Animal Welfare Professionals

Question about posting volunteer opportunities — we currently send out an every-other-week email to EVERYONE who has filled out an application that lists what's coming up, and we also post these things in a private Facebook group that only has our core volunteers.

The open rate for the email is abysmal as is the response (more often than not, core volunteers just end up taking these tasks on anyways), and honestly, rather than putting a great deal of effort into revamping the newsletter, I'd like to consider something else.

Another less-private Facebook group would be perfect IMO because it would notify anyone who was a member that something was posted, but my sister did raise the issue of "what if they don't have Facebook." Any programs you're aware of out there that would do the trick? I do plan to try to survey these volunteers to see how many have Facebook but I'm not optimistic about a high response rate there either.

Background: We have no dedicated volunteer coordinator so the more hands-off and cheap, the better. Doesn't need to track volunteer hours.

#DataandTechnology

Would it be possible to look into "text alerts" for mobile phones? not sure how much info it could/should contain, but it might be possible to include a link to more info too

 

#DataandTechnology

Are you guys using any kind of volunteer management software? Cheetah has an app that gives notifications and Volgistics has some great features too. 

 

 

#DataandTechnology

We aren't using any software except MailChimp's free account. I'll look into the options you mentioned; our budget is basically zero, which is always a fun challenge

#DataandTechnology

You may want to take a look at Mail Chimp. It is free to use for up to 2000 people on your distribution list and for up to 12,000 email messages a month so it can be a low/no cost way to get started. You could keep your distribution lists targeted at a particular audience. The format of the emails looks very professional once you learn how to format them through the online tools and can include a link to a sign up page or application. Good luck, I hope this is helpful. 

#DataandTechnology

We've been using MailChimp - anyone who fills out the application is automatically subscribed, which I think contributes to the very low open rate (like, if you don't even attend orientation afterwards, you sure as heck aren't going to read this email). But I'll dig into what other resources it offers. Thanks!

#DataandTechnology

Hi Sadye,

 

May I ask what your open rate is? I ask because a "good" open rate by industry standards is around 20%, give or take a few, and a good click through rate is around 3%, both of which seem low to many people.

At any rate, how targeted is your email list? Did everyone specifically opt-in to receive volunteer opportunity updates? If not, this might be why. Research shows email is still the best way to reach people but if they're not responding, it could be a number of reasons, such as: subject line isn't compelling enough, it's going to spam, they aren't available for volunteer opportunities right now, they don't remember signing up, they're just busy, etc. 

I love your idea of doing a survey but I would simply do it to ask all of your volunteers how they'd like to hear about opportunities. (Not just specifically a survey to see if they use facebook. They may, but email still might be the best way to reach them, if done correctly.) Another option is instead of creating a new facebook group, have more people join the Core one? Also, if you're not already, you could post a link to your volunteer opportunities weekly on your organization page, and make sure you're reminding people to like your pages in emails.

Testing different days/times of day that you send your email is always smart, too.

Here's a blog post that might be of interest to you: http://chewonthis.maddiesfund.org/2017/05/are-your-emails-to-supporters-getting-deleted-or-ignored-heres-how-to-fix-that/ 

Best of luck to you!

 

#DataandTechnology

You can use free options like Discord servers, Telegram groups, or domestic tools like WeCom and Feishu. None of these require a Facebook account; they send notifications instantly, are 100% free with no running costs, and are perfect for small teams to use long-term.

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Rose mauve
无
无
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-27-2017 06:21 PM
From: Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Subject: How do you share volunteer opportunities?

Question about posting volunteer opportunities - we currently send out an every-other-week email to EVERYONE who has filled out an application that lists what's coming up, and we also post these things in a private Facebook group that only has our core volunteers.

The open rate for the email is abysmal as is the response (more often than not, core volunteers just end up taking these tasks on anyways), and honestly, rather than putting a great deal of effort into revamping the newsletter, I'd like to consider something else.

Another less-private Facebook group would be perfect IMO because it would notify anyone who was a member that something was posted, but my sister did raise the issue of "what if they don't have Facebook." Any programs you're aware of out there that would do the trick? I do plan to try to survey these volunteers to see how many have Facebook but I'm not optimistic about a high response rate there either.

Background: We have no dedicated volunteer coordinator so the more hands-off and cheap, the better. Doesn't need to track volunteer hours.

#DataandTechnology

We've run into a similar challenge, and honestly, we've found that simplifying things has worked better than trying to overhaul one main channel.

