volunteer trends & online engagement
DESCRIPTION
An overview of current volunteer trends and using social media and web 2.0 to recruit, engage, and retain volunteers.TRANSCRIPT
Volunteer Trends
May 2009
Objectives
• Review current volunteer trends
• Develop effective strategies for engaging volunteers
• Overview of Social Media
Volunteer Trends
• Youth
• Families
• Older Adults
• People affected by the current economy
Volunteer Trends
Today’s volunteers are seeking the following types of volunteer opportunities:
• Skills-based & project-based• Focused on impact• Creative• Meaningful & challenging• Flexible or virtual• Offer targeted experience or training• Make them feel like they are making a difference
Volunteer Trends
Today’s volunteers expect:
• Freedom to research volunteer options and connect online
• Fast response time • Less authoritative management and less
bureaucracy• More professionalism• To feel that their time is being used effectively
Developing a Strategy
Identify your agency’s volunteer needs
• Be creative
• Be mindful of current trends – What are you doing to appeal to today’s volunteers?
Go where the volunteers are
• In your community
• Online
As of December 2008,
74% of American adults
use the internet
Pew Internet & American Life Project (December 2008)
Volunteer Engagement Online
•Include strategically placed (i.e.: obvious) link to volunteer opportunities on home page
•Use stories, pictures (both cause-related and of diverse volunteers), and videos when possible
http://www.austinfoodbank.org/
Volunteer Engagement Online
• Discuss varied volunteer roles and options
• Include download-able application or online application form
• Include FAQs, a phone number and an e-mail link for questions
http://www.miriamskitchen.org/HELP/Volunteer/tabid/69/Default.aspx
Volunteer Engagement Online
• Growing marketing trend – allow people to select the type of information they would like to receive from your agency
Volunteer Engagement Online
•Trends in Constituent Satisfaction with Nonprofit Websites: Building Membership, Donations, and Loyalty through the Web Channel:
http://www.foreseeresults.com/_downloads/researchcommentary/ForeSeeResults_NonprofitWebsiteStudy_Spring2009.pdf
In 2005, 8% of online adults had a profile on an social network site.
Today, 35% do.
Pew Internet & American Life Project (January 2009)
Social Media Goals
• Engage in conversation with volunteers and colleagues
• Share information– Educate others about your agency and/or issue– Learn from others
• Increase transparency and responsiveness• Build community• Network• Advocate
Social Media Challenges
• Giving up control of the conversation
• Achieving a comfort level using social media
• Balancing organization’s identity with personal identity
• Time/personnel resources for maintaining social media presence
• Adjusting to ever-changing landscape of social media – being flexible
• Understanding technology and terminology
• Measuring ROI (return on investment)
Social Media Getting Started
Identify• Which types of web 2.0 does your organization want to use? What is your goal?• http://www.chrisbrogan.com/if-i-started-today/
Identity• Establish an identity and keep it consistent across platforms• Balance organizational goals with personality
Invest• You get out of Social Media what you put into it
Interact• Don’t make the mistake of thinking that social media is all about YOU and
YOUR organization – it’s about interactions
Info taken from: http://dannybrown.me/2008/11/30/the-four-is-of-social-media/
LinkedIn Median age is 40
6% of adult social network users
Pew Internet & American Life Project (January 2009)
The Guardian UK: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/mar/09/socialnetworking-facebook
State of the Twittersphere Q4 2008 report
Facebook Median age is 26
22% of adult social network users 168% global audience growth in 2008
Twitter Median age is 31
11% of adult social network users5-10 thousand new accounts
opened daily (growing quickly)
MySpace Median age is 27
50% of adult social network users
3% global audience decline in 2008
Social Media Getting StartedSocial Media Facebook Cause
• Profile (personal)
• Page (organization)
• Causes (organization)
http://www.facebook.com/ http://apps.facebook.com/causes/193813?m=5e8b17e0
Social Media Getting StartedSocial Media Facebook Page
• Free Report: Twitter Jump Start - The Twitter Guide for Small Non-Profits http://www.corporatedollar.org/twitter-jump-start-the-complete-guide-for-small-non-profits/
• Twitter Mini-Guide: http://www.hybrid6.com/webgeek/2009/01/a-twitter-mini-guide-60-useful-twitter-resources.php
• The Digiactive Guide To Twitter Activism: http://www.digiactive.org/2009/04/13/twitter_guide/
Social Media Twitter
http://search.twitter.com/
http://monitter.com/
http://twitter.com/
• 26 Nonprofits on Twitter: http://mashable.com/2009/03/19/twitter-nonprofits/
Resources – Online
Go online!
