Team-Building Ideas for Virtual Volunteers

Guest Contributor: Indiana Lee

Every nonprofit knows that volunteers are their best asset. People who take time away from their busy lives to commit to working for you, advancing your organization’s goals with passion, and providing a helping hand wherever needed. 

Every nonprofit also knows, especially in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, that not all volunteers can help in person. Whether your virtual volunteers are immunocompromised and still not comfortable with the possibility of COVID exposure, have physical and mental needs that can’t be met in the field, or simply live a great distance away from your organization’s headquarters, the number of virtual volunteers for nonprofits continues to rise. Virtual volunteering is an easy way for people to help out, wherever they are and whatever their constraints may be. As opportunities for virtual volunteering expand, volunteers are flocking to them in droves.

However, nonprofits recognize that one major aspect of volunteering is challenging to replicate in a virtual environment: team building. The sense of relational culture that evolves from working together in person is a truly special part of volunteering and is somewhat put off by the barrier of working online. But difficult doesn’t mean impossible, and nonprofits that take the time to investigate and implement virtual team building will see their efforts pay off with happier volunteers, repeat helpers, and a thriving, fully remote sense of relational culture. 

Let’s break this down. 

The Importance of Virtual Team-Building

Before we start talking about the how of virtual team-building, we should first fully explore the why — why should your nonprofit expend effort to research, organize, and lead virtual team-building exercises for your volunteers? You might wonder: do my virtual volunteers even want this kind of thing? 

The short answer is yes. Volunteers are there because they want to be, and most crave the relational culture that typically underscores volunteer work in an in-person setting. Volunteers want to get to know each other, and virtual team building engages remote attendees and allows them to feel included, listened to, and known. 

From your perspective as an organization, organizing team building is also one of the best things you can do to facilitate effective cross-functional collaboration. Virtual team building allows volunteers to get to know each other and establish a foundation of familiarity, both with their fellow teammates and with your organizational values. It’s an opportunity to forge a bond of trust that informs their collaboration, a connection that allows the community to flower and inspires everyone to be their best selves. Put another way: it’s the first and arguably most important way to signal to your employees that you’re all in this together. 

There’s always the risk of some volunteers taking a begrudged outlook on team building; however, that risk does not outweigh the reward. And the end of all your effort is that even the most reluctant participators may find themselves engaged by your activity, drawn further into the community of passionate volunteers you’re trying to create.

Brainstorming Team-Building Exercises

Now, how can you create virtual team-building exercises that introduce volunteers to one another while also engaging them and inspiring people who’ve never met to act as a cohesive team? We find the key to remote team building is to inspire people to get hands-on to interact with one another, even behind the screen. Feel free to use any of these ideas as inspiration when you get to crafting your own team-building events:

• Set up a virtual scavenger hunt: Virtual scavenger hunts don’t often require a lot of set-up on your part, yet they can be an effective way to get volunteers to reveal quite a bit about themselves. Virtual scavenger hunts require volunteers to find items that fit the description of a prompt, encouraging them to show off their possessions, hobbies, interests, and more.

• Attend a virtual escape room: Unlike the competitive games covered before, escape rooms require volunteers to work together to isolate clues, solve puzzles, and escape from fictional settings. Escape rooms are great tools for discovering leadership potential, encourage close collaboration, and are generally a fun and rewarding experience for the entire team. 
• Host a miniature campfire: As far as bonding activities go, mini campfires are great ways to encourage an evening of relaxation and conversation among volunteers. Performing all of the activities remotely, like s’more roasting and ghost storytelling, is a way to have fun while also allowing volunteers to connect with one another in a low-pressure environment.

You can also host virtual team buildings centered around your organization’s ethos. Activities like gardening, zero-waste cooking workshops, or nature hikes are also possible to do virtually and help everyone connect more with your organization’s values. 

It is possible to cultivate a strong team-oriented culture virtually. Remote volunteers needn’t be isolated through careful planning and collaboration. Follow the above tips when shaping your own virtual team building, and your volunteers will be connected, passionate, and united in advancing your cause.

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