Since nonprofits are based on volunteer work, they need to be able to recruit people to come and work for them. People need to want to donate time to a good cause that they can be passionate about. Researchers describe that in most cases, people are most motivated to volunteer for personal reasons. They also found that it is more common for young people to motivate for personal reasons and older folks wanting to volunteer with the idea of helping others. For both generations there are a few main motivational reasons. This can include, wanting to do it to be a part of a group and feel needed, the desire to help others for selfless reasons and the desire to make connections in the community and further a professional career. Another factor that must be considered is loyalty to the organization. It is important that the nonprofit utilize volunteers in a way, that they can visualize the difference they are making and by doing so, it can increase loyalty and make sure the volunteer returns. Research shows, that returning volunteers have an increased level of motivation and support for the organization which is vital for the survival of a nonprofit.
Tom Kuntz, a fire chief for a nonprofit organization described that the best way to get people to volunteer is by having a mission statement that sparked passion and motivation. He had found that people were more motivated to work when the organization supported something that they found inspiring. Another factor that he stressed was that it is important that the organization never turn anyone away and that they find a place for everyone as long as they are willing to work.
Environmental nonprofits are the driving factor in helping the environment improve and make nature more accessible to everyone for years to come. By supporting these organizations, people have the opportunity to make a in a local community that can spread to the world.
This is a really interesting topic. I wonder how these organizations can make their efforts more visible/actively recruit volunteers.
ReplyDeleteI also am really interested in the motivation for volunteers and motivation within an organization. With your research, you seemed to open a can of worms, so to speak. I wish there was a deeper connection to the environment within your article in order to tie better with the title.
DeleteIn addition, for the sake of a blog post, I would recommend using a bulleted list for the second paragraph. I got a little lost in the restatement of motivations, and I believe it could be better structured!
Overall, very well written!
Communication to motivate individuals to volunteer is an interesting topic. It would be interesting to see if nature reserves take advantage of social media to attract volunteers.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think non-profits can better harness the general concern for the environment and make volunteering more accessible for more people? How do you feel non profit organizations can better find a balance of strength in their message? Do you think there is a general model for non-profit organization messaging that could be found?
ReplyDeleteI love this topic but it does make me sad that it is so hard to find volunteers, which is understandable but very sad because they are so needed. I think what needs to be done is have experiences like your own put out on social media so other people can hear a personal story and different tactics like that. What do you think is the best way to reach out to people?
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