Is engaging your volunteers one of your weak points? It's one thing to get people to sign up to support your charity - it can definitely be another to keep them committed to the cause. This is where you need to get creative to give them something to stick to!
Here's a great example: The ASPCA has a downloadable calendar that is designed for volunteers to use. According to their site, the calendar was specifically created for staff and volunteers to use at shelters and rescues, and not only does it have the usual holidays listed, but it also has the dates of major animal welfare conferences as well as reminders for budgeting and disaster preparedness. Now that's thinking ahead!
If you're looking to keep your volunteers engaged and ready to go, why not take a page from the ASPCA's book and create your own calendar? With a bit of imagination, you could come up with a piece of collateral that's both fun and functional for your team.
We've got a few suggestions to get you started:
Make it informative
Include information, tips and facts about your cause in your calendar. This makes it unique to your organization, and it encourages your volunteers to think about why they support you. Plus, it can become a larger part of your cause marketing if the calendar's pages and dates tell a meaningful story, so think of how you can communicate your charity's good work in small sound bytes.
Give it a call-to-action
Include a tangible call-to-action for your volunteers that you want them to complete each month. For instance, is your signature event that month and you need your supporters to encourage people to register? Make sure it's on your calendar! Do you need your volunteers to be ready for disaster-season fundraising? Mark that down, too. Think about what your nonprofit's needs are throughout the year and make them little missions for your supporters.
Here's how the ASPCA did it in their calendar:
Make it easy to share and download
You don't want to be distributing a boring, dry Excel document - instead, take the time to work with a designer to build a document that folks can easily access and print. You'll also want it to look good so people will want to have it hanging on their fridge or in the office cubicle.
For example, we put together a calendar of our own, focusing on Giving Days throughout the year. You can use that as inspiration as well!
(Pssst - download a copy here to get started if you're looking to get on track with Giving Days)
As you can see, there are a ton of ways to make a fun, creative volunteer calendar that will keep your supporters' eyes on the dates! Ensure that there's plenty of value and an attractive design, and you'll be giving your volunteers a piece of collateral that they'll be proud to display for everyone to see.
