In our recent webinar co-hosted by Jennifer Bennett at VolunteerMatch, Jennifer teaches how to use volunteer stories to boost recruitment and engagement. Stories are powerful tools to inspire others to volunteer and showcase the impact of an organization’s mission.
Interested in watching the webinar recording? Watch Here!
Below are some of the key takeaways from the discussion:
The Emotional Power of Storytelling and Its Effect on Volunteerism
Geng and Jennifer discussed the importance of storytelling in volunteer engagement. Jennifer asked the participants to consider what story they tell to volunteers and whether it is centered on the volunteers themselves. She also asked if the story serves the organization and helps volunteers understand the work's purpose and impact. The discussion concluded with Jennifer asking participants to think about the words they would want their volunteers to use to describe their experience. Geng added that impact, meaningfulness, and connection are important aspects of the story. One of the first points highlighted was how stories connect people emotionally. Sharing personal, heartfelt experiences from volunteers allows potential recruits to visualize themselves in similar roles. Webinar participants shared examples of volunteer stories that stuck with them because of their emotional depth, illustrating how storytelling can influence people’s desire to get involved.
Getting Past the Numbers
Jennifer emphasized the importance of storytelling in volunteer engagement, highlighting the need to go beyond just presenting numbers and statistics. She suggested incorporating qualitative information to create a more compelling story that connects emotionally with volunteers. Jennifer also stressed the importance of asking for permission before sharing stories, especially those involving clients or volunteers. She suggested that organizations should focus on telling their unique story, rather than trying to emulate others. Jennifer also discussed the various ways to share these stories, both internally and externally, and how they can be used for recruitment, retention, and inspiration. She concluded by suggesting that organizations should understand their volunteers' expectations and align them with the reality of their work.
Storytelling as a Motivator for Retention
Jennifer and Geng discussed the importance of understanding volunteers' motivations and connections to the mission. They shared a poll result indicating that most participants were somewhat aware of why their volunteers were coming to them. Jennifer emphasized the need to ask volunteers about their experiences and motivations, even if it's just anecdotal. They also discussed the value of storytelling in volunteer engagement, using a professionally produced video from Casa as an example. Jennifer encouraged the use of video storytelling to educate and inspire volunteers. Beyond recruitment, volunteer stories play a vital role in retention. Highlighting the positive impact of current volunteers motivates others to stay engaged. One speaker pointed out that featuring volunteers' success stories in newsletters or recognition events can create a sense of belonging and pride within the volunteer community.
Creating a Storytelling Culture
Organizations that create a culture where sharing stories is encouraged often see higher levels of engagement. By fostering an environment where volunteers feel comfortable sharing their experiences, coordinators can gather a wealth of narratives that reflect diverse experiences and perspectives. This diversity of stories can help reach a broader audience and resonate with different types of volunteers. Jennifer discussed practical ways to incorporate stories into recruitment campaigns. Whether it's through videos, social media posts, or blog entries, weaving volunteer stories into various mediums increases visibility and engagement. Using real-life narratives brings authenticity to the recruitment message, making it more relatable.
Overcoming Challenges in Collecting Stories
A key challenge that was discussed is how to effectively gather stories from volunteers. Not every volunteer is comfortable sharing their story, so creating multiple avenues—such as anonymous submissions or casual interviews—was suggested. The webinar emphasized the importance of making the process easy and approachable.
Conclusion
Volunteer stories are powerful tools that can transform recruitment and engagement efforts. By highlighting the personal experiences of volunteers, organizations can foster a deeper connection with potential recruits and encourage current volunteers to stay involved. Whether shared through social media, newsletters, or in-person events, authentic stories create an emotional link that drives people to action. As discussed in the webinar, building a culture where storytelling is encouraged and celebrated can lead to sustained engagement, ultimately strengthening the volunteer community and the impact of the organization.
Transcript
Disclaimer:
This transcript was generated using an automated transcription service and has not been edited for accuracy. As a result, it may contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies. Please refer to the audio/video recording for the most accurate representation of the content.
00:00:00.00 --> 00:00:36.430
Geng (pronounced Gung): For those of you that I've never met, my name is Geng. So I'll introduce myself a bit more here, but we'd also love to hear from you all. And so if you're able to go into chat and just share your name, what organization you're with? And also because we're talking about stories. If you want to share, you know, a memorable volunteer story that you've heard. That'd be super fun. And I think everyone would appreciate that. So
00:00:36.430 --> 00:00:53.729
Geng (pronounced Gung): yeah, folks wanna go in and add your name, organization, and a story that would be fantastic. So for me, I guess, a memorable volunteer story. So this is. This is a long time ago, but my I used to volunteer at a hospital
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Geng (pronounced Gung): right and
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Geng (pronounced Gung): And I remember that you know, I was. I used to do like filing and stuff, and I was really
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Geng (pronounced Gung): I wanted to do more. And so I decided to apply to be a Cna because they said they were gonna pay you, and they would provide training. I thought that was great.
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Geng (pronounced Gung): The net takeaway from this is that in both the recruiting
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Geng (pronounced Gung): and we might talk about expectation settings here today for volunteers. But I think, in recruiting, and even in the training, they definitely do not set the right expectations for the job of what a Cna does in a nursing home. So
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Geng (pronounced Gung): I learned that pretty quickly on my 1st day where you know what primary care means. In that context. So. But that's sort of my memorable story here.
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Jennifer Bennett: That. Yeah, that's a tough one. Right? I think we want to create an opportunity where people sort of learn more about that role. And don't make sort of snap judgments, but that bait and switch or excuse me not having an authentic
00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:18.720
Jennifer Bennett: sort of story can be really detrimental in the long run. Right? You probably felt a little bit like, Hey, somebody tried to pull one over on me, or I wasn't really given all the information I needed to make a good decision.
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Geng (pronounced Gung): Yeah, it turned. I mean, I yeah, I love the experience at the end. But day one was a bit jarring. So
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Geng (pronounced Gung): and I see. Yeah, thank you, Karen and Laura, for sharing in the chat, and Aaron as well, I saw Laura you're your story, you know a group of men teaching a woman to ride a bike. That's super exciting. That's
00:02:43.643 --> 00:02:53.749
Geng (pronounced Gung): that's probably a super memorable moment, not just for you, but for that woman that learned how to ride a bike. I mean, that's a that's an event that you do remember. So
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Geng (pronounced Gung): well for anyone else that's joining. Yeah. Feel free to chime in on chat here with your name and organization and a story. But with that I'll sort of introduce a topic for today.
00:03:05.514 --> 00:03:11.540
Geng (pronounced Gung): Today, we're gonna be talking about inspiring action and how volunteer stories can drive recruitment and engagement.
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Geng (pronounced Gung): And again, my name is Geng. I'm 1 of the co-founders here at Civic Champs. We're a volunteer management platform. And so here's some Logos that I'm associated with. But you know, I like to say, you know, the important ones are probably the ones on the bottom. You know, I had 2 other startups in the past, but really wanted to do something that had a bit more social good. And so that's how we end up with Civic Champs. And so
00:03:37.770 --> 00:03:48.359
Geng (pronounced Gung): this is the industry or sector that I've loved the most. And mostly that's because of you all, and how friendly and and kind you all have been, and impatient with us
00:03:48.740 --> 00:04:17.940
Geng (pronounced Gung): as we develop our platform. So that's me. But today I am more excited to introduce our guest Jennifer, who is with VolunteerMatch. She's got a chance to watch one of Jennifer's presentations in the past. So I thought it was fantastic, and wanted to invite her to join us for a webinar to share that experience with you also, Jennifer, I'll let you sort of introduce yourself a little bit more.
