2 Ways to Cultivate Engaged Volunteers

When it comes to leading volunteers, you want more than a group of people who simply show up. You want individuals who are bought in, engaged and ready to make a difference!

Leading a group of engaged volunteers does not happen accidentally. It takes intentional work to cultivate a team of people who show up, lean in and rally around a vision.

Often our focus can tilt heavily towards the recruiting and gathering part of team leadership, but to cultivate an engaged team of volunteers you must:

1) Care for them (as a person first)

Caring for a volunteer in itself is table-stakes. It is what is required to simply be in the game. Providing some form of hospitality, regular communication and resourcing is great. It is also what is expected.

Caring for a volunteer as a person first; well that is unexpected. That is next level. That is leveraging their position on your team as an excuse for you to shepherd and pastor them as a person.

Doing this can look different from one volunteer to the next. One of the best ways we care for volunteers is by wanting more FOR them than we want FROM them.

2) Pay Attention to them (and what matters to them)

Make sure the people you lead feel seen and known. Find ways to acknowledge and celebrate them.

• Follow them on social media

• Put their birthday on your calendar and send them a text or a card

• Encourage & celebrate them when they experience peek moments in life

• Grieve with them & support them when they are in a tough season

When you care for and pay attention to your volunteers you create an environment where they can flourish and engage at a high level. When volunteers are able to experience care and attention from their leader, they are freed up to offer care and attention to the efforts of the team.