This document provides 10 tips for creating a compelling volunteer posting. It advises to state your organization's mission, determine strategic priorities and key areas of need, outline a discrete scope of work with deliverables and timeline, ensure necessary prerequisites are in place, describe the ideal candidate and required skills, define what success looks like, highlight the impact the volunteer will create, show how the volunteer will benefit from experience and learning, and consider using a trusted provider to recruit and manage volunteers.

1. TOP 10 TIPS
TO CREATE A COMPELLING
VOLUNTEER POSTING
1. State your mission and briefly explain
what your organization does. Creating a
personal connection to your organization is
important from the volunteer’s perspective.
2. Determine your strategic priorities.
Think about both long term and short term
needs. Involving senior leadership and your
board will be critical. Identify key areas of
need. Think about what would be
appropriate to execute with a skilled
volunteer keeping in mind that not every
need should be a volunteer project.
4. Outline a discrete scope of work. List all
deliverables, and make sure what you’re
asking for is reasonable for an individual
volunteer to complete. Set an ideal project
timeline.
5. Make sure you have the necessary
prerequisites in place. It’s important to
sequence your project needs to avoid
backtracking. Determine internal capacity
to take on this project.
6. Describe the ideal candidate you want
to work with. Be explicit about specific skills
and level of experience required in a
volunteer. Outlining what you want will help
when you get to the vetting phase of
selecting a volunteer.
7. Define what success looks like. Setting
the right expectations at the outset
determines the success of the project.
8. Highlight the impact the volunteer will
create. Explain why this project is essential
for your organization, what benefits it will
provide, and what resources will be saved;
volunteers will be compelled to apply when
they understand the impact their work can
have.
9. Show the volunteer how they will
benefit. Articulate the experience you can
offer them and what they can learn. Show
them you know how to have fun while doing
amazing work!
10. Consider using a Trusted Provider.
Trusted Providers take the hassle out of
recruiting and managing a volunteer and
ensure that volunteer projects are set up for
success. To learn more visit Catchafire or
Taproot.
Catchafire ensures your volunteer experience will be meaningful, enjoyable, and impactful. All of Catchafire’s organizations are vetted and
prepared, our projects are well-scoped and flexible, and you will be supported throughout your experience should any issues arise.