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Your association can reach out to members and offer up a ton of great benefits and incentives to get members to sign up for volunteer opportunities, including these three amazing reasons.
Looking for a reason to do some good in the new year? Take advantage of those resolutions by getting your members on board with your association’s volunteer opportunities. With your members constantly on the go, finding free time to offer up to volunteer opportunities may not be something they’re looking to do. Things can get extremely crazy, lives can get busy, and members will want to spend any extra energy they have doing things that are meaningful to them. And with your association already putting in so much effort in just engaging members, convincing them to volunteer can seem impossible.
When finding volunteers becomes a hassle for your association’s volunteer recruitment team, you may want to remind members why volunteering is such a great activity- and remind them what they can gain from donating their time to a good cause. So, if you’re looking for ways to inspire members (and maybe even inspire yourself to get out there and volunteer), you’ll want to try sharing our reasons to get out and do something great for the community, your association, and for your members’ own satisfaction.
Have you ever wanted to make an impact on your community, your state, or even an entire group of people across the globe? By volunteering and putting in time to an organization you believe in, you can do just that. Often times, member may feel that their input doesn’t matter and isn’t truly affecting the causes they care about. Much of the dialogue we tell ourselves when think about volunteerism has a self-defeating tone. In fact, you may find yourself thinking, “I’m only one person- how big of an impact can I make?”
The truth of the matter is, when a group of people all passionate about the same causes come together, you can actually make a lot of things happen that you may not have thought possible.
Your association plays a big role in changing things for the better. Whether you focus on environmental change, advocacy for political progress, or just generally making a positive impact, you have the tools to get members involved and show them their help can make larger waves than expected in whatever projects or missions you’re trying to achieve.
If you need an extra push to convince members of their impact, consider putting together materials to share with members interested in volunteering. You can create charts and graphs that show the progress your volunteer projects have made within the past years. Think about things you can quantify: How much money have you raised? How many communities have you helped? How have your volunteer programs grown in numbers? Convince your members that volunteering with your association could make the change they want to see in the world.
Volunteering doesn’t have to be viewed as a boring, menial task that checks off a box on your members’ “do good” list for the year. It’s actually a great way to create new and exciting memories, meet interesting people, and see some pretty neat places along the way. Volunteer opportunities don’t always come up within a member’s own community.
Many times, there are volunteer positions that will allow you to travel a bit, see a different part of the country, and help out a brand new community in the process. If members are straying away from volunteer opportunities for a lack of interest, bringing in new opportunities in different parts of the country can stir up some intrigue. On top of travel opportunities popping up in volunteerism, there’s also the perk of meeting new and exciting people. Many individuals join an association for networking opportunities and chances to meet new people within their profession.
Additionally, with your association opening up volunteer positions, your opportunities can double as a networking event for members to meet and mingle. Encourage your senior-level members to sign up for more volunteer positions, and you may be able to attract your newer members in hopes of meeting and learning from advanced professionals in their field. You can market your volunteer events as a chance for young professionals to meet executives, share contact information, and grow their networking database. Marketing your volunteer opportunities as traveling and networking adventures can show members the true benefits of donating their time and energy.
Did you know that volunteering for a good cause can actually benefit your physical and mental health? It’s true, and it’s a great fact to show to your member to get them on board. According to a study published by Carnegie Mellon University, volunteering may have a positive impact on your physical health. In fact, adults over the age of 50 who volunteer at least 200 hours a year were recorded to be less likely to develop high blood pressure that those who do not volunteer.
On top of this, a study by Social Science & Medicine recorded those who volunteer were 47% more like to use preventative health care services, getting annual shots and cholesterol checks than those who do not volunteer. And if physical health isn’t enough to persuade members to volunteer, mental health benefits may do the trick. Multiple studies on mental health and well-being have linked volunteerism to positive and healthy mentality.
Volunteerism has been proven to affect mental health in many ways, including: Improving self-esteem and confidence, decreasing loneliness and social isolation rates, improving overall mood, reversing the effects that stress and anxiety have on an individual, and even combatting depression. That’s right, all of this can come just from spending some time doing good with a charity and/or organization of your choice. With all of these perks, why wouldn’t you want to volunteer?
If you’re having a difficult time getting your members to offer up time to volunteer, you may want to relay the positive impact volunteering can have on health. Who knows, you may get an influx of new volunteers ready to give back and get a healthier lifestyle in return.
There are hundreds of reasons to get out there and volunteer your time to a good cause. Your association can reach out to members and offer up a ton of great benefits and incentives to get members to sign up for volunteer opportunities, including these three amazing reasons. Don’t give up when trying to recruit new volunteers. Just use the cold, hard facts and you’ll see an increase in volunteerism in no time.
