Are your volunteers on board? Because without them, it won’t work. (for non-profit and social profit)

During those most recent elections, you saw a great many communication campaigns, but few people. Lots of ads, but little mobilization. As a result, progressive parties are in a weaker position. Not that civil society organizations simply rally behind a party, but by making support for a progressive agenda visible on the streets, they do strengthen the position of the candidates who embody it during elections and of progressive parties at the negotiating table when forming a governing team.

Many civil society organizations originated from volunteers, founded by a group of people who care about the world, with social momentum as the wind in their sails. But with every wave of sometimes necessary professionalization, the position of those volunteers is redrawn. Our experience today shows that this position is under too much pressure, so much so that a gap is emerging between the organization and its supporters, weakening their willingness to mobilize. If we want to close that gap — and believe me, we do — then we must first understand it.

Acceleration, centralization, digitalization

When an organization becomes too large or successful, it often starts hiring staff as structural support. That is a turning point, because a large share of the implicit power and say then moves away from the volunteers. Staff can simply act more quickly, invest more time, and sometimes have to stay on top of things.

In large NGOs, we have also seen the drive in recent years to centralize and digitalize support. That brings gains in efficiency, but it also has side effects. Volunteers feel like executors of tasks imposed centrally, everything moves faster, and there is less direct contact. Some can keep up with that new flow, others fade into the background, longing for the way things used to be.

A lot of time & money has been invested in digitalizing volunteer work. Portals, online training, design materials, or digitalized membership lists. For many organizations, the return on all that digital investment does not translate into stronger contact with their supporters, let alone into a thriving volunteer operation. Digitalization increases efficiency, but we must not forget to lift everyone along with it. Unfortunately, efficient does not always mean effective.

The mussel dinner

The local volunteer group in the village organizes a mussel dinner. A poster is made, people are rallied, and in the end about 2,500 euros is raised. And in that small mussel dinner, you can feel the struggle between professionalization and volunteer strategy at every level. 

Because the poster for the benefit event? It hurts the eyes of the graphic designer in Brussels, who has set up a design system and a style guide with all the rules, and those rules are absolutely not being followed. The communications department one office over is not exactly pleased either. They have had words with the volunteers, who wanted to send an email to all the volunteers from their village. No can do, because that was not in the content planning. The GDPR guys are not happy at all, because apparently the volunteers have their own mailing lists, which they do not want to share with ‘the guys from Brussels’.

Now, as an organization, you can think: what a hassle, and all that for just 2,500 euros, a drop in the ocean of our budget. Or, as a volunteer, you think: hello, I am organizing all kinds of things in my free time, bringing in that much money with a simple dinner, and all of it with zero support from the offices. On the contrary, they are working against us.

Let go of standards; what does that flyer matter? Does it harm your organization? Not perfect can also be good enough. And the value of such a ‘simple’ mussel dinner cannot be expressed in figures. This is about community building, not money. Volunteers can create connection power, and everyone knows: how many of you there are matters enormously. They help organize local events, provide offline visibility, fundraise, and even more importantly, they help find other volunteers. 

It would already help to think about what the organization’s goal actually is. Is the goal to be professional and efficient, tightly designed and scheduled? Or is the goal to build a base of supporters, so that social pressure can be applied? The first is a means; the second is the goal. The first is professionalization; the second is choosing a smart strategy, where your volunteers. They are your goal, your key to power, your base of supporters without whom your content plan is worth little. 

There is no magic formula, but these are certainly a few recommendations that help strengthen your base of supporters and close the gap.

1. Even if it sometimes slows things down, volunteers must have a seat at the table and contribute strategically. Not only highly educated volunteers, but a broad group. They should not merely be executors, but must help set the direction and in doing so also feel ownership of the organization’s goal.
    

2. Invest sufficiently in local organizations — especially in terms of staff, budget, and support — to enable volunteers to take a professional step forward. Improvement is certainly allowed, but that requires help and guidance.
    

3. The last remaining volunteers are sometimes held on to too stubbornly, whether they still truly fit your mission or not. You must say goodbye in time to those who are not on board or do not want to be, before the relationship sours. Even if there is scarcity.
    

4. Give appreciation and recognition, also for the invisible, unquantifiable impact volunteers make. The monetary return of an action says nothing about the effort that went into it or the impact.
    

5. In a country like Belgium, where a lot of volunteer work is second-line, you are far removed from the impact you make. So that impact must be brought clearly to the fore in order to motivate people.
    

6. Provide plenty of communication tailored to volunteers. They want substance, not fleeting messages. Not only the main points, but research, so that when they face headwinds, they can stand firm. Good communication to volunteers is more than information, by the way; provide formats that make two-way communication possible.
    

7. Actively build bridges. Many organizations have a communications department, a fundraising department, a movement department, a research department, but a movement is not made in the movement department at all. All departments support the volunteers. You have to carry that volunteer mindset into everything. Otherwise, things will go wrong anyway.
    

8. Make sure your volunteers remain the beating heart of the organization, not the office. More and more, professionals form the core, but not everything has to be conceived or created in the offices and then carried out at the margins.
    

Most of the issues civil society organizations try to tackle are so much bigger than anything they could ever try to solve with professionals alone. We are going to need every volunteer. So as far as we are concerned, better messy and together than perfect, but never enough. 

Need help? Jef would be happy to take a look at your volunteer strategy.