In-Person Volunteering: Tips for Hosting a Successful Event

In-Person Volunteering: Top 5 Tips for Hosting a Successful Volunteer Event

In recent years, it has been increasingly crucial for companies to make a positive impact on their communities, particularly by volunteering their services to those in need. However, the global pandemic has changed much of how we do things – including in-person volunteering. While the stay-at-home orders prevented people from volunteering in person for quite some time, many companies chose to offer their employees the opportunity to volunteer virtually. Virtual events allowed companies to continue making a difference while also giving employees a chance to connect with their co-workers from a safe distance.However, with the continuous roll-out of vaccines and companies going back into the office, things are starting to get back to a form of normal. In-person volunteering will hopefully be back soon! Some companies have been doing in-person volunteering events for years but others don’t know exactly what in-person corporate volunteering looks like...That being said, what does in-person volunteering entail, and what do companies gain from it?

In-Person Volunteering: Benefits and Current Status

In-person volunteering has been linked to numerous benefits for companies. These benefits include, but are not limited to, boosting employee morale, increasing workplace productivity, and even offering more opportunities for the company’s growth.These events have also been linked to better employee retention and the improvement of various skills needed to succeed in the industry. Furthermore, in-person volunteer events can be excellent avenues for employees to network and bond with others in the same field.Last but certainly not least, a company’s reputation is positively impacted by in-person volunteer events as they allow the consumers or buyers to see that the company cares about important causes and is not solely interested in making a profit.

What makes a good in-person volunteer event?

Hosting a corporate volunteer event can be challenging, but we've compiled the top 5 tips to guarantee a successful and impactful event, no matter the size!

1. Education

Volunteer events are a great opportunity to educate your participants on a cause. Add a keynote from a non-profit partner or share an inspirational video to create an engaging start to your volunteer event.

2. Impact

The impact is a core component of the volunteer experience. Work with a non-profit partner to ensure the volunteers are actually making an impact (and make sure the non-profit can prove the results). Data always wins!

3. Strong non-profit partner

Finding a good non-profit for your event can be challenging, make sure to give yourself plenty of time to identify potential partners and get to know the ones that stand out. Charity Navigator and GuideStar can be great resources as directories of non-profits in your area.

4. Fun team-building

Whether you choose to turn the activity into a competitive game or give individuals roles in which they all need to work together, get creative! Giving the employees an opportunity to get to know one another will lead to a stronger team and encourage more engagement in the experience.

5. Results

When people donate their time, they take value and price in seeing the results of their efforts. Work with your non-profit partner to collect the impact results and any media capturing the process. Once collected, put together an email with data and pictures to send to participants.

Here's to making an impact!

Interested in turning your virtual programs into in-person volunteer events? Contact the WeHero team!