In this article we take a look at volunteer diversity and inclusion are important and 10 tips on how your organization can create a more diverse and inclusive volunteer program.
Diversity and inclusion are major elements in creating connected and thriving communities. This includes programs offered, services available, and the staff and volunteers that represent the communities they serve.
Diversity and inclusion increase the richness of ideas, creative power, problem-solving ability and respect for others. Diversity promotes inclusion and understanding, often a major goal of non profits and volunteer-involving organizations. In fact, studies on diversity in the workplace have found that for every 1% increase in gender diversity, company revenue increases by 3%. And higher ethnic diversity can increase revenue by a whopping 15%. Even more important for volunteer organizations, is that engagement was higher in organizations that promote diversity.
Once you’ve created a diverse team, the second challenge is ensuring everyone feels welcomed, valued, understood and part of the team - in other words, creating an inclusive culture for all and proving your commitment to diversity.
We recently covered diversity as one of the 10 workforce management trends that will dominate in 2022. If you missed it, you can download the white paper here.
In this article, we’ll dive further into why volunteer diversity and inclusion are important and 10 tips on how your organization can create a more diverse and inclusive volunteer program.
Diversity refers to the qualities that differentiate people as individuals, and in this instance, we’re talking about recruiting a diverse team of volunteers with varying experience, values, habits and skills. Diversity might be reflected in:
Volunteerism, by its very nature, is a powerful way to build bridges between people and can be one tool that can help to bring equality and justice to all.
On the volunteer side, removing barriers for potential volunteers provides increased social participation, education, confidence and health, as well as a sense of purpose and a connection to the community.
And by getting to know people from different backgrounds, volunteers gain a greater sense of empathy and understanding, traits that extend through every facet of life, creating more inclusive and open-minded communities.
If a volunteer organization wants to promote social diversity, the first step is making sure they are recruiting a diverse team of staff and volunteers. Avoid working with just one type of person, instead recruit people from all walks of life. In this way, your organization can reflect the diversity found in the community, and you’ll create a more inclusive space for everyone.
Inclusion is about actively involving people and creating a sense of belonging for everyone, no matter their beliefs, ethnic background, age, gender or physical abilities. It’s about not only recognizing differences but celebrating them and respecting that everyone brings a unique and valuable contribution.
For example, if your organization traditionally has young students as volunteers, then an older adult may not feel like they are as valuable or welcome. But if your organization is made up of a diverse group, no one will feel left out.
Similarly, if you can make small adjustments to your workplace such as adding ramps for wheelchair users, you remove that barrier for potential volunteers who use wheelchairs or walking aids.
Keep reading to learn more about ten ways to promote diversity and inclusion in your volunteer program.
The best way to build a strong organization is by focusing on the people within it. Focusing on increasing your volunteer retention rate is a good first step toward ensuring your volunteer program is running well. This will emphasize to other volunteers and the wider community that your organization is a diverse and inclusive space that treats its volunteers with respect.
One of the best ways to increase your retention rate is by focusing on volunteer engagement. Ensuring you have a team of happy volunteers who enjoy their experience and are therefore likely to sing your praises and encourage their friends, family and colleagues to participate as well, should be the goal. After all, your existing volunteers are often your best recruiters. Volunteer management software such as Rosterfy can streamline this process, by digitizing and automating elements such as volunteer communication by SMS and email, onboarding and training, rewards and recognition, and rostering and scheduling.
Read more about 5 great ways to keep your volunteers engaged.
To increase the diversity of your volunteer network, you may need to actively approach new networks and sections of the community. It may help to establish relationships with community leaders, and if you get the chance to give a presentation to members, this will be a great way to share more about what you do, and how volunteers can help. And remember, in the end, it’s more important to find people with the right attitude, rather than certain skills that can be taught. Look out for these ten qualities when recruiting volunteers for your organization.
Consider reaching out to:
Each community is unique and could have certain needs, which is why it’s important to approach with the aim of building a long term relationship, and be receptive to ideas or suggestions for improvements to make your program more inclusive.
There’s nothing worse than starting somewhere new and having no idea what to do, who to ask, or even where to store belongings. It leaves people unmotivated and disengaged - the exact opposite of what you want!
By creating a volunteer orientation and onboarding plan, you will ensure expectations are set from the start, give volunteers confidence, and create an inclusive and happy workplace.
Here are a few things to consider that will make it easy for volunteers to get started:
Diversity and inclusion for volunteer organizations is about the people, but also the types of work and the roles available.
Role variety is essential because different people will be attracted to various jobs based on their skills, interests, experience and capabilities.
So as you are putting together volunteer roles, consider offering a range of opportunities that include:
Download Rosterfy's free Volunteer Job Description Template here.
Having a system in place for volunteers to try out different roles before they commit to their favorite is another great way to encourage volunteer diversity and boost retention. Offering volunteers additional training and professional development opportunities such as First Aid courses or leadership skills to equip them with skills that can benefit the volunteer themselves, your event or organization and the broader community.
Ultimately, for inclusive practice to be effective, everyone in an organization should have their rights and needs recognized and upheld.
This may include photos on your website of people that represent a diverse population, same-sex couples, different age groups and genders, which would show inclusivity.