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Jennifer Bennett: Sure. My name is Jennifer. I am the director of Education and Training at VolunteerMatch. I got my start in wildlife, rehabilitation and conservation, nature, education, space, so doing direct service.
00:04:33.280 --> 00:04:50.799
Jennifer Bennett: and then went to work with the Bar Association of San Francisco, really thinking about how to help law firms put their pro bono programs into practice. So I sort of come from both sides. When I came to volunteer match
00:04:50.800 --> 00:05:11.079
Jennifer Bennett: My goal was really to started. My goal when I started was to help everyone use the platform better. And what we found was, in fact, there's a lot of need out there for ideas and resources and templates, and from that the learning center was born. And that's where most of my work is.
00:05:11.080 --> 00:05:24.780
Jennifer Bennett: although I do also get to know again, travel and see people in person again, which is really nice. I am a cva, which means I'm certified in volunteer administration.
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Jennifer Bennett: If you're not familiar with the Council for certification and volunteer administration, that is sort of like letters, you can add after your name if you work in the volunteer engagement space. It's an exam. They offer it twice a year, and it really just shows that you know what you're talking about.
00:05:43.660 --> 00:06:06.199
Jennifer Bennett: And that you've, you know, done some work. You've got some experience. You have to have 3 years in the field leading volunteers before you can sit for the exam, and then I see that you put the podcast up. Some of you might be familiar with Toby Johnson from volunteer pro. She and I started A, podcast. Our 1st season was 2020, and we're taking a little bit of a break right now.
00:06:06.511 --> 00:06:20.550
Jennifer Bennett: But I'm hoping we can sort of get back into the swing of the podcast. It's hard. It's sort of neither one of ours. First job, second job, it might be our 3rd job to do the podcast. So. So that's me in a nutshell.
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Geng (pronounced Gung): That's awesome. I'm sure that you know our volunteer managers certainly can. you know. Relate to that in terms of the different hats that you have to put on so
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Geng (pronounced Gung): alright. Well, real quickly here, in terms of logistics. I'll we often get these questions, so we will send the slides and recording to you all afterwards. So no need to take lots of notes. The presentation is gonna be about 30 to 40 min. Probably today, about 45 min is is the plan.
00:06:49.190 --> 00:07:11.279
Geng (pronounced Gung): And if you wanna put questions in chat, I'm gonna be monitoring that throughout. And we might get to it right then, or maybe you know, we'll save it, at least for the end to for QA. So please do put your questions in chat, and we'll make sure we get to that and of course stay till the end, as always, for some freebies. We have some cool things to share with you all there.
00:07:11.688 --> 00:07:19.969
Geng (pronounced Gung): So with that, I'll actually, you know, turn it back over here to Jennifer Jennifer. If you want to share your screen. And I'll let you take it from here.
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Jennifer Bennett: Sorry all I should have been a little bit more prepared here.
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Jennifer Bennett: Yep.
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Geng (pronounced Gung): Perfect.
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Jennifer Bennett: There we go
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Jennifer Bennett: Alright, so oh, shoot! I think I need to unshare and share my audio as well, so we can listen.
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Geng (pronounced Gung): To the video.
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Jennifer Bennett: Oh, did. Here we go. I got it
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Jennifer Bennett: All right. Okay. So we're gonna talk today a little bit about how we
00:08:06.070 --> 00:08:25.060
Jennifer Bennett: tell stories, especially when we think about bringing volunteers into our organization. And then we're going to talk a little bit about how we might be able to tell stories sort of in ongoing work that volunteers are doing, and you might be doing some of this. Then you might be doing some reporting.
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Jennifer Bennett: There might be some numbers that you track, or an annual story that you put out. But we're going to sort of think a little bit more about where stories show up.
00:08:36.860 --> 00:09:05.739
Jennifer Bennett: And really, what stories we're telling, what we're prioritizing. Oh, as I mentioned, we'll go sort of through how to get through just numbers. Sometimes when we talk about volunteer engagement, we might say something like, Oh, we have this many volunteers, and they've given us this many hours. I like to think of that as sort of just a teaser. Excuse me, there's so much more that can go into the story that we tell.
00:09:06.590 --> 00:09:25.840
Jennifer Bennett: We're then going to talk about where we can share that story. So what do we think about when we build a story? What's our story? Arc? Sort of what's that journey we take people on when we tell the story of volunteer engagement, why do volunteers matter what's different or better in our organization? Because we engage volunteers.
00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:45.050
Jennifer Bennett: And then we're going to talk a little bit about how we can incorporate storytelling into our recruitment activities, our retention or relationship building activities and how we can inspire others, both our volunteers as well as others who are connected with our organization, either internally or externally.
00:09:45.890 --> 00:10:09.250
Jennifer Bennett: So I'm just going to start with this big question, and we're going to talk about this today as we go through. And we have some polls. And I have some ideas to share with you. But our big question for today is, what story do you tell to volunteers? And I would guess I would say that sort of following up on that big question. There are a couple of sub questions.
00:10:09.460 --> 00:10:17.619
Jennifer Bennett: First, is that story centered on volunteers, or are we telling a story to volunteers that doesn't include them?
00:10:17.660 --> 00:10:39.270
Jennifer Bennett: And then the next question I might ask as we think today, is, is that story serving you? Is it serving your organization? Is it helping prepare volunteers when they hear that story during your recruitment messaging or your orientation? Does it help them understand what the work's going to be like, or why that work matters?
00:10:39.300 --> 00:10:58.339
Jennifer Bennett: And as you build that relationship with volunteers? Does that story sort of keep them engaged, or keep them coming back, inspire them to continue that work. And so again, as we go through today. Think about that, or think about that. Now, as we ask.
00:10:59.186 --> 00:11:07.130
Jennifer Bennett: What kinds of words would you want your volunteers to use to describe volunteering with you.
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Jennifer Bennett: and just this can sometimes be thought of as a word cloud. It doesn't even have to be complete sentences.
00:11:18.242 --> 00:11:24.369
Jennifer Bennett: Just a couple of words. That sort of come to your mind, I know for me.
00:11:24.450 --> 00:11:38.960
Jennifer Bennett: I want my volunteers after they're done with a volunteering with me to feel inspired. I want them to feel excited. I want them to think gosh! That was really fun, or to know that they've made a difference.
00:11:40.510 --> 00:11:41.319
Geng (pronounced Gung): Yeah, right?
00:11:42.490 --> 00:12:06.950
Geng (pronounced Gung): You know, I yeah, I think for me. Oftentimes it's around. You know the you know, the word impact comes to mind as well, Jennifer, right? So you know, did I have an impact? You know, meaningful or meeting is one and ideally right. I I feel like If I can make like a connection with you know whether that's someone I served or whether that's
00:12:07.257 --> 00:12:26.032
Geng (pronounced Gung): another volunteer that's often something that I would inspire, you know any events for folks to leave away with. But yeah, curious to see what folks have. You know, we're at 40%. So if you haven't put in your answers, please do. We'll see if we can get to at least 50% here.
00:12:26.680 --> 00:12:32.249
Geng (pronounced Gung): oh, we're at 50. Perfect. Yeah. What do you think? Should we give us 10 more seconds, or something like that?
00:12:32.250 --> 00:12:38.970
Jennifer Bennett: Few more seconds. And people, if you missed the poll, and you're because you're not quite sure yet you can always drop it in the chat as we go through today.
00:12:40.760 --> 00:12:41.730
Geng (pronounced Gung): Absolutely.
00:12:43.790 --> 00:12:44.800
Jennifer Bennett: All right.
00:12:52.570 --> 00:12:56.829
Geng (pronounced Gung): So here's the results. I don't know if you can see.
00:12:56.980 --> 00:12:59.538
Jennifer Bennett: Actually can't see them. So.
