How to Keep Volunteers Engaged During the Busy Summer Months

How to Keep Volunteers Engaged During the Busy Summer Months

Here we go! As the temperatures rise and the flowers start to bloom again after the dark, dreary winter months, we know we’re entering the summer season. For non-profit organizations, this time of year means fewer volunteers. This combination can leave you feeling even more shorthanded than usual.

Here are a few of the most common roadblocks non-profit organizations most often face during the summer from a personnel and volunteer perspective, and how to overcome them.

Increased Organization Demand

What does the demand look like for your nonprofit? If you’re like many, demand picks up over the summer. The core group that you help continues to have a strong (if not stronger) need of the services you provide, which means you’re facing an increased demand. This increased demand already puts a strain on your resources, causing you to need more people available to help you fulfill the needs of your community. But, other realities about summer make that difficult.

Parents Who Also Have an Increased Demand at Home

School’s out for summer! That means, many parents are out of childcare for summer too. Even though they might send their kids to camps, they’re not going to have the same kind of availability to help your nonprofit as they did during the school season.

An Overall Busier Vacation Season

Let’s face it. More people like to travel when the weather is warm because it’s usually more enjoyable to be outside. That’s why the summer seems to sell out hotel rooms and campgrounds, while at the same time sucking you dry of volunteer help. And with the busier vacation season comes busier, unavailable volunteers. Your core group of team members are probably planning their getaways to warm beaches, or to a cool mountain air retreat. No matter where they’re going, one thing is certain – they won’t be as available to help your organization while they’re away.

So What Can You Do?

Ready or not, here it comes. Summer is almost here but this time of year doesn’t have to leave you feeling burnt out because you have fewer hands on deck.

To combat this inevitable turn of events during the summer, it’s imperative that you have a sound scheduling system. If you give your volunteers and employees access to the scheduling system, you’ll give them ownership over their shifts. If last minute vacation plans pop up, your volunteers can recruit someone else to fill their shift instead of leaving the burden on you. With an online scheduling app, you can keep tabs on where you’re lighter on volunteer hours, while at the same time holding your volunteer squad accountable for their shifts.

With a plan and solid scheduling system in place, you can keep your non-profit running smoothly.

Author Profile Jon Forknell is the Vice President and General Manager of Atlas Business Solutions, Inc., a software marketing company specializing in employee scheduling software, including ScheduleBase employee scheduling software, and other business software solutions. In the past, Jon has been recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Atlas Business Solutions was named as one of Software Magazine’s Top 500 Software Companies in 2004 through 2007 and again in 2010, 2013 and 2014.