Here's how you can create a diverse and inclusive volunteer pool in your programs.

To build a diverse volunteer base, start by assessing the needs of your community and organization. Look at the demographics of the area you serve and compare them to your current volunteer pool. Are there gaps in representation? Understanding these gaps will help you identify the communities you may be inadvertently excluding. Engage with community leaders and members to gain insights into how your organization can be more inclusive and what barriers might prevent people from volunteering. This will lay a solid foundation for your diversity and inclusion efforts.

o build a diverse volunteer base, start by assessing the needs of your community and organization. Look at the demographics of the area you serve and compare them to your current volunteer pool. Are there gaps in representation? Understanding these gaps will help you identify the communities you may be inadvertently excluding. Engage with community leaders and members to gain insights into how your organization can be more inclusive and what barriers might prevent people from volunteering. This will lay a solid foundation for your diversity and inclusion efforts.

Ensure your volunteers represent the community you serve. Encourage open communication and feedback from those you serve, using participatory methods to ensure you are not influencing the outcomes of discussions. In addition, ensure your volunteers also represent the geographic area of your entity.

Be clear in your recruitment about the "so what" for volunteers. People want to know how their time helps the organization. Does it allow you to put more money toward front line services? Are service recipients better off because the volunteers are working with the program? Are your services strengthened through diverse outreach? (Spoiler: It's probably yes to all three, but so often organizations tell volunteers what they need them to do, but not why/how they add value.)

House Meetings are a highly effective organizing tool designed by Cesar E. Chavez and Dolores Huerta for the United Farm Workers to recruit volunteers that I used with parents at my barrio school. I assigned my able bilingual coordinator to prepare a schedule of five evening House Meetings a week in parents' homes throughout the entire student summer vacation. Fomat: Meetings began at 5 p. m. and lasted 60 minutes. There are self-introductions by the parents, “School News” is shared by the principal. Discussion follows the presentation of purpose. The last part of the meeting is the signing of a commitment card to volunteer 2, 4, or 6 hours daily, weekly, or monthly at the school. Response was great.

This is critical in bringing volunteering into the 21st century. All to often we can focus upon filling the “coal face” roles with volunteers, but assessing remote volunteering can free up employment funds for allocation elsewhere, administration, fundraising, CRM management, HR support, these can reduce department costs, offer flexible opportunities for volunteers and improve volunteer experience. Bite-size offers, term-time offers, experience packages can bolster you volunteer workforce and are easily replicated and offered throughout the year. Family volunteering is a great way to involve more people, create and experience for the whole family and build a pipeline of future volunteers and funding contributors.

Offer flexible volunteer schedules to accommodate different lifestyles and commitments. This can include short-term projects, weekend opportunities, or roles that require minimal time commitment. Provide comprehensive training and ongoing support to all volunteers, ensuring everyone feels prepared and valued. Recognize and celebrate the diverse backgrounds and contributions of your volunteers. This can include featuring stories of diverse volunteers in your communications or hosting events that celebrate different cultures.

Offer volunteer leadership roles beyond the typical Trustee roles, there is a huge workforce with years of experience and knowledge that can be easily accessed by creating lead ship roles that utilise people’s skills. Just because they are offering their time for free, doesn’t mean their time isn’t priceless. Really explore why you have hesitation around this, because usually it boils down to fear of change rather than logistics.

El voluntariado es más que un grupo de personas reunidas por un mismo objetivo, por lo que es importante que además de tener definido el propósito, se genere el sentido de comunidad. Fomenta roles precisos en que todos puedan participar, pero que no pierdan de vista que las actividades no son individuales sino en equipo, siendo un engranaje de una buena causa, teniendo presente el sentido de pertenencia.