00:13:00.050 --> 00:13:01.599
Geng (pronounced Gung): Let me see if I can
00:13:02.020 --> 00:13:06.866
Geng (pronounced Gung): pull that here, let me I'll boot you real quick, and then we'll
00:13:07.280 --> 00:13:09.030
Geng (pronounced Gung): let's hoggle back here. So
00:13:10.590 --> 00:13:20.399
Geng (pronounced Gung): and so here. Are the results that we had so fulfilling giving community minded. Can you all see that.
00:13:20.710 --> 00:13:29.630
Jennifer Bennett: It's a little small, but I think everybody can see. Yeah, impactful, meaningful eye opening. Oh, I like that one. There we go?
00:13:30.594 --> 00:13:35.659
Jennifer Bennett: Inspiring? Yeah, lots of impact, thoughtful
00:13:35.770 --> 00:13:45.689
Jennifer Bennett: pride. Oh, I like that one sort of that sense of doing something that you're proud of, or feeling good about that work that you're doing.
00:13:46.281 --> 00:14:00.330
Jennifer Bennett: Fun, rewarding contribution to community. Yeah, really, that connection. I sometimes think about volunteering as the way that people can sort of take action on
00:14:00.330 --> 00:14:17.280
Jennifer Bennett: on issues or situations they see in their community that might feel too big for one person to do it on their own right that we really think about connecting that desire to help with the action to help. And that's volunteerism sort of as a definition.
00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:40.780
Jennifer Bennett: warm, connected, valued, supported. I can really make a difference. Yeah, I really like these words, I think there's some themes coming through here. I think this can be a really great opportunity to to sort of ask your volunteers if you're doing those ongoing surveys or satisfaction surveys, or even just
00:14:40.780 --> 00:15:06.869
Jennifer Bennett: sitting down with a cup of coffee and asking your volunteers to share about their connection, and I'll tell just a quick story, and then we can go back to the slides. This topic for me really started because I had a volunteer reach out to me, and she said, You know, I really don't know. I've had good experiences, and I've had bad experiences, and I don't know why, like on paper, they should have all been good experiences.
00:15:06.870 --> 00:15:36.740
Jennifer Bennett: and oftentimes it's that motivation, right, or that connection to the mission that it might look right on paper, or it might sound like it checks all those boxes for you. But if there isn't that connection, if there isn't that meaning? We may see volunteers sort of drift away. And that's also to say that not every role is for every person. So we do want to have those different kinds of opportunities, I think, especially at VolunteerMatch. We feel that way.
00:15:37.356 --> 00:15:38.410
Jennifer Bennett: All right.
00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:41.289
Jennifer Bennett: I'm going to share my screen again.
00:15:47.930 --> 00:16:05.149
Jennifer Bennett: all right. So again, thinking about those words or thinking about that story that you want volunteers to tell now, before we jump in. I know what matters to my volunteers, and why they volunteer with us so sort of going back to
00:16:05.150 --> 00:16:27.729
Jennifer Bennett: that. That story that started this all for me is really thinking about. Are you asking? Do you know why your volunteers are coming to you? Do you ask them what's exciting about this volunteer opportunity? Maybe. Mostly like I try my best with my regular volunteers, but I've got volunteers that come and go. I don't always know why they're coming, or if I'll see them again, or if they're coming back.
00:16:28.127 --> 00:16:49.879
Jennifer Bennett: Somewhat, you maybe have an idea. But you haven't asked or you haven't. You don't keep track of that. And then not really. I haven't asked, and there's no wrong answer. Right? We're all on a journey. We all come to this conversation in a different place in our journey. But I Geng, if you want to go ahead and launch that poll. And this is just a quick voting poll.
00:16:50.710 --> 00:16:51.860
Jennifer Bennett: Okay, okay.
00:17:03.310 --> 00:17:08.690
Geng (pronounced Gung): Oh, we got a lot more respondents more quickly this time. It's a little easier to answer this one, I think.
00:17:08.690 --> 00:17:09.215
Jennifer Bennett: Yeah.
00:17:10.270 --> 00:17:14.810
Jennifer Bennett: it is easy sometimes. Just check that box right? You know. Nobody's asking you to type.
00:17:15.109 --> 00:17:15.769
Geng (pronounced Gung): Yeah.
00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:27.209
Geng (pronounced Gung): so interesting. I was presenting yesterday. And one of the topics we talked about was doing volunteer interviews, and learning for them.
00:17:27.299 --> 00:17:33.329
Geng (pronounced Gung): And so we were. You know, we were talking about how many of these do you do? You have to do it to really get a sense?
00:17:33.379 --> 00:17:45.489
Geng (pronounced Gung): And you know, one of the numbers I shared was 7, as usually the most you really need to do, because after that you tend to not learn anything new necessarily, and so.
00:17:45.490 --> 00:17:45.950
Jennifer Bennett: Yeah.
00:17:46.316 --> 00:17:50.349
Geng (pronounced Gung): So that was. This is a great call back to that.
00:17:50.620 --> 00:18:09.540
Jennifer Bennett: I like that, even if it's anecdotal right? Cause, I usually say like, the more you do it the better you get at it. You sort of understand what the expected answer is, and then, when volunteers surprise you, either in a good way or a bad way with their answers, but 7. I like that. I'm gonna keep that alright.
00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:13.699
Geng (pronounced Gung): We'll end the poll here, share the results.
00:18:14.300 --> 00:18:32.520
Jennifer Bennett: This I find this to be great. This is sort of we're all sort of somewhere, mostly in the middle of our journey, mostly in somewhat. I don't see anybody voting for not really, which is great. And again, there's like, I said, there's no right answer or wrong answer. It's all about where we're going and what works for
00:18:32.550 --> 00:18:41.409
Jennifer Bennett: the volunteers that we're working with, and for the work that we do and how we engage volunteers.
00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:44.190
Jennifer Bennett: All right. So I want.
00:18:44.520 --> 00:18:47.390
Jennifer Bennett: See, are we back on slides?
00:18:48.760 --> 00:18:49.300
Jennifer Bennett: Yes.
00:18:49.570 --> 00:18:50.360
Geng (pronounced Gung): Okay.
00:18:51.230 --> 00:19:17.410
Jennifer Bennett: Okay, so I want to share a video with you all, I really like this video. This is, I will say, this is professionally produced. We have such an opportunity to tell stories now in video format. I think we saw a lot of that happen, especially early in the pandemic, with nonprofits getting on Tiktok and sort of driving awareness and driving connections.
00:19:17.510 --> 00:19:33.589
Jennifer Bennett: But let's just watch this video. This is from Casa, which is a court appointed special advocate. Again, this is a professionally produced video. But I think there's things we can learn from this, even if we're doing it on our own that we can sort of learn about storytelling.
00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:43.439
Jennifer Bennett: I am for the child who has been abused, the child who is afraid to go home.
00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:52.110
Jennifer Bennett: who thinks it's her fault who is forced to keep a secret, or else I am for the child who has been neglected.
00:19:52.520 --> 00:20:00.480
Jennifer Bennett: the child who does not know where his next meal is coming from, who must spend for herself and her little sister alone, alone, alone.
00:20:01.880 --> 00:20:04.720
Jennifer Bennett: the child who has never been to a doctor
00:20:04.890 --> 00:20:06.789
Jennifer Bennett: or a dentist.
00:20:08.230 --> 00:20:12.170
Jennifer Bennett: I am for the child who was taken away for her own protection.
00:20:12.740 --> 00:20:15.520
Jennifer Bennett: the child who is now in foster care.
00:20:15.850 --> 00:20:18.219
Jennifer Bennett: who does not know how long he'll be there.
00:20:18.820 --> 00:20:20.569
Jennifer Bennett: or who these people are.