On our website, we have a "Get Involved" section that clearly outlines all the ways someone can help - transport, fostering, spreading the word, donating, and volunteering based on specific skills (fundraising, photography, social media, etc.). Instead of pushing out constant opportunity-specific asks, we try to funnel people there so they can self-identify how they want to help.

We then encourage anyone interested to email us directly, which helps keep things a bit more manageable without needing a dedicated volunteer coordinator.

We do still use a newsletter, but more as a general touchpoint rather than relying on it to fill specific needs - we've found response rates can be hit or miss there too.

------------------------------
Julie Beatty
Grants Coordinator
Ziva Dog Rescue
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-27-2017 06:21 PM
From: Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Subject: How do you share volunteer opportunities?

Question about posting volunteer opportunities - we currently send out an every-other-week email to EVERYONE who has filled out an application that lists what's coming up, and we also post these things in a private Facebook group that only has our core volunteers.

The open rate for the email is abysmal as is the response (more often than not, core volunteers just end up taking these tasks on anyways), and honestly, rather than putting a great deal of effort into revamping the newsletter, I'd like to consider something else.

Another less-private Facebook group would be perfect IMO because it would notify anyone who was a member that something was posted, but my sister did raise the issue of "what if they don't have Facebook." Any programs you're aware of out there that would do the trick? I do plan to try to survey these volunteers to see how many have Facebook but I'm not optimistic about a high response rate there either.

Background: We have no dedicated volunteer coordinator so the more hands-off and cheap, the better. Doesn't need to track volunteer hours.

#DataandTechnology

We do pretty much the same thing, a fb group, email and text and have the same response. The same people will step up. I find with us, because we have so many different species of animals at our sanctuary,  many people who apply to volunteer will come one time to see the animals up close and then never come back again. In our fb volunteer group I tag everyone and still only a few respond. We too are looking for a better way to reach out to volunteers. One of our volunteers suggested using whatsapp to connect but just like fb not everyone uses it.  

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Lisa Burn
Co-founder/VP
Farmhouse Animal & Nature Sanctuary
Myakka City, FL
https://farmhousesanctuary.org
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-27-2017 06:21 PM
From: Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Subject: How do you share volunteer opportunities?

Question about posting volunteer opportunities - we currently send out an every-other-week email to EVERYONE who has filled out an application that lists what's coming up, and we also post these things in a private Facebook group that only has our core volunteers.

The open rate for the email is abysmal as is the response (more often than not, core volunteers just end up taking these tasks on anyways), and honestly, rather than putting a great deal of effort into revamping the newsletter, I'd like to consider something else.

Another less-private Facebook group would be perfect IMO because it would notify anyone who was a member that something was posted, but my sister did raise the issue of "what if they don't have Facebook." Any programs you're aware of out there that would do the trick? I do plan to try to survey these volunteers to see how many have Facebook but I'm not optimistic about a high response rate there either.

Background: We have no dedicated volunteer coordinator so the more hands-off and cheap, the better. Doesn't need to track volunteer hours.

#DataandTechnology

We also struggle with this. I LOVE the idea of the text alerts that a few people have mentioned and will have to mention that to our volunteer coordinator. We all have our phones on us 24/7 so this is a great idea. One simple and old school idea we have used in the past is just to have a dry erase board with upcoming opportunities next to where volunteers leave their belongings when at the shelter. This obviously only gets the word out to active volunteers who come in, but it worked for those people, and we saw events and shifts filled. 

------------------------------
Katheryn White
Adoption Counselor/Grant Writer
PAWS Shelter of Central Texas
TX
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-27-2017 06:21 PM
From: Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Subject: How do you share volunteer opportunities?

Question about posting volunteer opportunities - we currently send out an every-other-week email to EVERYONE who has filled out an application that lists what's coming up, and we also post these things in a private Facebook group that only has our core volunteers.

The open rate for the email is abysmal as is the response (more often than not, core volunteers just end up taking these tasks on anyways), and honestly, rather than putting a great deal of effort into revamping the newsletter, I'd like to consider something else.

Another less-private Facebook group would be perfect IMO because it would notify anyone who was a member that something was posted, but my sister did raise the issue of "what if they don't have Facebook." Any programs you're aware of out there that would do the trick? I do plan to try to survey these volunteers to see how many have Facebook but I'm not optimistic about a high response rate there either.

Background: We have no dedicated volunteer coordinator so the more hands-off and cheap, the better. Doesn't need to track volunteer hours.

#DataandTechnology

This thread is nine years old and the same problem keeps coming back, which tells you it's a systems issue, not a channel issue.

