You’re a volunteer manager. How can you build a strong sense of community among your volunteers?

Inviting volunteers to the decision-making table is an empowering strategy to promote inclusion. Volunteers should feel heard, valued, and appreciated. Throughout my time as a nonprofit leader, I have embraced feedback as an integral part of shaping the volunteer experience. Volunteer managers should provide their volunteers with titles. While seemingly insignificant, titles instill a sense of ownership and belonging in our work. Fostering an atmosphere of inclusion empowers volunteers to recognize the impact of their contributions. Finally, but most importantly: service programs should be volunteer-focused. Volunteer managers should plan team-building events that not only promote volunteer retention, but encourage genuine bonding.

As a former Programs Manager for a local nonprofit organization, we had a team of 40+ volunteers who helped serve in our outreach efforts. Our organization held quarterly meetings to discuss our successes as a volunteer team as well as to learn more about increasing our success rates by inviting guest speakers to discuss pertinent topics pertaining to our mission. We also had a group chat in which our volunteers could communicate successes during their outreach "in the field," and several volunteers made it a priority to pray over critical encounters with members of our community. Because every volunteer was sincerely dedicated to our mission, this helped foster a close-knit community of volunteers, helping to maximize our outreach sucess.

It is almost my duty in a sense to prepare and actually immerse my volunteers into a community. Part of our Volunteer orientation is to welcome them to our Team, set out expectation of the volunteers in the team environment they found themselves out. Later on the volunteers will gain the right to walk into the wider community of our constituents to engage as part of the integral Team. That way, they get both to feel how it is done by the Team in the wider field, but also feel what it means to get emersed in the grass community as part of our Team. This is usually what we did at Conflict Resolution by Youth (CRY) Uganda, Jamii Ya Kupatanisha (JYAK), among others. Later on they will report back and give feedback in a safe environment.

I completely agree that creating a strong volunteer community requires effective communication! Further, it is important to acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments and efforts made by volunteers. Development of a sense of belonging and morale are greatly enhanced by small acts of acknowledgment. Volunteers feel more appreciated and a part of the purpose when they receive acknowledgement, whether it takes the form of a newsletter shout-out, a special volunteer appreciation event, or handwritten thank-you cards. Remember, a cohesive group needs both great communication and sincere acknowledgment.

Verbal praise is one of the most powerful forms of reinforcement we can provide instantly. It should be specific, immediate and sincere.

A good starting point for building a sense of community amongst volunteers is to establish a sense of ownership, with common goals and a shared purpose. Clearly explain your mission, ensuring that volunteers understand the organisation’s goals and how their work contributes to making a difference. Involve them in the planning process by allowing them to help set goals, brainstorm ideas, and develop strategies, so they feel more connected to the results.