00:20:20.680 --> 00:20:22.819
Jennifer Bennett: or if she should trust them.
00:20:23.090 --> 00:20:38.150
Jennifer Bennett: I am for her the child who is in his 3, rd 4, th 5, th 6, th Foster home this year. The child who has attended 4 schools in 2 years, who sits in back of yet another class, surrounded by strangers, leaving in his heart?
00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:40.740
Jennifer Bennett: Did no one, no one cares.
00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:42.459
Jennifer Bennett: I am for her
00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:46.059
Jennifer Bennett: the child who has never been told that he is loved.
00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:51.620
Jennifer Bennett: that she is smart, beautiful, talented, worthy.
00:20:51.840 --> 00:20:53.489
Jennifer Bennett: that she is strong.
00:20:53.570 --> 00:20:54.910
Jennifer Bennett: courageous.
00:20:55.300 --> 00:20:57.060
Jennifer Bennett: that she is somebody.
00:20:57.970 --> 00:20:59.529
Jennifer Bennett: I am for her
00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:02.480
Jennifer Bennett: the child who one day will turn 18,
00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:05.220
Jennifer Bennett: and will be surrendered to the world.
00:21:06.380 --> 00:21:18.359
Jennifer Bennett: I am for that child, so I am there for that child to listen to her, to speak for her, to champion without compromise, for what's in his best interest, because if I am.
00:21:18.600 --> 00:21:27.350
Jennifer Bennett: if I am there for her, I know she will be half as likely to languish in foster care, and that much more likely to find a safe, permanent home.
00:21:28.110 --> 00:21:37.859
Jennifer Bennett: She is the child I am, for he is the child I am, for they are the children I am, for she is the child I am for
00:21:38.050 --> 00:21:39.760
Jennifer Bennett: the child I am, for
00:21:40.790 --> 00:21:45.900
Jennifer Bennett: it's him. Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? I'm a casa volunteer.
00:21:46.540 --> 00:21:47.900
Jennifer Bennett: I am you
00:21:55.690 --> 00:22:01.140
Jennifer Bennett: all right. This one gets me every time. I've probably watched this. I don't know a couple dozen times, and
00:22:01.170 --> 00:22:02.770
Jennifer Bennett: I think the
00:22:03.100 --> 00:22:21.540
Jennifer Bennett: amazing part of this story right? It's this journey that we go on. And that's what makes this story, I think so powerful that there's this presentation of what it's like before, right? And some of its statistics and some of its numbers. And some of it's that
00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:40.920
Jennifer Bennett: connection, some of it's that emotion that comes with this journey that we're going on. That then talks about that transition, what's different or better. And these children's lives because of these volunteers. So we've gone on that story Arc, we've outlined that problem. We've sort of built that
00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:57.439
Jennifer Bennett: that need. And then there's this resolution, here's how we help. Here's how things are different. Here's how things are better, and then that ends with that amazing call to action. Who am I? I am a casa volunteer. I am you, and that, I think, makes
00:22:57.870 --> 00:23:21.319
Jennifer Bennett: That whole story is worth it right now, I will say. You know, being a Casa volunteer is not for everyone, right? It's a lot of commitment. It's hard, it's emotionally hard. It's sometimes hard, I think, but this invites people, and it doesn't paint a rosier picture. I don't think it's pretty straightforward about
00:23:21.320 --> 00:23:43.079
Jennifer Bennett: the situation that some of these children are in, but it also talks about sort of that impact that you can have that that connection to community. Somebody put that in our 1st question today. So I just want you to think about this story as we go through today as well as we think about the story that we tell to our volunteers.
00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:54.809
Jennifer Bennett: and where there might be an opportunity to do a little bit more of that connection, or tell a little bit more of that connect story in relation with
00:23:55.300 --> 00:23:57.519
Jennifer Bennett: I am for the child who has been
00:23:59.690 --> 00:24:19.050
Jennifer Bennett: there. We go. So we're going to talk about getting past numbers. One of the things that I really like about that video, as I said, is that it is a combination of some statistics and some facts, with some feelings and some connection. So oftentimes, as I said at the beginning, we talk about volunteers
00:24:19.110 --> 00:24:38.719
Jennifer Bennett: with numbers right? This many volunteers, this many hours this many clients. But that's that's just that. The quantitative stuff doesn't tell a whole story. When we add in some of those other pieces again, what matters to our volunteers, their motivation.
00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:53.999
Jennifer Bennett: what they actually do, what's different? What have they accomplished? It starts to become a richer, a more compelling story, right? We tell stories because we want people to feel 1st educated and inspired, but also
00:24:54.060 --> 00:25:13.110
Jennifer Bennett: connected right? And that's sort of what we do. As I think, as leaders of volunteers. We have our inspirational stories, we have our I call them like the the trolls under the bridge story, like what what will happen if we're not here, or some of our cautionary tales that we might tell as well
00:25:13.110 --> 00:25:32.349
Jennifer Bennett: to really help people connect emotionally empathize with some of the work that we're doing with our organization with the mission. So when we talk about getting past VolunteerMatch, we have a lot of numbers. One of the things that we do is we survey volunteers on a regular basis.
00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:41.469
Jennifer Bennett: We sort of ask them, what's motivating you? What do you want to do in your community? How do you want to volunteer?
00:25:41.550 --> 00:25:56.880
Jennifer Bennett: And they tell us overwhelmingly their top? 2 reasons for wanting to volunteer are making a difference in their community and finding a cause they care about. And that's a really, I think it's a nice connection to some of the things we've already talked about.
00:25:56.880 --> 00:26:13.010
Jennifer Bennett: When we think about that when we think about why volunteers come to us, and if we ask them, what do you want to get out of your volunteer experience? What are you hoping to accomplish with your volunteer time, we can start to see how we can help answer some of those questions. So when we track
00:26:13.010 --> 00:26:37.680
Jennifer Bennett: quantitative data, right. Those numbers of how many volunteers, how many trees planted, how many meals served? That is such a limiting story, right? When we add in qualitative information, how people feel, what's motivating them? Maybe even some numbers that go with connection. How long have your volunteers been with you?
00:26:37.680 --> 00:27:03.499
Jennifer Bennett: How many volunteers come back year after year. Again, thinking about that casa story. There's definitely quantitative numbers in there, quantitative data in there and numbers in there. But that is not a whole story, and we know that most volunteers don't volunteer for the hours they're volunteering for something else. So again at VolunteerMatch we do these surveys. The other thing I want to share with you. And this is
00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:31.899
Jennifer Bennett: again an answer to. So that's why it adds up to more than 100%. We ask why people want to volunteer to make a difference, to find a cause they care about. And then we ask them, when we're viewing volunteer opportunities on VolunteerMatch. What are you looking for? Why are you selecting the opportunity that you selected and overwhelmingly? They tell us it's because they feel strongly about the mission of the organization.
00:27:32.100 --> 00:27:43.099
Jennifer Bennett: So when we think about our recruitment messaging, especially if we're doing something, you know online, or we have something on our website or using a platform like volunteer match.
00:27:43.540 --> 00:28:07.490
Jennifer Bennett: We don't want to just jump into what we need help with. We need volunteers who can come in on Wednesday and are available from noon to 4 to do X right. That is the second sort of scheduling. But that overwhelming answer from volunteers is that they want to connect with the mission. So we want to tell them why, why this work matters, how they specifically can make a difference.
00:28:07.490 --> 00:28:16.770
Jennifer Bennett: and how they can change something in their community or change the life of a child. Whatever your mission is really pulling that connection together.
00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:37.070
Jennifer Bennett: So when we think about that, we can think about what informs our story now, and that was sort of my 1st question, which was, what story are you telling to your volunteers? We talked about what matters to our volunteers. Why do they come to you? What are they hoping to accomplish?
