How do you keep volunteer communication clear?

1 Know your audience

Before you communicate with your volunteers, you need to understand who they are, what they want, and how they prefer to receive information. You can use surveys, interviews, or feedback forms to gather data about your volunteers' demographics, motivations, interests, and communication styles. This will help you tailor your messages to suit their needs and expectations, and avoid sending irrelevant or confusing information.

2 Choose the right channels

There are many ways to communicate with your volunteers, such as email, phone, text, social media, newsletters, website, or face-to-face meetings. Each channel has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the purpose, frequency, and tone of your communication. You should choose the channels that are most appropriate for your goals, and that your volunteers are comfortable and familiar with. You should also use multiple channels to reinforce your messages and reach a wider audience.

3 Plan your content

Once you have identified your audience and your channels, you need to plan what you want to say and how you want to say it. You should have a clear and concise message that conveys your main points, your call to action, and your appreciation for your volunteers. You should also use a friendly and respectful tone that reflects your organization's values and culture. You should avoid jargon, acronyms, or technical terms that might confuse your volunteers, and use simple and direct language that is easy to understand.

4 Be responsive and interactive

Communication is not a one-way street. You should also listen to your volunteers and encourage them to share their feedback, questions, opinions, and ideas. You should respond to their inquiries and concerns promptly and professionally, and acknowledge their contributions and achievements. You should also create opportunities for your volunteers to interact with each other and with your staff, such as online forums, group chats, or social events. This will help you build trust, rapport, and community among your volunteers.

5 Evaluate and improve

Finally, you should monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your volunteer communication. You should track and measure the results of your communication, such as open rates, click-through rates, response rates, or engagement rates. You should also solicit feedback from your volunteers on how they perceive and value your communication, and what they would like to see more or less of. You should use this data and feedback to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your communication, and make adjustments and improvements as needed.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?