How to Treat Volunteers:
Treat volunteers like kings and queens
Feed the volunteers well. (Steak and lobster are acceptable foods to feed them)
Every volunteer needs to walk away feeling appreciated and respected.
Let people decide for themself how they will be volunteering. (What job they will be doing)
Don’t hand out rank. People will figure out who should be in charge.
No group meetings. (At lunch it’s sometimes ok to have a quick reminder and thank you speech)
Scale Appropriately: One competent leader can handle 30 volunteers. If there is more then that then and only then you need lieutenants. Having to much ranking in your group is a sure way to get people never to come again. To little and you just can’t do everything.
Reimburse everyone that day. (If someone buys something for the project like lunch, write them a check that day)
Make a list of clear goals and post it for everyone to see.
Make the project easy with a lot of bonus goals
Give people time to get to know each other.
Give people gifts / verbal praise.
Feed people early. Lunch should be around 11:30a and dinner around 4pm. This is just so people’s blood sugar don’t get low. Nobody likes a grumpy person.
Transparent (click here for AOK’s finances)
Pictures : about 10 to 20 for each event.
How to Get Volunteers to Show Up
Email, Facebook, text, call…reach people in multiple ways. All with the same message.
Best time to contact people is on a Monday Morning at 10am. (this is respectful, but also that is when people are committing to things)
Keep it Human. Don’t send out a Text/Email from the organization send it from you.
Keep a list of who is coming. (I just put that list on the webpage because people see their friends coming and they want to come too.)
Clear Message
Who: Volunteers over 18
Where: Google the location and include a link
When: 8am is a great starting time. People will be late…put the people to work as they show up.
What: What are they actually expected to do
Benefits: Who are we helping at the end of the day
Wear: Paint clothes, close toed shoes
Consistent, reliable events. (Every charity event your volunteers go to should feel roughly the same)
Start on time.
Just ask people if they volunteer.
My rule is anyone can come the first time but you have to be a good egg to show up twice. I simply take people off the invitation list if they are toxic.
How to Raise Money:
Just ask for money. If you are truly doing something good for the world, people are happy to give.
What to Avoid in a Good Charity Project
Bad apples. Grumpy people ruin a charity project because they make people feel unappreciated and disrespected. Those people don’t come back. The grumpy guy will. You need to reverse that.
Beware of the bureaucrats. If they have to many rules they will find something wrong with what you did.
Don’t cancel events or change dates. People have set aside their plans for your event.
Pivots: Sometimes the entire project changes the day of. This is not good.
Mission creep: Sometimes people feel really good about the project so they start adding on way more than you ever intended to do.
Volunteering for the sake of volunteering. Check with the location to make sure they actually want the thing you are doing.
Don’t let people manage other people if they aren’t skilled at it. It’s a skill.