00:28:37.070 --> 00:28:52.669
Jennifer Bennett: Do they come in? I sometimes think about how long volunteers stay? Do they meet that minimum commitment that I ask for and and move on, which is still success in my mind? Or are they sort of
00:28:52.880 --> 00:29:20.130
Jennifer Bennett: not always a great fit when they come in. Are we not giving them enough information when we tell our stories about what it's really going to be like? Hopefully. And I'm sure nobody on this webinar is doing this. But you're not doing that bait and switch where you promise one thing, but you don't deliver that, or you feel like, I think this is again sort of an old fashioned idea that you have to make your volunteers
00:29:20.130 --> 00:29:43.719
Jennifer Bennett: jump through hoops before they get to do the the fun stuff or the good stuff. And I think this kind of inauthentic storytelling really does everyone a disservice? It does us a disservice, and it does volunteers sort of sets them up to fail. They're not going to be well prepared. They're not going to know if it's going to be a good fit for them.
00:29:43.740 --> 00:29:58.360
Jennifer Bennett: As I said before, not every volunteer role is going to be right for every person a VolunteerMatch and and sort of my personal philosophy on volunteer engagement is really thinking about finding that right match. So when I tell stories
00:29:58.360 --> 00:30:15.880
Jennifer Bennett: that educate and inspire, it's okay. If the outcome from that story, for that volunteer is, I don't know if this is the right place for me, or I don't think this is the right place for me, because I know not everybody is going to be a good fit. I'll tell a quick story.
00:30:15.880 --> 00:30:29.600
Jennifer Bennett: One of our most popular of all time volunteer opportunities on volunteer match is for an organization here in California that matches volunteers with schools for after school tutoring
00:30:29.620 --> 00:30:54.030
Jennifer Bennett: and the title of their opportunity on volunteer match is, are you good at math question, mark become a tutor, and that's such a great like self selecting question. Because if you're reading through that and math is not your thing. You're going to move on right. They don't want people, they don't want every volunteer. They want volunteers who are not afraid to do math, or really excited about math.
00:30:54.030 --> 00:31:06.750
Jennifer Bennett: Good at math. They don't want those people who are like, Oh, I never do math so it it really telling a story that helps you find those right volunteers can be really powerful.
00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:22.710
Jennifer Bennett: One of the things as I mentioned is that mission is really critical. So when you think about how your organization tells its story in the community, and this might be something you don't have to do all on your own. You probably have
00:31:22.710 --> 00:31:41.160
Jennifer Bennett: hopefully a Comms team or a fundraising development team that's doing some of this work, too. You can borrow. You guys can work together and really figure out what it sounds like. What does your mission sound like in the community? What are your values? Maybe you have a mission vision values.
00:31:41.160 --> 00:32:11.079
Jennifer Bennett: statement or goals that you talk about when you talk about engaging volunteers or serving your community. These are all really good things to include in our story. So things that matter to the volunteers that we have now asking them, inviting them to share their stories with you. What matters to sort of volunteers in general? We saw some of those that information from the surveys volunteer matches done, but also just what you know from volunteers coming into your organization.
00:32:11.310 --> 00:32:39.320
Jennifer Bennett: what your organization values or prioritizes, and what your clients or your community? How are they helped by the work that you do? And if you can include clients in some of these stories, too, depending upon who you're serving. That can also be powerful, both as a recruitment message as well as when we talk about sort of building those relationships. And we talk about recognition that can be really powerful in there as well.
00:32:39.380 --> 00:33:00.890
Jennifer Bennett: And then, as I talked about today, really thinking about that story Arc, or that journey that this story takes us on what's different or better because of the work that volunteers do in your organization. If you didn't have volunteers. What would your organization be limited to, or who wouldn't get served? What problem wouldn't get solved?
00:33:00.890 --> 00:33:10.940
Jennifer Bennett: So sometimes, when we try to act, ask that question the other way. We can come up with the answer a little bit more easily, I think, especially for those of us who lead volunteers.
00:33:10.990 --> 00:33:23.510
Jennifer Bennett: Sometimes we make it look really easy, and I always say it's that duck on a on a pond right with everything looks calm on the surface. But you're scrambling underneath to make sure it looks like that
00:33:23.560 --> 00:33:38.290
Jennifer Bennett: feet just going as fast as they can. And so when we do that, we maybe do ourselves a little bit of a disservice because it really is meaningful work. But it's it's hard work. It's not easy to put all these pieces together.
00:33:39.590 --> 00:34:04.970
Jennifer Bennett: All right. We're gonna switch over to talking a little bit about how we can share this story and how we can incorporate this in some of the work that we're doing but I wanted to. Yes, see if we had any questions come in or Geng, anything that's coming to your mind as we as we sort of think about how we get past just telling the story. We always tell.
00:34:05.570 --> 00:34:07.661
Geng (pronounced Gung): Yeah, I mean, I think,
00:34:10.989 --> 00:34:32.620
Geng (pronounced Gung): yeah, getting past the numbers. Right? Certainly. The yeah. I I thought you're so right. You know people don't volunteer to just for to get hours for the most part minus your maybe your community service. Volunteers who are mandated to do that but 1 1 question I had, you know we don't have any questions yet on the on the chat. But one question I had is.
00:34:32.750 --> 00:34:41.479
Geng (pronounced Gung): you know, as we're thinking about telling these stories, a topic that I've been, you know, thinking about is, you know, in terms of ethical storytelling. Right? So there's
00:34:41.843 --> 00:34:46.369
Geng (pronounced Gung): there's that ownership of, you know. Oftentimes they're not our stories to tell.
00:34:46.679 --> 00:35:07.560
Geng (pronounced Gung): and it's somebody else's story, right, unless it's your personal experience. And even with that it might be it might involve a client or someone that you're serving. And so how do you think about that piece of it as you're as you're creating these stories, you know. What's your guidance? On, what stories to tell? How do you make sure that
00:35:07.590 --> 00:35:17.559
Geng (pronounced Gung): you're not you know, doing harm in terms of, you know, taking someone else's story. Maybe they'd want you to tell. Maybe they don't. Or how do you think about that, Jennifer?
00:35:17.810 --> 00:35:44.150
Jennifer Bennett: Well, I think it's this is where we fall back on, you know. Absolutely asking first, st right? I think, and asking in a way where? No is an answer. That's okay. And I think we can see this even when we mean well, right? Even when we think this is an amazing opportunity to recognize a fabulous volunteer or to highlight. You know a client that's come in and received services
00:35:44.150 --> 00:36:09.070
Jennifer Bennett: we still have to ask. We don't assume that just because that story seems compelling to us that we are, you know we don't have to get permission. I think permission is 1st and foremost, and again asking in a way that allows for that volunteer or for that client to share it to a level that they feel comfortable.
00:36:09.110 --> 00:36:30.910
Jennifer Bennett: I think there's also power in aggregated storytelling right? It doesn't necessarily have to be a real life person and their real life journey when we have some of that connection. Or if we understand our goals, we can frame that up in a way that that really I think.
00:36:31.070 --> 00:36:56.829
Jennifer Bennett: conveys the power of the work and the power of volunteers without it having to be about just one person. Right? And we're trying to center the community. We can try to maybe decenter our organization and talk about sort of general societal problems and how we're addressing some of those. But it's a tough. It's a tough line to walk, especially if
00:36:56.830 --> 00:37:21.450
Jennifer Bennett: there's a deadline, especially if people get really enthusiastic and sort of push forward. It's 1 more thing that we, as leaders of volunteers, need to make sure that we are thinking about, because it is one of those things that can be risky. We want to make sure that we are protecting the safety and privacy of our clients and the safety and privacy of our volunteers
00:37:21.480 --> 00:37:36.900
Jennifer Bennett: before we're telling stories. So I do think there's a way through your organization's story will sound like your organization. It won't necessarily sound like any other organization. It reminds me of A. A.
