Best Practices for Volunteer Onboarding

Mar 3, 2025 | Articles, Non-Profit Industry

Key Takeaways:

  • A structured and strategic onboarding process is essential for motivating and empowering volunteers.
  • For more effective volunteer onboarding, organizations should Initiate contact with new volunteers promptly, communicate expectations responsibilities clearly, and ensure volunteers are aware of any compliance requirements.
  • Positive onboarding experiences can serve foster a sense of community, while helping volunteers resolve their most pressing questions.
  • Collecting feedback from volunteers ultimately improves the onboarding process.

If you run a nonprofit, chances are you rely on your volunteers. Volunteers are the backbone of the nonprofit sector; according to research, they make up one third of the nonprofit workforce.

They may not be a paid workforce, but considering how much manpower they supply, it makes sense to provide a comprehensive training program for volunteers, and one of the most important pieces of that training is onboarding.

Why do volunteers need onboarding?

When a volunteer chooses to give their time and energy to your organization, chances are that they already know a bit about your group and your mission. Something about your organization resonates with them and they want to support the work you’re doing.

A strong onboarding program is an excellent way for you to give them the same level of support. The goal of onboarding is to provide a comprehensive introduction to your organization, and let the volunteer know what they can expect as they begin working with you.

The process should cover:

  • Screening and any compliance issues
  • An introduction to organizational culture
  • Clearly defined expectations
  • Placement
  • Basic training

The best onboarding programs are structured, consistent, and communicative. Communication is particularly important for volunteers, who may not interact with your team often and who need to structure volunteer hours around other obligations. As your first contact with them, your onboarding program will set the tone for the level of communication your volunteers can expect from you.

Best practices for volunteer onboarding

1. Connect as soon as possible

When it comes to onboarding volunteers, it’s best to strike when the iron is hot. As soon as someone has registered as a volunteer, reach out to them. Your welcome message should acknowledge their interest in volunteering and start the onboarding ball rolling. This should should include:

  • A message thanking them for their interest
  • Links to any paperwork or forms that need to be filled out
  • An overview of your onboarding process, including an onboarding checklist
  • Any additional necessary resources
  • Contact details for your volunteer management team
  • Next steps

2. Manage expectations

Every organization manages their volunteers differently, so it’s important to be up-front with your new volunteers about what you expect from them, and what they can expect from you.

Before or during orientation, be sure to communicate clearly about the volunteers’ specific responsibilities, expected time commitment, and any other requirements. It may be a good idea to provide a volunteer handbook detailing your policies, procedures, and any frequently-asked questions. If your organization needs to place volunteers in specific roles, it’s important to write role descriptions clearly so that they are easily understood.

3. Orientation

A brief orientation, whether in person or online, gives your newest volunteers the chance to meet up with your leaders, more seasoned volunteers, and one another. Being able to put a face to a name, or ask questions in person (or online) is a good way to create a connection between volunteers and your organization. It’s also a good time to point learners at any courses or other resources they’ll need to access in order to be effective volunteers.

4. Don’t forget compliance

Depending on your organization, your volunteers may have to undergo background checks or learn about specific laws or regulations in order to work with you. Provide that learning so that they can take it easily and understand it quickly. Because your volunteers are busy people with jobs and other obligations, it may make sense to provide online learning modules that can be taken at their convenience.

5. Collect feedback

Is your onboarding effective? Only your volunteers can tell you. Ask your new volunteers for feedback during the onboarding process, and listen to what they say. If they need more information or clarification they should feel comfortable asking, and that will allow you to improve your onboarding process.

People are volunteering in greater numbers — and they’ll need support

After decline in volunteering during the pandemic, formal volunteering is once again reaching pre-pandemic levels. More than 75.7 million people — 28.3% of the U.S. adult population — formally volunteered through an organization between September 2022 and September 2023, the latest period for which there is data.

This is great news for nonprofit leaders, who have been facing a workforce shortage over the past few years. It also means that managing an influx of new volunteers may be a challenge.

Creating a structured, repeatable onboarding process is key to managing a large unpaid workforce, and it’s also important when it comes to building a connection with volunteers, making them even more enthusiastic about helping your cause.