Guest post by Lisa Joyslin

Many organizations struggle to engage volunteers who reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the communities they serve. In response to this issue, the Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Administration (MAVA) recently embarked on a research study which resulted in a set of eight strategies for creating a more inclusive volunteer program within nonprofit and government organizations. These strategies serve as a starting point for volunteer engagement leaders seeking concrete next steps for better engaging volunteers from diverse and immigrant communities.

By Apakshit Sachdeva and Basil Sadiq

Today, nearly 120,000 organizations are looking for volunteers on VolunteerMatch. With more than seven million volunteers registered, the good news there’s plenty of talent to go around.

Before you post a volunteer opportunity, however, it’s important to identify your department or program’s needs. Once you do, it’s time to write your volunteer opportunity, or appeal. Think of this as your organization’s cover letter.

Regardless of the size or type of your nonprofit, volunteers are probably your lifeblood — perhaps even more than your donors.

Volunteerism has long been an integral part of Box’s epic corporate culture. The technology company, based out of Redwood City, CA, wanted the process of finding and signing up for volunteer opportunities to be as easy as possible for their employees.

With VolunteerMatch’s Network Subscription, they were able to consolidate their giving platforms and incorporate thousands of searchable, real-time volunteer opportunities.

Guest post by Kenneth Waldman

Getting your employees to volunteer can be a challenging task. However, it can provide your company and your employees with many benefits that aren’t obvious right away. Employees may see volunteering as something that cuts into their time — either on or off work. In reality, volunteering represents a way of giving back to one’s community while strengthening relationships and building new skills, all of which ultimately improves the workplace and boosts employee engagement and retention.

Imagine this scenario: you write a position description, craft a compelling volunteer opportunity, hit publish, then wait. You either don’t receive many responses or hear back from volunteers that aren’t a great fit. Here’s where things get interesting: you’re not alone! For the third year in-a-row, volunteer managers worldwide still list volunteer recruitment as their #1 challenge.

One of the most common misconceptions about volunteering is that there are not many people willing to give their time and effort to a worthy cause. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), more than 62 million people volunteered in the U.S. in 2016, giving 7.8 billion of their hours to help generate more than $1.8 billion in services.

Editor’s Note: January is National Mentoring Month! To celebrate, we’ve partnered with Cricket Media to share stories about the positive impact mentoring — especially eMentoring — can have on young people’s lives.

Guest post by Jerome Tennille

Conducting operations while not depleting the resources these operations depend on is the pinnacle of any company pursuing sustainability. With countless factors to consider when tackling environmental or economically sustainable initiatives, many companies struggle to find a starting point. Some even quit before they begin.

Guest post by Apakshit Sachdeva

“Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another.”—Erma Bombeck

In today’s world, volunteerism serves as a hope for restoring the virtues of compassion, empathy, and community-building. Since volunteers are such a rare and admirable resource for achieving peace and well-being, it’s imperative that nonprofits know how to utilize their potential to the fullest.