00:37:36.900 --> 00:37:54.680
Jennifer Bennett: I was working with 2 organizations doing really similar work, both but unconnected right? So 2 organizations sort of supported people in the United States who were either recently diagnosed with arthritis or had been living with arthritis.
00:37:54.770 --> 00:38:12.029
Jennifer Bennett: and the 1st one I was working for. They were talking about the things that they posted on their social media and the way they interacted with the patients and the families of patients. And I made a suggestion to the second organization. Oh, this other organization has posted something like this.
00:38:12.080 --> 00:38:26.990
Jennifer Bennett: And this was an in person meeting, and the whole room got really quiet. And I thought, Oh, no, something's gone wrong. And I said, I'm you know, are you guys have some hesitations about what's going on? And they said we would never post.
00:38:26.990 --> 00:38:43.859
Jennifer Bennett: I think it was something like the 10 things you learn to do with your toes when you have arthritis in your hands. And it was meant to be funny, but to them it wasn't funny. It was, they said, you know, it sounds like we're making fun of our patients, or we're, you know, we're sort of
00:38:43.860 --> 00:39:08.860
Jennifer Bennett: picking on them. Never post something like that. So 2 organizations with similar missions, but very different approaches. So there isn't necessarily a right way. There's a way that's right for your organization, and we understand how we connect what? What our relationship is, what our organization sounds like. And that's the best way to tell your story.
00:39:10.220 --> 00:39:11.020
Geng (pronounced Gung): Awesome.
00:39:11.790 --> 00:39:32.670
Jennifer Bennett: All right. Yes, our Ariana is saying, Yeah, permission is key, and that we don't assume that we don't just think that this because we think that this is an honor, or that we think this is the best person to highlight in a story that that we don't get permission, and we don't find out where people are comfortable.
00:39:33.907 --> 00:39:52.029
Jennifer Bennett: Alright. So we're going to talk about sharing that story, and there are lots of great resources out there. If you do want to put together a video or something along those lines, I think there's so much tolerance out there now for amateur videos. People spend hours on Instagram and Tiktok and all of those places.
00:39:52.030 --> 00:40:03.730
Jennifer Bennett: So don't feel like it has to be perfect. The story that you tell and get out there and share with the world is better than the story that you spend months or years trying to make perfect.
00:40:03.850 --> 00:40:25.929
Jennifer Bennett: The other thing I will say is, the more you tell your stories they will shift, you'll find what really works for you. You'll find the voice of your organization, or what your organization sounds like. And just to call back to my example story, I will say I think humor is hard and it doesn't hit well. So.
00:40:25.930 --> 00:40:53.609
Jennifer Bennett: being authentic, and coming from that authentic place rather than trying to do something humorous, can oftentimes be the right way forward, right? Because our work is important. It does matter. And while there might be a role for some of that, especially internally, if we have volunteers that have, you know, struggle with things like compassion, fatigue.
00:40:53.610 --> 00:41:09.950
Jennifer Bennett: maybe that gallows humor, or being able to relate to others, or share some of the things that they can't necessarily share with people outside of the organization can be a a good kind of connection, or a good way to tell stories
00:41:09.950 --> 00:41:29.700
Jennifer Bennett: may not be appropriate externally. So that's what we're going to talk about is sort of how wecanva craft these stories? Where do they go? I have one more poll here, if we want to launch that. So. And this is a choose many, and if you pick other, if if you're sharing your stories somewhere else.
00:41:29.790 --> 00:41:47.230
Jennifer Bennett: please feel free to put that in the chat, so are you sharing stories in your recruitment message or during orientation? Those internal communications up in your organization to leadership, to the board, out to other staff members to other teams or other departments.
00:41:47.230 --> 00:42:14.310
Jennifer Bennett: Are you sharing your stories externally? This can look like our volunteers do great things. This could also be maybe some passive recruitment, where we tell the story of volunteerism in our organization with an eye towards encouraging others. This could also fit into some of our fundraising, messaging about how volunteers help us meet our mission or make a
00:42:14.410 --> 00:42:18.449
Jennifer Bennett: connection in the community. Volunteer recognition
00:42:18.980 --> 00:42:38.529
Jennifer Bennett: again, what volunteers have done, thinking back to what matters to our volunteers, so that we close that loop for them. We ask them what they want to accomplish, or how they want to spend their volunteer time, and then we give them that back right? This is how you've done that. This is how you move these needles.
00:42:41.260 --> 00:42:48.440
Jennifer Bennett: Alright, maybe another couple seconds. Here, if you want to vote. Get in now, before we give we close this up.
00:42:52.340 --> 00:42:58.724
Geng (pronounced Gung): 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! 0, we oh, wow! That actually quite a few folks.
00:42:59.920 --> 00:43:00.790
Geng (pronounced Gung): Alright, we're gonna.
00:43:00.790 --> 00:43:02.560
Jennifer Bennett: Under the wire.
00:43:04.410 --> 00:43:05.910
Geng (pronounced Gung): Share results here.
00:43:05.910 --> 00:43:27.430
Jennifer Bennett: Yeah, so pretty well distributed here, lots of internal and external communications. I love that if you're doing sort of a monthly roundup on volunteerism or cool things that you've heard from volunteers sharing that internally. I always want my executive director to have that amazing story to tell
00:43:27.430 --> 00:43:46.579
Jennifer Bennett: when they're out in the community, and they are talking to funders when they're talking to partners. I want them to have that, you know, in their pocket. I don't want them to have to think about why our organization succeeds by engaging volunteers. I want them to have those stories. And again.
00:43:46.580 --> 00:44:09.190
Jennifer Bennett: they can be 100% real, based on a real person with their real name, or it could be this, in general, we have a volunteer who does this, or we have clients who are served by volunteers in general in this way, with maybe some numbers again, quantitative and qualitative information coming together to to tell a great story
00:44:09.260 --> 00:44:31.879
Jennifer Bennett: fundraising recruitment. I'm going to tell you guys, I think the little bit of why, why this work matters, how volunteers make a difference in your organization, or what's different or better in your community because of volunteers, is great recruitment messaging especially. We look at volunteer Match, where someone might come in and get really
00:44:31.880 --> 00:44:41.709
Jennifer Bennett: kind of overwhelmed with the amount of opportunities that are in their community. That connection helping you find those right volunteers is really powerful.
00:44:42.780 --> 00:44:44.250
Jennifer Bennett: All right.
00:44:47.320 --> 00:44:48.530
Jennifer Bennett: Okay?
00:44:50.410 --> 00:44:54.049
Jennifer Bennett: So this last section here, I think. Let's see.
00:44:54.770 --> 00:45:13.259
Jennifer Bennett: Yes, I get all these little pop up windows. We're going to talk about putting this into action. So if we're sharing the story. How do we start to connect this so, as I said, my own little transition here? It can. It can really make a difference for prospective volunteers. One of the things that I think
00:45:13.320 --> 00:45:41.580
Jennifer Bennett: again, we all come from our own backgrounds. Everybody comes with sort of their own motivation for volunteering, or something about your mission or your organization resonates with them, but they don't always come in with expectations that match reality. Sometimes we have volunteers who think on day one they're going to be, you know, up to their elbows, building things or making change.
