Giving Your Volunteers Food Might Save Your Nonprofit.

As food insecurity grows in our community, you are going to need a new pipeline of volunteers, now!

Have you tapped into the amazing power of millennials, startups, and entrepreneurs with the idea of volunteering to get a food box?

That’s right — Reward your volunteers. You can create an entire recruitment program based on food boxes. And you dear nonprofit, can reward and recognize volunteers in any way you see fit. Encourage them to take food home.

Here is where the magic happens:

They feel appreciated, endeared to you and your mission, and they are likely to return to volunteer again. They are now more connected to your mission because they experienced it in action.

Now that your mission is in their heart, they are likely to become ambassadors and champions of your mission. Volunteering again (reliable help for you), sharing their experiences and tagging you on social media (increased free earned media), talking to everyone they know about your work, and recruiting their friends to volunteer with them.

Additionally, their basic needs get met too. They get a food box which allows them to stretch their budget in trying times. It is one less thing they have to worry about. Guess what?! Your nonprofit can count them in your program numbers leading to larger grant funding for your programs.

And since there is a direct path from volunteering to donors, your new well-cultivated volunteer is likely to make an entry donation and encourage their friends to support you too through social media fundraising pages.

They WILL begin talking about their experiences with you and how you made them feel. They will give you free earned media and talk about you and tag you a lot on social media which means more awareness and attention for your mission.

They are going to talk to their friends, family, and network. They will invite everyone they know to join them the next time they volunteer. They want their friends to serve alongside them and maybe get a food box too.

They will tell their co-workers and managers at work about their experiences with you too. Businesses get to learn more about your mission and needs and are likely to want to support their employees' work in the community. They will ask their co-workers to join them to volunteer leading to the company taking notice. This could lead to access to employee recommended business grants, skilled volunteer contributions like marketing or strategic planning, matching employee gifts, and new business contributions.

This will lead to a virtuous cycle pipeline of engaged volunteers, ambassadors, and donors all from appreciating your volunteers and encouraging them to take a food box home.

Here is a quick, fun video on giving your volunteer food boxes.

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If you would like to chat about creating a volunteer strategy to bring in more millennials, startup, entrepreneurs, and corporate volunteers, send an email to hello@twiggsco.com

Vicki has spent 15 years building a more connected, engaged, and purpose-driven community. She understands the intricacies among the needs of nonprofits to fulfill their mission, the desire for companies to have a more engaged workforce, and the role that the government plays in providing a space for both businesses and communities to thrive.

Let’s get social!