that requires careful planning and execution. Every nonprofit that wants to reach its mission should be intentional about how it goes about its recruitment process. It must also know how to identify the skills, expertise, and commitment needed for specific roles. In today’s podcast, Jean Pierre-Louis from Capracare and Stephen Halasnik from Financing Solutions discuss Recruiting Volunteers and Board Members for your nonprofit.
Recruiting Volunteers and Board Members for Your Nonprofit
Every organization needs an adequate workforce to operate effectively and reach its mission. And when it comes to nonprofits, volunteers and board members are the main drivers of their operations. Nonprofit organizations that want to be successful in achieving their missions and goals and positively impact the community they serve must make concerted efforts in recruiting volunteers and board members.
Nonprofit board members and volunteers are critical for its growth and sustainability. They help raise awareness about the organization and its mission and can serve as its ambassadors and enhance its visibility. In addition, they run day-to-day operations as well as help in fundraising campaigns.
Importance of Board members and volunteers
Board members and volunteers are crucial to the success of nonprofit organizations. They provide essential support in the following ways:
- Governance: Board members play an important role in the governance of nonprofits and provide strategic direction. They help ensure the organization is meeting its mission and goals and are responsible for making important decisions related to the nonprofit organization’s future.
- Skills and expertise: Board members and volunteers bring a wide range of skills and expertise to the organization, including marketing, finance, and legal expertise. They can provide valuable guidance and support to the organization, helping it to operate more effectively.
- Increased capacity: With the help of volunteers and board members, nonprofit organizations can expand their reach and increase their ability to deliver their services and programs.
- Increased visibility: Board members and volunteers help raise awareness about the organization and its mission. They can be effective ambassadors for the organization and help increase its visibility within the community.
- Financial support: Board members and volunteers can also provide financial support to the organization through personal donations or by helping secure funding from other sources.
Having seen the benefits of recruiting board members and volunteers into your nonprofit, it’s essential you know the critical factors to consider when recruiting volunteers and board members for your nonprofit.
Critical Steps to Recruiting Board Members and Volunteers Nonprofits.
Below are the tips that will help you recruit board members and volunteers for your nonprofit.
Desire
Find people that have the zeal and are passionate about your organization’s mission. Desire drives people to enjoy their work and helps them overcome obstacles in the workplace.
Desire is a source of motivation, driving employees to work harder and perform at optimal levels. It makes them more engaged with their work, leading to increased collaboration, communication, and teamwork. And this, in turn, promotes employee retention, which fosters stability and continuity for your nonprofit.
Value Alignment
Look for individuals who share your organization’s values and mission and are committed to advancing it. Your nonprofit core values are the fundamental belief and principles that guide the decision and direction of your organization. They also guide your employees and board members, helping them understand your nonprofit’s priorities and objectives.
Identify Who Qualified
It’s essential you identify those that are qualified to work for your nonprofit. Qualification, in this sense, goes beyond recruiting volunteers and board members with the requisite skills and expertise. But people whose values align with the purpose and goals of your nonprofit and are willing to contribute to your organizational growth
Orientation
You should make your volunteers and board members understand your nonprofit culture, policies, procedures, and processes by orientating to the organization’s modus operandi. Orientation will help them adapt quickly to their roles and responsibilities.
The orientation should be given immediately after the onboarding process and may include information and training sessions. This will help them adapt quickly and increase their chances of success.
Engagement
You must strive to actively involve and motivate your workforce in your nonprofit to keep it running. Engagement creates a sense of purpose and connection to your nonprofit’s goals. And you can get your volunteers and board members engaged through open communication and recognition, providing opportunities for growth and development, fostering a positive work environment, and giving them a voice in decision-making.
Effective employee engagement leads to increased job satisfaction, motivation, and performance, ultimately benefiting the overall success of your nonprofit.
Have a Succession Plan
Always be recruiting. You should have a strategy for ensuring that your nonprofit has a pool of qualified candidates ready to take on any role when a current employee leaves. You should take cognizance of critical positions and assess your nonprofit’s current and future talent needs.
You might want to use LinkedIn as your recruitment tool. LinkedIn is a very resourceful and engaging platform. You can recruit volunteers or board members from there by going through their profiles to see who has the skillset needed for your nonprofit.
Learn About Our Guest
Abby Marks Beale is a speed reading expert, consummate educator, and professional speaker who enjoys teaching busy people how to read smarter, faster, and just plain better. For the past 30+ years, she has taught thousands to build reading confidence and competence through the knowledge of simple yet powerful active reading strategies. She is the author of 10 Days to Faster Reading, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Speed Reading, and Speed Reading: A Little-Known Time-Saving Superpower.
Learn About Stephen Halasnik
Stephen Halasnik is the host of the popular Nonprofit MBA Podcast. The Nonprofit MBA podcast’s purpose is to help nonprofit leaders and their teams. Stephen is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Financing Solutions, a leading provider of loans for nonprofits in the form of a Line of Credit. Stephen is a best-selling Amazon author and is considered a leading authority on building great, purpose-driven businesses.
Stephen lives in New Jersey, and his top life mission is to raise his two sons, Michael and Maxwell, to be good men
