4 Ways Your Website Can Feature Your Volunteer Program

The best nonprofit websites are designed to share information about all aspects of an organization. From a nonprofit’s goal to its day-to-day activities to the backstory of why the organization was founded, prospective supporters should be able to easily find any information they’re looking for.

That’s why it’s so important to effectively promote your volunteer program on your site—it’s just as important as your advocacy and fundraising efforts. If volunteers aren’t engaging with your nonprofit site, there are plenty of steps you can take to boost traffic and provide a more valuable online experience.

In this guide, we’ll review four ways your nonprofit website can more effectively showcase your volunteer program:

1. Drive traffic to your volunteer page with powerful CTAs (Call to Action).
2. Promote your volunteer program using video content.
3. Show volunteer impact.
4. Share information about volunteer grants.

To get a better understanding of how to effectively promote your volunteer program online, you can first review examples from Kanopi’s roundup of the best nonprofit websites. You’ll see each one uses the following strategies to prioritize volunteer engagement just as highly as donor engagement.

1. Drive traffic to your volunteer page with powerful CTAs.

   Marketing your volunteer program is critical to your nonprofit’s success. One of the ways you can drive traffic to your volunteer page is through calls to action (CTAs). These are prompts designed to inspire an audience into taking a desired action. On your website, that’ll probably look like a button that drives traffic to your volunteer program and online application.

   Your CTAs should be eye-catching and placed strategically to capture visitors’ attention. Use bold colors and large fonts. Include CTAs on your homepage and in your main website menu.

   Catch visitors’ attention by changing up your wording. Avoid vague terms such as “click here” or “learn more,” as they don’t describe the CTA’s purpose. Be direct with what action you want users to take. For example, your CTA buttons might say:

   • Free this weekend? Come volunteer with us!
   • Be a changemaker in your community
   • Help us feed families in need
   • Clean the neighborhood with us!
   • Take five minutes to make a difference
   • Spread your love for the arts
   • Are you an animal lover? Sign up for our weekend dog-walking shifts!
   • Promote learning for first-generation students

   Explore additional features of your content management system (CMS) to continually improve your website’s CTA and navigation strategy. For example, you might test out different types of CTAs and use your website metrics to determine which versions receive the highest click-through rates. Or, you might experiment with adjusting your main menu to reposition links to your volunteer page.

   Don’t be afraid to change up your strategy to identify the approach that’s most engaging for your volunteer audience.

2. Promote your volunteer program using video content.

   
   Videos are a versatile tool that can be used by nonprofit organizations for a variety of purposes. They can be especially useful for promoting your volunteer program. Here are a few ways you can make the most of any video footage you capture:

   • Create videos to promote your open volunteer positions. Show the great work you are doing and how people can contribute to your cause. Share details about your program, such as role responsibilities and any required time commitments.
   • Create recap videos after volunteers complete important projects. Tectonic’s video storytelling guide recommends creating a narrative arc through your recap video. Establish a protagonist, explain the problem they face, and show the journey they take to tackle the challenge. For instance, your video might recap the story of how a volunteer group was able to build a new home for a community member in just three weeks despite numerous setbacks regarding the weather and delivery issues.
   • Develop volunteer appreciation videos. Letting supporters know how much you appreciate their involvement is important both for volunteer retention and recruitment. These videos can follow the story of one volunteer or share a grateful message with a large group of volunteers.
   • Share videos on your website homepage, volunteer program page, and social media pages. Include videos on multiple high-traffic website pages, such as your home page and volunteer program landing page, to make these pages more engaging. In addition, incorporate cross-channel promotion on your social media pages to drive traffic back to your website.

   A polished video grabs supporters’ attention, and showing the positive impact your organization and your volunteers are making will attract even more volunteers and donors.

3. Show volunteer impact.

   Potential volunteers want to know that they’d be making a difference by volunteering for your organization. Gather data from past volunteer opportunities to illustrate your volunteers’ impact. Here are some examples of statistics you might take note of on your website:

   • Total pounds of canned food packaged
   • Total number of volunteer hours contributed in the last six months
   • Number of animals that found forever homes
   • Number of meals cooked for families in need
   • Number of events made possible with volunteer support

   You can use infographics on your volunteer program page to display this information in an eye-catching way. 

   As you create these infographics, keep nonprofit web design best practices in mind. This includes ensuring that the infographics have strong typography and sufficient color contrast between the text and background colors. Also, make sure your infographics include detailed alternative text so website visitors using assistive technologies can interpret them.

4. Share information about volunteer grants.

   A volunteer grant is a corporate philanthropy initiative where companies donate to nonprofits where their employees regularly volunteer. For example, a company could choose to donate $200 to your nonprofit for every one of their employees that volunteers at least 50 hours annually. These grants allow volunteers to make an even greater positive impact on your organization in addition to their hands-on work.

   Use your website to spread the word about volunteer grants and share information about how volunteers can check their eligibility. You can also specifically reach out to volunteers who work at businesses you know to have volunteer grant programs to encourage them to take advantage of their company’s program.

Your nonprofit’s website should be engaging and informative about all aspects of your organization’s work. As volunteers are crucial to your nonprofit’s success, it’s important to prominently feature your volunteer program on your nonprofit’s website in a variety of eye-catching ways.

Sparking interest in your volunteer program and showing the impact that your volunteers have is a necessary step to recruiting more volunteers that will help you further your cause. Remember to also thank your existing volunteers, since many of your nonprofit’s activities would not be possible without them!