On your registration form, you may include checkboxes for Female, Male and Non-binary, or ask people for their preferred pronoun.
Similarly, use open-ended questions and language that is gender-neutral. For example, terms such as ‘spouse’ and ‘partner’ as opposed to ‘husband’ or ‘wife’ avoid assumptions around a volunteer’s gender identity and/or sexuality.
If you have language-diverse volunteers, matching them with other volunteers who speak the same language, or setting up pages on your website in various languages are simple practices that can leave a lasting impact. In fact, Rosterfy’s simple and unique multi-language options allow administrators to select default language options with the click of a button, which volunteers will see reflected in not only their registration form but also their portal and in all subsequent emails and SMS.
We know technology can be a tool that can achieve inclusivity. After selecting Rosterfy as the volunteer management system for the Special Olympics, Senior Volunteer Manager Saurabh Mishra said, “Special Olympics World Games and National Games are such incredible events and, as we are committed to welcoming athletes and volunteers with diverse intellectual disabilities, I love that by utilizing Rosterfy we are making things simpler for our volunteers.”
There are two types of volunteers, those that are extrinsically motivated by external rewards, and those that are intrinsically motivated. People volunteering at a sports event or fun run in return for discount entry would be considered extrinsically motivated, while those who are intrinsically motivated are engaged in volunteer activities because they find it to be meaningful and enjoyable.
Understanding more about your volunteers and what motivates them will help you create a rewards and recognition program that speaks to both groups. This is especially important as you improve volunteer diversity- as they will likely have very different motivations.
Taking the time to better understand the motivations of your volunteers goes a long way toward engaging volunteers. Consider including some ‘get to know you’ questions on your registration form or run a survey to find out more about what types of rewards would appeal to your volunteers.
Here are a few types of rewards you may consider offering:
Extrinsic rewards
Intrinsic rewards
Rosterfy enables administrators to create their own custom reward and recognition program. From the number of hours required to redeem prizes through to the rewards themselves, users have the ability to create their program the way that works for them. Key milestones can unlock new rewards and incentives that show your appreciation.
For some people, volunteering is an integral path toward employment. This may include recent immigrants who don’t have the right work visas or qualifications yet, convicted felons struggling to find work after release, students looking for their first job out of school, people returning to the workforce after a long break and people with disabilities.
Volunteering is a great way to gain skills and experience, build networks, referees and ultimately help build up a resume. In many cases, these volunteers already possess skills or interests in certain areas and are looking for ways to refine these skills and demonstrate their work ethic to potential employers. They may be looking for skills-based opportunities, whether it be in nursing, communications, IT or hospitality, that can prepare them for a future career.
Furthermore, organizations benefit from a diverse team of volunteers who are willing and eager to learn, and can bring a sense of resilience with them, as well as a strong and sometimes unique skillset.
In return, you would be expected to provide some sort of certificate of completion, positive reference, industry contacts, or mentorship that can help the employee get paid employment when they are ready. And while the hope is that they develop the skills and confidence to move onto a paid role, hopefully they will still return as an occasional volunteer in the future!
If your aim is to promote diversity and inclusion, your entire organization needs to buy into this goal and work together to create an inclusive and welcoming environment. This goes beyond the volunteer team, from the top managers through every department.
Working together to create a workplace culture agreement that explicitly spells out your message is a great way to get commitment. You could run diversity and inclusion training for volunteers and staff, where examples of diversity are demonstrated, then work together to create a team charter that reflects your organization’s mission.
A culture agreement may include:
Once finalized, make sure to print it out and display it prominently in the workplace, as well as including it as part of the onboarding process. It can also be something that all staff, existing and new volunteers sign in recognition of their agreement. You can see an example here.
There are many barriers that prohibit potential volunteers from volunteering. Being aware of them is the first step to removing them, and promoting volunteer diversity and inclusion.
Some common barriers include:
While a cultural agreement is a great way to get your organization's values down on paper, culture is about more than just written words. Creating a team culture between volunteers is a great way to build engagement and teamwork.
This can be encouraged through games and challenges, social events, volunteer thank you nights, team lunches and even social media channels where volunteers can connect and chat outside of work. Many people volunteer to meet people in their community, outside of their immediate circle, so embrace this by hosting icebreaker activities to help volunteers get to know each other.
Some other simple things that can really help are creating catchy team names, project teams, uniforms and name tags for everyone. And always be willing and open to receiving feedback and suggestions to further reinforce that you are all one team, working together towards the same goal.
Rosterfy exists to connect communities to events and causes they are passionate about through volunteer and paid workforce management technology. Our proven end to end technology allows charities, events and organizations to recruit, register, screen, train, manage and report with ease, replacing manual processes with automations to better engage and retain your volunteers.
If you’d like to learn more about how Rosterfy can help you recruit and manage a diverse team of volunteers, why not book a demo of our product today?
Read more:
Listen to our podcast episode, Volunteer Diversity. The Key to a Successful Event with Tami Richter - Director of Events, Volunteers, Staffing and Resources at one of the world’s biggest events, SXSW.
In volunteering, inclusivity isn’t a buzzword, it’s the cornerstone on which impactful and sustainable volunteer programs are built.
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