With how diverse today’s society is, creating more inclusive volunteer opportunities should be something organisations prioritise. By creating inclusive opportunities, it not only attracts volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds, but it also ensures that everyone feels welcomed, valued and empowered when volunteering. Creating inclusive volunteer opportunities is easier than you might think, it just requires careful planning.
Here are 5 tips to keep in mind when you’re writing your next volunteer opportunity to make it more inclusive for volunteers:
1. Clearly State Your Commitments to Diversity and Inclusion
When you’re drafting up a role description, you should state your organization’s commitments to diversity and inclusion. Having a diverse and inclusive team of volunteers allows your organization to interact and empathize with a more diverse audience and helps boost productivity. Unless it’s a role that requires specific age ranges or a specific ethnic/race background, you should make sure to emphasize that you actively seek out volunteers from all walks of life and value everyone’s unique perspectives and experiences.
2. Highlight Your Organization’s Accommodations and Accessibility
When writing your opportunities, you should include a section that talks about what your organization has in place to ensure that people who have disabilities or special needs can fully participate. This may include information such as whether the volunteer venue is accessible for wheelchairs, or whether they can work remotely. By showing that your organization is committed to accommodating individuals with disabilities and special needs, you make them feel more welcome and seen, and thus more willing to apply to volunteer with you.
3. Use Inclusive Language
By using inclusive language, it shows that you respect and welcome volunteers of all kinds. You should avoid using gendered pronouns and instead opt for neutral language that encompasses all genders, ethnicities, abilities and backgrounds. For example, you could use words such as “Give back” or “Support”, and avoid phrases such as “looking for young volunteers” to ensure that passionate and experienced volunteers aren’t left out. Moreover, you should also use simple language and avoid using any excessive words that may cause applicants confusion.
4. Define Your Roles and Expectations Clearly
Since most volunteers have other commitments such as full-time jobs or schoolwork they have to juggle, you should be upfront about the time commitment needed, as well as any additional training which may be required. Moreover, you should also be upfront about what’s expected of the volunteer within your opportunity listing, as well as what they should expect in return so there’s no confusion when they start volunteering with you.
5. Encourage Feedback from Volunteers and Applicants
Encouraging feedback from volunteers and applicants is the best way to improve your opportunity listings. Since volunteers and applicants have gone through the recruitment process, they’re the best people to tell you what you’re doing wrong and what you need to improve. By actively listening to your community’s feedback and tweaking your opportunity listings accordingly, you’ll not only be able to create more inclusive opportunity listings to help recruit a diverse team of volunteers, but also help foster an environment where diversity is celebrated.
Today’s society is incredibly diverse, and we should celebrate it by being as inclusive as possible. By creating more inclusive volunteer opportunities, you’re showing the community that everyone is welcome, and their unique skills and perspectives are what makes them special. Want to start putting these tips to the test? Sign-up today with Volunteer Success and start looking for volunteers today! If you have any other questions, we’re here to help! Contact us at support@volunteersuccess.com
