Volunteer Recruitment
Overview
Volunteers are the heart of many associations, bringing valuable skills, fresh perspectives, and a passion for advancing your mission. Yet recruiting volunteers often happens only when there's an immediate need, making it difficult to build a strong pipeline of engaged members who are ready to step into leadership opportunities.
JourneyCARE helps associations create an ongoing volunteer recruitment experience that encourages participation, captures members' interests, and connects the right people with the right opportunities.
The Challenge
Many associations recruit volunteers by sending a mass email asking for help or relying on personal relationships to fill open positions.
Staff may not know which members have expressed interest in volunteering, what skills they possess, or whether they've served in the past. Volunteer opportunities can be overlooked simply because no one remembers who might be a good fit.
Members who are interested in becoming more involved often don't know where to start or may hesitate to volunteer because they aren't sure what's expected.
One Possible JourneyCARE Solution
Throughout the year, JourneyCARE invites members to become more involved with the association.
Volunteer opportunities can be promoted through your website, member portal, newsletters, event registrations, and renewal communications, making it easy for members to express interest whenever they're ready.
When a member submits a volunteer interest form, JourneyCARE records their interests, experience, availability, and preferred areas of involvement directly on their contact record.
Staff are notified of new volunteer inquiries and can easily search for members based on interests, professional expertise, geographic location, previous volunteer service, or other criteria.
When an opportunity becomes available, JourneyCARE helps connect qualified volunteers with the appropriate staff member or committee leader.
Once a volunteer accepts an assignment, JourneyCARE can automatically begin an onboarding journey that provides role-specific information, expectations, training resources, meeting schedules, and introductions to fellow volunteers.
Even members who aren't immediately placed can receive periodic updates about future opportunities, helping them remain engaged with your organization.
Member Experience
Members feel that volunteering is welcoming, organized, and accessible.
Instead of wondering how to become involved, they have a clear path for expressing interest and understand that their skills and availability are being considered for future opportunities.
When they begin volunteering, they receive the guidance and resources needed to feel confident in their new role.
Staff Experience
Staff gain a centralized system for tracking volunteer interests instead of relying on memory, spreadsheets, or scattered emails.
JourneyCARE makes it easier to identify potential volunteers, communicate with them consistently, and build a long-term pipeline of engaged members who are ready to serve as opportunities arise.
Rather than starting from scratch each time a volunteer is needed, staff have a growing database of members who have already expressed a willingness to contribute.
JourneyCARE Features Used
Forms
Workflows
Contact Records
Custom Fields
Tags
Smart Lists
Email
SMS (optional)
Tasks
Internal Notifications
Portal
Communities
AI Assistants (optional)
Variations
Volunteer recruitment can support a wide variety of engagement opportunities.
Event volunteers.
Committee service.
Board leadership pipelines.
Conference ambassadors.
Mentors and peer coaches.
Legislative advocates.
Chapter volunteers.
Membership ambassadors.
Speakers and presenters.
Short-term project volunteers.
Community outreach initiatives.
Before You Build
Before creating your volunteer recruitment journey, consider:
What types of volunteer opportunities are available throughout your organization?
What information should members provide when expressing interest?
How will you match volunteers with appropriate opportunities?
What onboarding should new volunteers receive before they begin serving?
How will you keep interested volunteers engaged if there isn't an immediate opening?
Why This Works
Many members want to contribute but simply aren't asked at the right time or given an easy way to get involved.
By making volunteer recruitment an ongoing experience instead of a one-time request, JourneyCARE helps associations discover hidden talent, strengthen member engagement, and build future leaders. A thoughtful recruitment process also demonstrates that every member has something valuable to contribute, regardless of their level of experience.
Expand This Experience
Once your volunteer recruitment journey is established, consider adding:
Volunteer profiles that track skills, certifications, interests, and past service.
Leadership pathways that prepare volunteers for committee chairs and board positions.
Volunteer recognition campaigns celebrating service milestones and achievements.
Annual volunteer preference updates that allow members to refresh their interests and availability.
Event-specific volunteer scheduling and communication.
Dedicated volunteer communities for collaboration and networking.
Volunteer feedback surveys following projects or events.
Personalized recommendations for future volunteer opportunities based on previous participation.
AI-powered volunteer assistants that answer common questions about serving in different roles.
Engagement dashboards that help staff identify highly involved members and emerging leaders for future leadership opportunities.