With 86% of public schools struggling to hire teachers and 44% of educators reporting feeling burned out, schools—and their students—are in serious need of additional support.

As a school administrator or educator yourself, you’re likely all too familiar with long hours and a never-ending list of daily tasks. To effectively tackle initiatives like school fundraisers, enrichment programs, and schoolwide improvement strategies, you need the helping hands of volunteers from your community.

In this guide, we’ll explore top tips for recruiting a robust volunteer community, as well as suggestions to help you manage and retain your volunteers. Let’s get started!

1. Tap into existing connections and communities.

While volunteers can reduce your workload, help you save on event costs, and connect you with the community, finding them can be a resource-intensive task. Most businesses know that it’s easier to retain existing customers than to attract new ones, and the same logic applies to recruiting volunteers. Plus, seasoned volunteers are more likely to be efficient and independent workers.

Instead of attempting to reach brand new prospects, start with your school’s existing networks. Consider these individuals first when recruiting volunteers:

  • Those who have volunteered in the past
  • Members of your school’s PTA or PTO
  • Students’ family members (parents, grandparents, guardians, etc.)
  • School staff and faculty
  • Community leaders you’ve connected with in the past (e.g., a business owner who has sponsored events)

To reach these groups, ask past contacts if they’d be willing to volunteer again. You might even suggest specific volunteer opportunities that align with their interests.

Leverage student-driven volunteer recruitment by having them nominate parents or other family members to help out—a direct ask from their student can be a powerful motivator for parents. This fosters a strong volunteer community that is truly passionate about your school and students.

2. Offer engaging incentives.

Another powerful motivator for prospective volunteers is access to exclusive perks or benefits. Reward volunteers’ efforts with incentives that aren’t available to just any parent or community member.

Some common incentives include:

  • Public recognition via social media spotlights, volunteer recognition walls, a Volunteer of the Month program, or another similar system
  • Unique volunteer merchandise that only volunteers can earn (make sure the merchandise looks polished and professional!)
  • Exclusive event access, including perks like early access to registration, discounted or free tickets, VIP seating, and priority parking
  • Discounts or coupons to popular local restaurants and businesses
  • Volunteer appreciation events, complete with food, entertainment, and school swag bags

In addition to being unique and exclusive, your perks should align with the average volunteer’s interests and needs. For instance, busy working parents will appreciate a local pizza restaurant voucher they can use for a weeknight meal.

3. Provide micro-volunteer opportunities.

Micro-volunteering involves short-term, low-commitment opportunities. These types of volunteer tasks are ideal for busy parents and community members who want to support your school but don’t have the bandwidth for roles that demand hours of their time. For example, you might create simple volunteer tasks like:

  • Reading to a class
  • Leading short tutoring sessions
  • Preparing snacks for school events
  • Helping a teacher organize their classroom
  • Promoting online fundraisers via social media

By offering micro-opportunities, your school can recruit people who may not have otherwise considered volunteering. For some, this may serve as a gateway to more involved, higher-commitment tasks once they experience firsthand the value of their volunteer efforts.

To help these micro-volunteer efforts add up to something bigger, spread awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs like volunteer time off (VTO) and volunteer grants. VTO is a special form of time off that employees can use to volunteer during the workday, and volunteer grants are financial contributions businesses make to the organizations their employees volunteer with.

4. Highlight volunteer impact.

It might be difficult for potential volunteers to see how something like managing logistics for a fundraising event positively impacts students. To entice new volunteers to join your program and prove that their efforts make a difference, clearly communicate how volunteers positively impact student success, satisfaction, and learning.

Don’t just share dull statistics. Instead, measure your volunteer’s efforts and translate impact data into a compelling story by following these steps:

  1. Measure volunteer impact. First, you’ll need a streamlined volunteer management platform to track metrics like the number of hours your volunteers serve, retention rates, positive outcomes, volunteer satisfaction, etc. Make sure the metrics you track align with your goals. For example, if your goal is to boost fundraising revenue, you’ll want to track how many dollars your volunteers help you raise.
  2. Analyze data. Next, analyze your data to determine whether your program is achieving its goals and identify the most compelling statistics. In addition to reporting strong quantitative data (e.g., “This year, volunteers gave over 1,500 hours of their time to support our students!”), include qualitative data like positive testimonials or stories. You might even use technology like predictive AI to project how your volunteer program will impact students in the future.
  3. Create an engaging report. Use your graphic design tools and skills to repackage your data into a shiny, engaging format. Use graphics to help volunteers understand impact metrics at a glance. Explain how these numbers connect to tangible outcomes parents and family members will care about. You might include a statement like, “Because our volunteers boosted yearly fundraising revenue by 50%, we could purchase new books that enhance student learning and encourage reading.”
  4. Share with potential volunteers. Now, share these compelling impact metrics and stories with your target audience. Link to the report in update emails and on relevant landing pages on your school website. Include brief highlights from the report in short-form content like social media posts to hook the busier members of your audience.

Not every potential volunteer will have the time (or desire) to read an impact report. As you uncover data insights, pluck out the most compelling statistics (e.g., “After this volunteer event to reorganize the library, book loans went up by 75%!”). Keep these on hand to use in calls to action, emails, or on your school website’s volunteer program page.

5. Create a volunteer leadership team.

According to Double the Donation’s report on volunteer trends, 35% of people who volunteer do so to socialize. To cultivate a strong volunteer community that satisfies this need to connect, designate a few seasoned, dedicated volunteers to lead your team.

Empower these volunteers to lead events, train and connect with new volunteers, and recruit from their existing networks. Not only will this foster a stronger sense of community with other volunteers, but it will likely lead to increased communications. After all, volunteer leaders will have more time to dedicate to checking in with fellow volunteers than your school’s busy staff and faculty.

Don’t forget what we mentioned earlier—recruiting new volunteers is more difficult than retaining those you already have.

To steward your volunteers, 99Pledges recommends thanking those who support your campaigns with heartfelt, personalized messages and sharing updates informing them of upcoming volunteer opportunities. Recognizing their hard work publicly and privately is another simple gesture that will go a long way.

Volunteers don’t just provide the extra helping hands schools desperately need. They also expand your network, create more engaging learning experiences for students, and deepen your roots in the community. By leveraging these strategies, you’ll cultivate a community of engaged volunteers who are just as dedicated to student success as you are.