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Identify sources of volunteers and how to attract them

Chapter 3:
Recruiting and selecting volunteers

Sources of volunteers

Before you can start selecting volunteers, you need to know where to find them. Being targeted in your recruitment allows you to find volunteers which best fit the position and your agency. 

Identifying volunteer sources

​Before recruiting and selecting volunteers, you first need to identify the different types of volunteering opportunities and programmes that your organization offers. A needs assessment will then determine the types of volunteers to look for, based on their suitability for the programmes.

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Following market segmentation principles, the market of volunteers can be segmented based on geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural factors. Within each category, the segmentation can be done on an even more granular level to identify the combination of traits that the ideal volunteer should have.

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How to attract volunteers?

After identifying the traits of the volunteers, the next step would be to effectively reach the particular group that your SSA has identified.

 

Segmenting volunteers by demographics in the first level, NCSS recommends using different channels to reach volunteers of different demographics. For example, to reach corporate volunteers, the possible channels would be to reach out to the persons in charge of CSR within corporations, and for students, a similarly effective channel would be through schools and teachers.

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Take a look at the table below to see the possible channels and key considerations when engaging volunteers of different demographics

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Volunteering opportunities available for any volunteers?

If narrowing down to a particular demographic is not necessary for the types of volunteering opportunities and programmes that your organisation offers, you can consider listing the available opportunities on generic, public-facing websites such as giving.sg that attract different groups of volunteers.

Leveraging social media to recruit volunteers

While leveraging social media to drive recruitment efforts, the two main considerations should be the platform of choice, and the types of content to post on the different platforms. Different types of social media platforms present different features which should be utilised effectively, and social media content should also be varied to introduce various aspects of the organisation. As a guide, here are some ideas to better utilise the platforms’ features, as well as the types of content which organisations can consider exploring: 

  • Platforms

    • Facebook – good for reaching large audiences. 

    • LinkedIn – good for recruiting professionals or for specific skills and experiences.

    • Instagram – good for posting pictures and live updates via the “stories” feature.

  • Content types

    • Post volunteer opportunities available and include descriptions of the volunteer role, sign-up links, and a channel for enquiries.*

    • Share news and accomplishments of your organisation.

    • Share the impact that other volunteers have made.

    • Share about your organisation’s cause and service users.

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