What makes people volunteer?
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
This is the second of a five part series on Volunteers.
Finding out what motivates people to volunteer can help you to present your volunteer information in the way that is most likely to attract the right volunteers to your event.
Different strokes for different folks
According to The Volunteer Network, not all people volunteer for the same reasons.
Reasons for volunteering include:
- General community- being of service to the community and personal satisfaction
- Young people aged 18-24- personal satisfaction, to help others in the community, to gain new skills and gain work experience.
- Indigenous and non-English backgrounds - to gain work experience and develop skills; to do something worthwhile, to help others and to be active
(For more on this visit www.volunteernetwork.org.au)
Use the right words to attract volunteers
When you know the diverse reasons people volunteer, you can market your volunteer roles to appeal.
For instance, by using words such as “gain new skills”, “be part of your community” and “have fun” you are ticking a lot of boxes to a diverse cross section of potential volunteers.
And always remember to think about what you can offer volunteers rather than just what volunteers can do for you.