About this resource
How to reach and recruit volunteers
Here are some tips for multicultural community organisations to broaden their outreach and attract more people to their volunteering opportunities.
Getting the word out
1 - Introduce your organisation
First, let people know about your organisation and why you are seeking volunteers. Make sure you have a clear explanation about what your organisation does, and how volunteers can get involved. Include details about your website and/or social media pages where potential volunteers can learn more about your organisation.
2 - Clearly describe roles and responsibilities
Next, clearly define what activities each volunteering opportunity will include. Based on your organisation’s needs and capacity, provide an overview of the basic requirements of the opportunity, and highlight some of the benefits, and skills, that volunteers can gain while performing their duties.
3 - Advertise the opportunity
With a clear opportunity outlined, you can begin sharing it online, in person, via your social media channels or through your newsletters.
4 - Build your volunteer workforce
Visit volunteering.gov.au to find more information about how you can register your organisation, advertise opportunities and start building your volunteer workforce at no cost.
Make information accessible
Always consider who you’re communicating with and adapt your volunteering opportunity descriptions to appeal to your audience.
Here are a few considerations:
Simple language
Use clear language that is easy to understand.
Test promotional materials
Test your promotional materials with existing volunteers or contacts to get feedback.
In-language and translated materials
Consider translating into multiple languages to better engage with multicultural audiences.
Advertise
Advertise your volunteering opportunities through the Volunteering website. Details on how to do this can be found at volunteering.gov.au.
Videos and animations
Consider creating videos, animations and images to help people visualise how they can get involved and showcase the benefits of the volunteering opportunity.
Share
Share information through WhatsApp groups, private Facebook pages or email lists to ensure the volunteering opportunities reach the right people.
To start building your volunteer workforce
Visit volunteering.gov.au(Opens in a new tab/window) for more information on volunteering, how to register your organisation and to add your volunteering opportunities on the Volunteering website.