4 Steps To Engaging Young Volunteers

Peer pressure is generally viewed as a bad thing but when it comes to getting young volunteers for your nonprofit, it does have its merits.

According to New York City-based DoSomething.org's data scientist Bob Filbin, one of the number one motivations for volunteering among high school and college students was that their friends were doing it. This was revealed in on of Filbin's studies, “The DoSomething.org Index on Young People and Volunteering 2012.”

“Volunteering, like everything else, is about blending in, making friends and having a good time,” said Filbin. Here are four things to keep in mind when recruiting young volunteers:

• Make volunteering a social activity. If your organization’s activity can be done by a single volunteer or from home, it’s probably not a good fit for young volunteers.
• Young volunteers need to see the impact. You’ll have a tough time getting them excited about installing energy-efficient light bulbs, but a park cleanup will draw them in droves.
• Make sure the activity is close to where young people live and spend time. Transportation issues often prevent young people from volunteering.
• One-off activities and those that allow for a variable time commitment are best for youth. Plan your volunteering like you would a party, said Filbin: “Teens often decide to go last minute, avoid showing up early, and almost never stay until the end.”

San Diego Habitat For Humanit Starts Charging Volunteers

Note: This is a summary to a story from an outside news organization.  To read the full article, please follow the links in this post.

Channel 10 News San Diego has posted a story on its website about how volunteer groups of five or more people are being charged $100 per person to do work for Habitat for Humanity.  The article cites many frustrated volunteers who have vowed never to volunteer for the group again because of the new policy.  The new rule was put into place out of a need to find new ways to get funding.  And although volunteers are unhappy with it, Habitat says it has seen a surge in corporate donations since instituting it. 

If you are interested in reading the full story, visit Channel 10 News San Diego's website.

City Year CEO and Co-Founder Talks Volunteerism

Note: This is a summary of a past story from NPTtv about how volunteerism can help solve problems.

Michael Brown wants Americans to know how important volunteering is, and he came to The Nonprofit Times TV to share his views on the subject.  The CEO and co-founder of the volunteer organization City Year talked about how being involved in "volunteerism" can help solve everyday problems. 

Brown thinks that volunteering is essential to the "spirit of America" especially, he says, in recent years.  He cites how the so-called "millennial generation" is growing up with service in their lives, and how all Americans these days are signing up to volunteer in droves.  Brown's own organization has actually seen three times the amount of young people volunteering.  He also cites President Barack Obama's call for Americans to serve more as a turning point for volunteerism.

Brown ends by saying that, despite all of this good news, more Americans are still needed to volunteer.  He says that if we all unite together to help our communities, we can make this country a better place.  And he's right, of course.  We all need to give back to our community and there are so many different ways that we can do this.

Sue Ellis Talks about Volunteering Trends

Note: This is a summary of an older story from NPTtv about Volunteering Trends.

In the latest installment of NPTtv's "Tip of the Week," Susan Ellis, President and CEO of Energize Inc, talks about the latest trends in volunteering.  One that she mentions is the continuing emphasis on single days of service, especially by corporations.  Ellis opines that we are also seeing the rise of less than a day of service, because of the rise of so-called "micro-volunteering" opportunities.  These are specific activities that people can do online or via their cellphone.  Because of this, she explains, we are seeing an "ever decreasing" amount of time devoted to service.

On the other hand, she is also seeing pro-bono and consulting volunteering being talked about more these days.  Unlike the single (or less than a single) day of service being pushed, these types of volunteering activities are much more long term and require a lot more attention from the individual pursuing them.  Ellis finds it interesting that these two very different kinds of volunteer trends are happening at the same time.  So on the one hand, it is somewhat discouraging that there is such a push for this decreased service time.  However, it is also very encouraging that more and more people are exploring these longer term service projects.