The real pattern here is that most volunteer programs treat communication as broadcast (one message to everyone) when what actually works is routing (the right message to the right person at the right time). Someone who signed up to foster doesn't need to hear about every transport run. Someone who wants to photograph adoption events doesn't need the weekly kennel cleaning schedule.

That's one of the things we built into the AWRN at Animal-Angels Foundation. Volunteers and fosters have profiles with what they signed up for, what skills they have, and what county they're in. When something comes up, the system routes it to the people who match instead of blasting everyone and hoping three people respond.

On the practical side for right now, Katheryn's dry erase board idea is underrated. Sometimes low-tech wins because it catches people when they're already in the building and in the mindset to help. Text alerts work too, but only if you segment. A weekly "here's what's coming up" text to your active volunteers will outperform any email blast to your full list.

The bigger question is whether your volunteer list is actually a volunteer list or a "people who filled out a form once" list. Sadye called that out back in 2017. If someone never showed up to orientation, they're not a volunteer, they're a lead. Different communication for different stages.

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BJ Adkins
Founder/Director
Animal-Angels Foundation
Pinson, AL
bjadkins@animal-angels.org
animal-angelsfoundation.org
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-20-2026 09:11 PM
From: Katheryn White
Subject: How do you share volunteer opportunities?

We also struggle with this. I LOVE the idea of the text alerts that a few people have mentioned and will have to mention that to our volunteer coordinator. We all have our phones on us 24/7 so this is a great idea. One simple and old school idea we have used in the past is just to have a dry erase board with upcoming opportunities next to where volunteers leave their belongings when at the shelter. This obviously only gets the word out to active volunteers who come in, but it worked for those people, and we saw events and shifts filled. 

------------------------------
Katheryn White
Adoption Counselor/Grant Writer
PAWS Shelter of Central Texas
TX

Original Message:
Sent: 07-27-2017 06:21 PM
From: Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Subject: How do you share volunteer opportunities?

Question about posting volunteer opportunities - we currently send out an every-other-week email to EVERYONE who has filled out an application that lists what's coming up, and we also post these things in a private Facebook group that only has our core volunteers.

The open rate for the email is abysmal as is the response (more often than not, core volunteers just end up taking these tasks on anyways), and honestly, rather than putting a great deal of effort into revamping the newsletter, I'd like to consider something else.

Another less-private Facebook group would be perfect IMO because it would notify anyone who was a member that something was posted, but my sister did raise the issue of "what if they don't have Facebook." Any programs you're aware of out there that would do the trick? I do plan to try to survey these volunteers to see how many have Facebook but I'm not optimistic about a high response rate there either.

Background: We have no dedicated volunteer coordinator so the more hands-off and cheap, the better. Doesn't need to track volunteer hours.

#DataandTechnology

I've used programs like Better Impact, but it's costly and honestly, a high learning curve. If I were you, I'd utilize the mailing list, but upon onboarding (or those coming in for shifts) have them opt in for more specialized categories, including their interest, but also capacity to fill shifts in the first place for better response. I use Facebook heavily, but you're right, not everyone has it or wants to use it for that purpose. Texts can be helpful, but you'll run into the same issue and sometimes texting platforms cost money too.  It might be worth creating a survey via Google Forms so you can better understand the demographic and needs of your volunteers and pivot accordingly, it might be that it makes it clear who uses what the most, and if the minority simply isn't responsive regardless. I don't know how big your roster is, but I try to reach out (via a volunteer) and check in to see if people still want to participate and find out how to better engage them, because continued engagement is extremely neglected in our work due to low resources and brain power, but is worth the effort. It would need to be a peer-to-peer volunteer who wants to actually get the information you're looking for. 

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Shanna Jiggar
Community Develop Manager
Copper Quill Haven
ID
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-27-2017 06:21 PM
From: Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Subject: How do you share volunteer opportunities?

Question about posting volunteer opportunities - we currently send out an every-other-week email to EVERYONE who has filled out an application that lists what's coming up, and we also post these things in a private Facebook group that only has our core volunteers.

The open rate for the email is abysmal as is the response (more often than not, core volunteers just end up taking these tasks on anyways), and honestly, rather than putting a great deal of effort into revamping the newsletter, I'd like to consider something else.

Another less-private Facebook group would be perfect IMO because it would notify anyone who was a member that something was posted, but my sister did raise the issue of "what if they don't have Facebook." Any programs you're aware of out there that would do the trick? I do plan to try to survey these volunteers to see how many have Facebook but I'm not optimistic about a high response rate there either.

Background: We have no dedicated volunteer coordinator so the more hands-off and cheap, the better. Doesn't need to track volunteer hours.

#DataandTechnology