Staying in Contact with Volunteers using Text: 4 Tips

Your nonprofit constantly has its hands full. Between leading engaging community programs, serving your beneficiaries day in and day out, and running fundraising campaigns, your nonprofit’s staff can’t possibly handle everything on your plate. This is where volunteer support comes in to save the day!

Volunteers are the backbone of your organization, so it only makes sense that your nonprofit does everything it can to keep volunteers engaged and boost retention rates. To connect with your volunteers around the clock, leverage one of the most personal and direct communication channels: text messaging. 

Text messaging is one of the best ways to spark ongoing involvement and encourage volunteers to support your most pressing needs. Use these texting tips to stay in contact with your volunteers year-round. 

1.) Share upcoming volunteer opportunities

A great way to keep volunteers excited about your nonprofit and encourage them to stay involved is by sharing upcoming opportunities through your text messaging campaign. Unlike other communication platforms where your messaging can easily get overlooked, texting ensures your appeals for volunteers are seen by your supporters.

In fact, text messaging has a 99% open and 90% read rate, so you can feel confident that your communications will reach your target audience. As a result, you’ll be able to fill any open roles and push your mission forward. 

Using your text messaging platform, create a separate text messaging segment for current and prospective volunteers to deliver relevant opportunities to increase their involvement. You can then use this segment to broadcast your needs and upcoming volunteer opportunities in areas like:

• Community outreach and engagement
• Event planning and coordination
• Administrative support and office assistance
• Marketing and social media promotion
• Fundraising and donor outreach
• Program development and implementation
• Education and training initiatives for new volunteers

Another way to more effectively engage and manage your volunteers is by segmenting supporters according to their specific interests. For instance, an animal welfare nonprofit might make the following volunteer segments:

• Event planning segment for volunteers specifically interested in setting up fundraising events 
• Dog walking segment for volunteers passionate about dog adoption efforts
• Cat care segment for volunteers interested in supporting the well-being of cats in the shelter’s care
• Remote volunteering segment for volunteers that want more flexible opportunities

However you decide to segment your volunteers, ensure that you send out your volunteer needs in advance so supporters have ample time to plan and adjust their schedules accordingly. You’ll also want to include all the logistical details supporters need to know, such as the date and time of their shift, recommended attire, and location. 

2.) Keep volunteers updated on your mission

By keeping volunteers up to date on your organization’s progress, you’ll be able to reinforce the importance of their hard work and increase motivation. Plus, creating open lines of communication helps to foster trust, leading to stronger relationships that you can rely on for years to come. 

Consider providing the following updates and highlights over text to inspire and engage your entire volunteer base: 

• Fundraising news: Share how your online fundraising campaigns are performing with your volunteers. For example, you can send updates once you hit major milestones and encourage volunteers to share your donation page with their personal networks. 
• Impact stories: Your volunteers put a lot of time and effort into your nonprofit’s success. To help them understand how their actions make a difference, share stories from beneficiaries that show volunteers that their contributions are meaningful. 
• Policy and advocacy updates: Keep volunteers informed about relevant policy developments, legislative actions, or advocacy campaigns related to your nonprofit's mission. Provide opportunities for volunteers to take action and support your advocacy goals, such as signing petitions or leading peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. 
• Organizational news: Let your volunteers know about any changes or developments within your organization, such as leadership transitions, strategic planning initiatives, expansions of programs and services, or new partnerships or collaborations with other organizations. For instance, if you have several volunteers who work at the same company and their employer just started a volunteer grant program, you might use your text messaging campaign to educate them about this opportunity. 

Keep in mind that you can always send a link to a resource on your website that explains a given update in more detail. This way, you won’t end up writing lengthy texts that aren’t as likely to be read. For example, you might share a new blog article that talks about your latest advocacy work and share this with volunteers. Just make sure that the content you send is always mobile-friendly! 

3.) Encourage volunteers to donate

Your volunteers donate their time and skillset to your organization, but did you know you can also turn volunteers into financial donors with the right strategies? Your volunteer base is a great place to cultivate new donors since these individuals already have a vested interest in your cause and want to push your mission forward. 

Tatango’s guide to text-to-give recommends using these best practices to encourage volunteers to donate: 

• Share text-to-give opportunities that are relevant to their interests: If a portion of your volunteers are passionate about your marine conservation efforts, for example, you might encourage them to donate towards your next fundraiser for sea turtle conservation. Use the information you’ve collected about your volunteers so far based on their engagement history to guide your donation appeals. 
• Explain the tangible impact of their financial contributions: Make sure to explain exactly how donations will be used so volunteers can better understand how giving will amplify their impact at your organization. You can also show how different donation amounts will spark change, such as sharing that donating $25 will feed one family for three days, donating $100 will feed four families for three days, and so on. 
• Create a strong call to action: Make your donation appeal straightforward and express urgency. For example, saying “Donate by midnight to end child hunger!” is more effective than “Donate today!”

Just like you would take time to steward a donor before asking them to give, do the same with your volunteers! Asking them to give too early in your relationship can make them feel like their volunteering efforts aren’t valued. Spend time getting to know your volunteers and developing strong relationships before sending a donation appeal. 

4.) Show volunteer appreciation

Volunteers are crucial to the success of your events, community programs, and more! Leverage your text messaging campaign to thank volunteers for all their hard work in advancing your mission. eCardWidget’s guide to volunteer appreciation recommends using these strategies: 

• Personalize your thank-you messages: Rather than sending a text that says “Thank you, valued volunteer!”, greet your supporters using their first names. This makes your recipients feel truly seen by your organization. The right text messaging software will empower you to personalize texts automatically, saving you time from having to manually type out custom thank-you notes!  
• Explain the specific impact volunteer contributions have had: For example, you might say “Thank you for your help setting up our auction. Because of your efforts, we were able to raise $5,000 for our mission to end hunger in our community!” 
• Publicly recognize volunteers: Public recognition can help volunteers feel valued by your team. Consider writing a blog post about volunteers who go above and beyond and share this link with all subscribers on your text messaging campaign. This is also a great way to market your volunteer program to prospective volunteers and donors. 

You can also ask volunteers directly how they’d like to be thanked so you can narrow down interests. For example, some of your volunteers might prefer to be thanked privately instead of publicly on your blog. Send out a mobile-friendly survey in your text messaging campaign that asks volunteers about their preferences. 

Wrapping Up

Text messaging can help you engage volunteers, encourage their ongoing involvement, and convey the impact of their work. Make sure to market your text messaging keyword and nonprofit SMS short code widely so your current and prospective volunteers can opt-in and start receiving your messages. 

Author: Mike Snusz, Director of Nonprofit Customer Experience at Tatango

Mike Snusz, brings 19 years of digital fundraising experience to his role as Director of Nonprofit Customer Experience at Tatango, a text messaging platform for nonprofits and political campaigns. Prior to Tatango, Mike spent 15 years at Blackbaud leading a team of digital consultants that helped nonprofits improve their online fundraising, monthly giving, email marketing and peer-to-peer fundraising programs. Mike started his nonprofit career managing the Ride For Roswell from 2003 to 2005 in his hometown of Buffalo, NY.