• Research what others are doing related to both volunteer management and web 2.0
• Learn about volunteer trends, volunteer management and new technologies using resources such as webinars, Slide Share, YouTube, and podcasts
Idealist.org http://www.idealist.org/en/vmrc/index.html
Energize Inc. http://www.energizeinc.com/
Volunteer Match http://www.volunteermatch.org
Points of Light Institute http://www.pointsoflight.org/
Hands On Network http://www.handsonnetwork.org
Cyber VPM http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cybervpm/
UPS Foundation – Best Practices http://community.ups.com/philanthropy/toolbox.html
Nonprofit Risk Management Center http://www.nonprofitrisk.org/
Resources – Online
Resources – Online
http://www.idealist.org/en/vmrc/index.html
Resources – Webinars
http://www.volunteermatch.org/nonprofits/learningcenter/
http://www.nten.org/events/webinar
Resources – Slide Share
http://www.slideshare.net/VolunteerSpot/family-friendly-volunteering-service-project-ideas-from-az
Resources – You Tube
Volunteer Tribute Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe-QyxX3r1w&feature=channel Common Craft’s Twitter in Plain English:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch?as_sitesearch=youtube.com&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-USiurl=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/ddO9idmax0o/hqdefault.jpg (also, check the “More” section for other Common Craft videos)
Resources – You Tube
Miriam’s Kitchen Awareness Video: http://www.youtube.com/miriamskitchen
Resources – Podcasts
501c3 Cast http://www.501c3cast.com/
Energize Inc. http://www.energizeinc.com/hot.html
Volunteer San Diego Podcasts
http://vsdpodcast.org/
Resources – Social Media
• NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network): http://www.nten.org/
• Tech Soup: http://www.techsoup.org/
• We Are Media: http://www.wearemedia.org/Tool+Box
• Change.org: http://nonprofits.change.org/
• Using Social Media Sites to Promote Your Mission: http://www.fundraising123.org/article/using-social-networking-sites-promote-your-mission
• 10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media: http://spurspectives.com/10-ways-to-change-the-world-through-social-media/
• Internet Giving Benchmark Analysis: http://www.blackbaud.com/targetanalytics/benchmarking/dcinternet.aspx
• Net Squared: Remixing the Web for Social Change: http://www.netsquared.org/about
Resources – Social Media
12for12k: http://www.12for12k.org
Nonprofit Blogs• Beth’s Blog: How nonprofits can use social media
– Subscribe.– How to Use Social Media Effectively:
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/01/convios-now-is-the-time-campaign-a-healthy-social-media-lifestyle.html
• John Haydon: Social Media Marketing for Small Nonprofits: http://www.corporatedollar.org/
• The NTEN Blog: http://nten.org/blog
• Blog for Change: http://www.blogforchange.org/
• Chronicle of Philanthropy Blogroll: http://philanthropy.com/giveandtake/
Social Media Blogs• Danny Brown: http://dannybrown.me/
• Suze Muse: http://suzemuse.netfirms.com/
• How to be More Productive with Social Media: http://www.interactiveinsightsgroup.com/blog1/how-to-be-more-productive-with-social-media/
Resources – Blogs
Montgomery County Volunteer Center
401 Hungerford Drive, 1st Floor Rockville, Maryland 20850
Phone: 240-777-2600 | Fax: 240-777-2601 | email:
Website Link:http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgtmpl.asp?url=/Content/Volunteer/index.asp
Resources
Questions & Thank You
Mickey Gomez
Volunteer Center Serving Howard County
www.volunteerhoward.org
Twitter: @volunteerhoward