A high-performing volunteer recruitment strategy is built on fostering a sense of community. You can achieve this by ensuring your program promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).
How to enhance EDI in your volunteer program
Embracing EDI not only strengthens the core values of your organisation but also enhances the impact and each of your fundraising and volunteering activities.
By taking some time to collect open and honest feedback on your volunteer program you’ll be able to identify places where your program falls short of your EDI standards.
- Surveys are a great way to gather insights from your volunteers. Collecting experiences and their perceptions related to EDI will help you form educated decisions about where to make improvements. You should also take some time to review the demographics of your program. Gathering information like this will help identify underrepresented groups.
- Review the existing policies and procedures to spot any unintentional biases or barriers to participation.
- Communication plays an important role in EDI. English might not be the first language of your volunteers, so ensuring your communication systems are translatable will help you be more inclusive and encourage people to feel part of the community.
Choosing a volunteer management software provider like Rosterfy for example will ensure your volunteer recruitment portal can be translated into different languages based on the preferences of the volunteer.
Once you’ve gathered an honest assessment of your program you can start to put it in a place for immediate and continual improvement. This strategy should:
- Define measurable outcomes and tie those goals to EDI
- Outline the steps you’ll take to achieve the above goals
- Ensure each metrics has a member of your team responsible for their improvement
A commitment to EDI will help develop the culture of your volunteer program. Additional training for your coordinating team will raise standards. Celebrating diversity will make participants feel more welcomed and improve your ability to recruit in those demographics.
Attracting a diverse pool of volunteers is vital for the long-term success of your volunteer program, here’s some ways you can improve your volunteer recruitment while focusing on EDI:
- Connect with diverse groups in the communities you wish to extend your program out to. Meet them where they can be found, be part of their networks.
- Ensure your marketing materials reflect the diversity you hope for in your volunteer program. Share your ideas with people from the communities you want support from.
- Address barriers that might put people off getting involved with your program such as transportation issues, unrealistic expenses to participate or childcare commitments.
Continual improvement is important to the sustained success of your volunteer program. Review your EDI efforts regionally, monitor the progress, gather feedback from your team and volunteers, and report back to your stakeholders.
Start today by assessing your current program, developing a strategic plan, and cultivating an inclusive culture. The benefits of a diverse and inclusive volunteer program are manifold, ultimately leading to a more vibrant and effective organisation.