00:45:41.580 --> 00:46:06.590
Jennifer Bennett: And there might be an onboarding process or a learning process before those volunteers are hard at work or fully immersed in our organization. So when we talk about how volunteers work in our organization, we can really echo back some of those things that we hear from our current volunteers. And this is actually, if you've not done this, I find this to be really
00:46:06.590 --> 00:46:30.890
Jennifer Bennett: exciting, and also really sometimes eye opening? I asked. Just sit down with your volunteers. It doesn't have to be formal. It can be. If you have a large volunteer corps, and want to do this through something like a survey monkey or an open form, where they can sort of tell you a little bit about what they tell their friends and family about volunteering, so hear their stories the way they tell them.
00:46:30.890 --> 00:46:46.610
Jennifer Bennett: and then reflect back that language that they use the things that matter most to them. Some of those terms that they use. I will say this, I've seen this happen in real life. We do a lot of work here with the California State Library system.
00:46:47.240 --> 00:47:02.609
Jennifer Bennett: and we were working with them in the beginning to recruit volunteers for their adult literacy programs. And we were all in on literacy and all of this work around
00:47:02.840 --> 00:47:13.419
Jennifer Bennett: some of these more formal terms. And I asked, I. So I said something along the lines of you know. Go back and talk to your volunteers and hear what they say, and then reflect that language back.
00:47:13.430 --> 00:47:18.730
Jennifer Bennett: And we got back together, and one of the leaders of volunteers said, I did that, and
00:47:18.750 --> 00:47:27.540
Jennifer Bennett: as I sat with my volunteers just talking about what they do and what they share when they talk about the work that they do as an adult literacy volunteer.
00:47:27.610 --> 00:47:42.939
Jennifer Bennett: Not a single one of them use the word literacy right? Because that's kind of a formal word, or it's a jargony word that they, you know, it's not sort of an everyday word. They use words like reading and teaching and mentoring.
00:47:42.940 --> 00:47:58.329
Jennifer Bennett: So it's not to say we don't want to say literacy when we talk about recruiting volunteers and telling them about the work. But we also want to make sure we're using words like reading and teaching and mentoring, because that's sort of that connection. That's what makes sense to people.
00:47:58.330 --> 00:48:18.490
Jennifer Bennett: I talked a little bit about showing what's different or better because of the work of volunteers. So if time is our volunteers most valuable resource, and that's what they're sharing with us their time and talent. Can we show them how investing some time with us can make a difference? Again, if we think about that Casa Video.
00:48:18.490 --> 00:48:31.310
Jennifer Bennett: some of those numbers, maybe some research from your field or some studies can really help a volunteer. Say, yeah, you know what? This does sound like an investment of time, but it's worth it.
00:48:31.350 --> 00:48:53.329
Jennifer Bennett: And then again, what are your current volunteers getting out of that experience? What brings them back? I personally volunteer here in San Francisco with the Justice and Diversity Center, and we do some outreach to people who are unhoused, help them find legal counsel and help them get citations removed from their records.
00:48:53.330 --> 00:49:03.789
Jennifer Bennett: and it is hard work, and I don't always feel appreciated by the clients. But I know that the organization appreciates me, and I know that
00:49:04.159 --> 00:49:19.299
Jennifer Bennett: homelessness is such an epidemic in this area. I can't solve that problem on my own, but I feel like I can give half a day every every other month or so, and really do what I can. So for me.
00:49:19.300 --> 00:49:34.040
Jennifer Bennett: even though I come home exhausted, and sometimes people yell at me, or worse, that I still know that when I go home that, like, I'm doing what I can to try to make something a little bit better for somebody else.
00:49:34.140 --> 00:49:44.920
Jennifer Bennett: and that's something that you can share. What are your current volunteers getting out of that experience? Why are they picking your organization? Why are they spending time with your organization?
00:49:46.406 --> 00:50:08.269
Jennifer Bennett: Okay, with retain would think about this as relationship building. This could also be recognition. We want to think about impact storytelling. So again, what matters to your volunteers? What did they tell you they want to accomplish? And how did they get there, or what difference did they make again that idea of what's different or better.
00:50:09.051 --> 00:50:27.139
Jennifer Bennett: I think this is really a piece that sometimes gets dropped is inform sharing information with your volunteers, so you can help them tell their story. So 1st of all, we want them to be proud, right? Somebody said that pride. We want them to be proud of the work that they're doing.
00:50:27.200 --> 00:50:51.950
Jennifer Bennett: But there's also sort of another sort of hidden benefit here which is word of mouth recruiting. If you have volunteers who are excited and enthusiastic and inspired, and they have not just their personal connection to the mission, but they also have some additional information about what your organization is accomplishing, or other ways that volunteers are out in the community. So if they do
00:50:51.950 --> 00:51:08.110
Jennifer Bennett: that direct after school tutoring, but you also have volunteers that are doing more, maybe policy work, or, you know, doing other kinds of community engagement. Make sure your volunteers know what other volunteers are doing.
00:51:08.414 --> 00:51:29.119
Jennifer Bennett: That. They can then say, Oh, hey! I heard about this opportunity. I thought it might be a good fit for you, or you might want to learn more about this so they can share their story with others. Again, informally, I also think it's great when we can get our volunteers to share their impact stories on social media, either through our platforms or through their own.
00:51:30.328 --> 00:51:49.360
Jennifer Bennett: I don't expect my volunteers to be able to like recite my mission on command, but I do want to make sure that my volunteers know what my mission is, and know how the work that they're doing supports that mission? Why does my organization do what it does. How does the work of volunteers support that mission?
00:51:49.360 --> 00:52:03.890
Jennifer Bennett: How can we do more, or do what we do better because of the work of volunteers. And as we think about how we tie these stories back right when we think about recognition, I dropped my recognition pyramid in here, even though it's a little bit off topic.
00:52:03.890 --> 00:52:20.620
Jennifer Bennett: I know we're getting close to the top of the hour. I'm almost done because I think it's a. It's really powerful to think about this, to think about where recognition happens and where we include our stories, our stories of impact
00:52:20.620 --> 00:52:46.809
Jennifer Bennett: connections back to motivation and mission. I think of that sort of everyday bottom of the pyramid. Those happen most often every day that you see that volunteer, or in that moment when you've come to the end of the shift, or you've come to the end of the event, or you've accomplished that goal that we're saying, thank you, and that we're talking about how this builds on the work that's being done by others, or
00:52:46.810 --> 00:53:11.279
Jennifer Bennett: connected back to that mission or that moment. And I know for some of you you have hundreds or thousands of volunteers that you engage. This does not just have to be you. This can be other volunteers, volunteers and leadership roles like shift leaders or team leaders. This could be other paid staff people. This might be clients. We might want to empower our clients to say Thank you and reflect on connections.
00:53:11.634 --> 00:53:34.720
Jennifer Bennett: Next, we have sort of small wins with teams or groups. So this is not necessarily a big party or celebration. It might be. It might also be a debrief on how things are going. This might also be an update on. This is where we are in this process, or, Hey, we've hit some bumps in the road. We need to come together and and sort of regroup
00:53:35.670 --> 00:53:56.739
Jennifer Bennett: celebrating with all of our volunteers together. And I mentioned. Sometimes we tell stories that are not necessarily for public consumption. They aren't external stories. They're just internal stories. And these can be that sort of connecting about things that are hard, maybe a little bit of complaining or ranting that that can still be healthy
00:53:56.740 --> 00:54:18.680
Jennifer Bennett: for volunteers to be able to blow off steam a little bit. So I'd like to say at least once a year. We sort of are maybe at the end of our busy season we do sort of a debrief feedback. These, again, don't all have to be parties asking for thoughts and ideas, asking for volunteers to help solve problems. These are all types of recognition
00:54:19.360 --> 00:54:45.419
Jennifer Bennett: with all staff so paid staff and volunteer staff again at least once a year. We do a big celebration. Maybe your executive director comes and talks about how they engage the work of volunteers in the community, or how they tell the stories. And then again, at least once a year with the community. That sort of external celebration of volunteers. So thinking about where stories fit in there, and where we can pull all those things together.
