Microvolunteering is the act of many people coming together to give up a small amount of time and effort to create a larger impact within a community. Microvolunteering Day takes place on April 15th and is a fantastic way to get members involved with your Association and increase engagement levels.
Microvolunteering unifies your membership in order to create a synchronised effort to work towards an end goal. It acts as a reminder that volunteering within your organisation does not have to be a long-term commitment and allows those with little free time who would like to get involved, do exactly that.
Reaching out to your members via a newsletter, email or social media is a must to keep in touch, but in addition to providing updates, it’s a fantastic opportunity to ask for microvolunteers. This can involve anything from providing feedback on your Association, to providing a case study that can be used as an example to tackle a bigger issue.
By drip feeding these small engagement opportunities to your members, you in turn enhance the overall value of your Association by allowing it to grow and step ever closer to achieving its mission statement.
The more engagement opportunities that are provided to members, the more they will get out of their experience in being a part of your Association. It may be the case that many are yearning for more opportunities to develop their career but are severely lacking on time to offer.
If you are in need of full-time support, offering microvolunteering opportunities is an excellent way to build relationships with your members who are willing to provide their support. Solidifying these relationships may open new doors for future support.
Clear communication should be used when specifying what is needed from long-term volunteers, as this may alleviate any potential preconceived reservations that has stopped members from offering their support in the past.
Offering volunteering opportunities, in micro form or not, creates a sense of community within an Association, all the while increasing member engagement levels and in turn increasing member retention numbers. Recruiting volunteers will build strong relationships with your members, and potentially expand the contingency plan you have in place for your board.
Let us know in the comments how you will use microvolunteering in the future.