00:54:45.730 --> 00:55:01.030
Jennifer Bennett: this last one here is really that last piece, right internal and external communications, where we tell the story of volunteer impact. And there's some themes, different or better, because volunteers shared their time and talent.
00:55:01.030 --> 00:55:17.069
Jennifer Bennett: What would it be like if you didn't have volunteers? What ways have you engaged volunteers that wouldn't necessarily be expedient or appropriate for paid staff, right people bringing in those skills-based or pro bono level volunteers
00:55:17.070 --> 00:55:42.849
Jennifer Bennett: that come in and really help us move needles in a short amount of time, because they have 1020, 30 years of experience, or they're experts at something. Or where do we have those volunteers that you know, are are able to step in that they have that flexibility in their life and their schedule, and they're able to come in when we need them and sort of get us out of the weeds or help us solve a problem.
00:55:43.330 --> 00:56:06.349
Jennifer Bennett: There can be a sort of a hidden benefit, right passive recruitment when we tell the amazing story of volunteers that can help people think they want to volunteer, maybe with us, maybe somewhere else, hopefully, with us. And there's a role here for fundraising success as well, telling the story of volunteers as a
00:56:06.350 --> 00:56:16.960
Jennifer Bennett: story that drives funding. I will also say there's a piece here for asking volunteers to give treasure as well as time and talent, and I think sometimes we
00:56:17.370 --> 00:56:41.069
Jennifer Bennett: hold back on that. We think they give so much already, but we never know where in our volunteers lives. Philanthropy fits. So we might have a volunteer who wants to support our mission financially as well, and probably have volunteers that are doing it already. And if you're not tracking that and coordinating with your development team to tell a special story to those volunteers.
00:56:41.070 --> 00:56:50.829
Jennifer Bennett: I think that's a missed opportunity. That's a whole other webinar, and then again connecting that work of volunteers to the mission. Why do you do what you do? How do volunteers
00:56:50.830 --> 00:57:16.830
Jennifer Bennett: sort of when we tell this story publicly or externally. How does that elevate the work of volunteers? And don't forget to elevate the work that you do, too, as a leader of volunteers. This is not magic. This does not happen by chance. There's a lot of work that we do to support the work of volunteers and to engage volunteers and to keep them connected to our organization. Make sure you're telling that story, too.
00:57:17.050 --> 00:57:21.800
Jennifer Bennett: all right. So our last poll here, and as we sort of wind down.
00:57:22.350 --> 00:57:42.619
Jennifer Bennett: making sure that you're sort of telling the story back to yourself. What ideas do you have? And they don't have to be fully formed. But what did you hear and think? Oh, yeah, I want to try that, or I want to explore that more. And this is again an answer for you. You can put it in the chat. You can put it in the poll question.
00:57:46.090 --> 00:57:54.039
Jennifer Bennett: and I'm happy to answer questions as well. If we had any questions come in.
00:57:57.810 --> 00:58:02.810
Geng (pronounced Gung): Think we we just had one from George. Who asked, you know if
00:58:04.060 --> 00:58:10.210
Geng (pronounced Gung): if we you know, how can I get a volunteer who can assist me in my organization to nurture the needy children in the community.
00:58:10.645 --> 00:58:15.849
Geng (pronounced Gung): You know I I of course, suggested volunteer match. I think Debbie suggested word of mouth.
00:58:16.198 --> 00:58:19.150
Geng (pronounced Gung): But I don't know if you had anything else to add.
00:58:19.150 --> 00:58:42.110
Jennifer Bennett: Yeah. Well, word of mouth is great. And I until sort of 21, I think, or 2022. When we asked, How what's your best, most successful recruitment? Activity? Word of mouth was number one and sort of in the pandemic online recruiting switched to number one of our survey. And this is a survey to organizations that are using volunteer match. So
00:58:42.110 --> 00:58:59.269
Jennifer Bennett: the fact that word of mouth was so powerful for so long. We know that there's lots of ways that volunteers come to your organization and get connected and online recruiting and platforms like volunteer match is just one. And I think I saw
00:58:59.360 --> 00:59:07.990
Jennifer Bennett: Ariana dropped that link in to getting started on volunteer match. It's always free to set up an account on volunteer match. Our basic account is free
00:59:08.000 --> 00:59:20.502
Jennifer Bennett: and but we do have a premium membership, a pro membership. If you're looking for additional tools to better recruit volunteers. Alright, it looks like we've got some some answers, or at least an answer.
00:59:21.700 --> 00:59:32.120
Geng (pronounced Gung): Yeah. So, yeah, thank you. You know. I think the answer we got was asking volunteers to explain their experience and utilize that verbiage. So.
00:59:32.900 --> 00:59:39.049
Jennifer Bennett: Awesome. Alright! Well, that's the content I have, and I will stop sharing.
00:59:42.450 --> 00:59:57.221
Geng (pronounced Gung): Yup. Well, thanks yeah, that. That's awesome. I know we're we're here right at the hour, so I'll keep the rest sort of pretty quick here, so we can let let folks go to to your next appointment.
00:59:57.560 --> 01:00:25.919
Geng (pronounced Gung): but real quickly, you know, for those that don't know about civic champs. You know we are a volunteer management platform, and we try to be there for every step of the process, and from recruitment and onboarding scheduling, engagement retention. Many, and you know pretty much everything that Jennifer mentioned today. We want to be there to support you. And so, in particular for storytelling. One of the things that we find to be quite helpful is, you know, we have a mobile app that allows you to do
01:00:25.920 --> 01:00:45.209
Geng (pronounced Gung): very seamless check-ins here. But in addition to that, when people check out, we also collect reflections or feedback, which could be actually a great way to collect some stories now they might be short. But if there's something that's interesting that you know, sort of peaks your interest, maybe an opportunity to reach back out to
01:00:45.210 --> 01:01:09.030
Geng (pronounced Gung): explore more to say, Hey, you know I saw you wrote this about your experience. You know. Could we grab 1015 min with you to to learn more about your experience right? And then what? Why, you like, you know why, you, you know, really enjoyed volunteering with us. So that's something that's that can be pretty unique. But if you're interested in learning more, you know, feel free to reach out to me come to our website
01:01:09.334 --> 01:01:31.840
Geng (pronounced Gung): and then you also have Jennifer's contact information here as well. So feel free to reach out to Jennifer. She has the link here for learn. That's volunteer match as well. So I think I'll speak on behalf of Jennifer, and I would just say, we love meeting new folks so if you wanna linkedin and connect with us I'm sure we'll both be excited to do that.
01:01:32.460 --> 01:01:37.550
Geng (pronounced Gung): And then finally, we're gonna have. We'll always we're always looking for your feedback
01:01:38.198 --> 01:01:58.550
Geng (pronounced Gung): and so if you can provide us some feedback, there's a link here we'll put that in chat as well, but your thoughts on the presentation, if you liked it, you didn't. Anything. Suggestions you have for us. We're always looking for ways to improve our webinars. And so if there's something that you have to recommend that'd be great.
01:01:59.250 --> 01:02:23.299
Geng (pronounced Gung): And then finally, freebies like I mentioned. So Jennifer was very kind to share this with us. But the learning center has a ton of free resources from webinars to recordings, resources, and even toolkits and so we've hyperlinked everything here. So when we send out the presentation, you'll be able to just click on one of these links to reach the learning center and some of these fantastic resources.
01:02:24.010 --> 01:02:31.200
Geng (pronounced Gung): So with that, I think we'll kind of call it a close, since we're a couple of minutes past the hour, but Jennifer's thank you. So.
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