The entire nonprofit sector is built on the incredible work of volunteers. Many of us are paid, it’s true. But if it wasn’t for their contributions, we wouldn’t be able to achieve half of the impact we set out to make.

In other words, volunteers are the grease that make the work in an often-difficult sector that much easier. They help in so many ways, from helping to deliver programmes, to organising events, to providing specialist expertise for free, to spreading awareness in the community. Whether tangible and intangible, their support is invaluable.

But what happens when the volunteers simply aren’t there? What happens when you look for volunteers but get no response?

One obvious reaction is to advertise more widely. This can help (and we’ll discuss some untapped markets below), but finding volunteers isn’t always just a visibility problem. Sometimes the issue is that the opportunity is too demanding, too vague, too difficult to find, or simply being presented to the wrong audience.

Out of all the challenges that nonprofits face, this is probably the most common one we encounter with our own nonprofit partners. We know how hard it can be when you don’t know what isn’t working.

So let’s dive into a detailed guide of what you can try.

Start by looking at the opportunity itself

Before searching for more people, take a close look at what you are asking them to do.

A role described simply as “volunteer needed” tells a potential volunteer very little. A specific role such as “Two-hour financial planning consultation for a youth charity” immediately gives someone a clearer idea of what they could contribute.

This is particularly important for skilled volunteering. A professional may be willing to give two hours of their expertise without hesitation, but much less willing to sign up for an open-ended commitment.

Break larger needs into smaller, defined pieces of work wherever possible.

Ask:

• What do we actually need help with?
• What skills are genuinely required?
• Can the work be done remotely?
• Does it need to happen during working hours?
• Could someone complete it in a single session?
• What would a successful outcome look like?
• What support or information would the volunteer need from us?

This kind of volunteer needs assessment can reveal that a project which initially appears to require a long-term volunteer might actually contain several smaller, well-defined tasks.

That makes the next step — finding the right people — much easier.

1. Look where professionals already look for opportunities

If you need a volunteer with skills in marketing, finance, IT, law, HR, design, communications or another professional field, don't limit your search to traditional volunteering websites.
 

LinkedIn Jobs

LinkedIn can be particularly useful for skills-based volunteering because it brings volunteering into a professional environment where people are already thinking about their skills and careers.

Nonprofits can post volunteer opportunities on LinkedIn, and LinkedIn itself recommends being very specific about the skills required, the nature of the work, the time commitment and the impact the role will have.

The important point is not to disguise a volunteer role as a job. Rather, borrow some of the clarity of a good job description.

Instead of:

“We need someone to help with our website.”

Try:

“Volunteer WordPress specialist — help us improve the accessibility and navigation of our charity website. Approximately 4–6 hours, remote.”

The second opportunity is much easier for someone to assess against their own availability and expertise.

LinkedIn search and Recruiter

You can also go beyond posting and actively identify people who might be a good fit.

LinkedIn's search tools allow organisations to find professionals according to skills, experience, location and other criteria. LinkedIn Recruiter can also be used for direct outreach, including to people who may not be actively looking for a new role.

The principle is simple: don't always wait for the volunteer to find you.

If you need a graphic designer, for example, identify a group of relevant professionals and approach a small number with a genuinely personalised message explaining why you thought their expertise could be useful.

A carefully targeted message to ten people can be more productive than a generic post seen by hundreds.

2. Go to schools and universities

Students are another potentially valuable — and sometimes underused — source of volunteers.

Universities often have established relationships with nonprofit organisations, volunteering offices, student societies, careers services and academic departments. Some institutions actively incorporate volunteering into student development programmes.

For example, universities in Italy have developed structured partnerships with Third Sector organisations, giving students opportunities to contribute to community projects while developing practical and transferable skills.

Don't just send an email saying, “Do you have students who would like to volunteer?”

Instead, approach the university with something concrete:

• A semester-long communications project
• A one-day community volunteering activity
• A research or data project
• An opportunity for students studying marketing, business, IT or languages
• A recurring volunteering programme
• A project that could complement an existing course or student society

Schools can also be valuable, particularly for local, practical volunteering. Teachers, school coordinators and student organisations may be interested in projects that give young people meaningful opportunities to contribute to their community.

The trick is to make the partnership useful to the institution as well as to the nonprofit.

3. Run a volunteer open day

Sometimes people don't volunteer because they don't know what volunteering with your organisation actually looks like.

A volunteer open day can solve that.

Invite prospective volunteers to see your work, meet your team, hear directly from people involved in your programmes and understand the different ways they could contribute.

Importantly, don't make the event a long presentation about the organisation. Give people something tangible to experience.

Show them:

• Here is what we do.
• Here is the problem we are trying to solve.
• Here is what our volunteers actually do.
• Here are five ways you could get involved.

An open day can also attract people who are interested in your mission but aren't yet ready to commit. That matters because recruitment isn't always a single transaction. Someone who comes to an open day this month may volunteer next month — or introduce you to someone who can help.

4. Make the first commitment smaller

One of the most effective ways to overcome volunteer hesitation is to stop asking for a major commitment at the beginning.

Offer a way in.

That could be:

• A one-off team volunteering event
• A two-hour professional consultation
• A single afternoon helping at your premises
• A one-day fundraising event
• A workshop delivered by a professional
• A short remote project
• A single event supporting beneficiaries

For skilled volunteers, consider advertising very specific consultations.

“Two-hour call with a nonprofit to advise on Google Ads” is a very different proposition from “Volunteer marketing manager wanted”.

For in-person volunteering, similarly, a Saturday morning helping prepare materials or support an event may be much easier to commit to than “volunteer every week”.

This isn't about reducing volunteering to a series of transactional interactions. It is about creating a low-friction first experience.

Once someone understands your organisation, meets your people and sees the impact of their contribution, a longer-term relationship can develop naturally.

5. Activate the network you already have

Before looking for strangers, ask the people already connected to your organisation.

Volunteers, donors, employees, board members, beneficiaries, partners and supporters all have networks of their own.

Make the request specific.

“We're looking for a lawyer who could give us two hours of advice on a contract.”

Or:

“We're looking for five people who can help us at our community event on Saturday morning.”

Specific requests are easier to forward and much easier for someone to act upon.

And remember that someone who cannot volunteer themselves may still be an excellent connector.

6. Build corporate partnerships — not just corporate volunteering days

Companies can provide access to a particularly valuable pool of both skilled and in-person volunteers. But the strongest corporate relationships usually require more thought than sending an email asking whether a company would like to organise a volunteering day.

Start by identifying companies where there is a genuine connection between your mission, their interests and their employees' skills.

Then think beyond a single event.

A good corporate partnership might include:

• An annual team volunteering programme
• Skills-based projects
• Employee-led fundraising
• Recurring volunteering opportunities
• Specialist professional support
• A combination of remote and in-person contributions

The starting point should be the nonprofit's actual needs. Corporate volunteering works best when the interests of employees, the objectives of the company and the requirements of the nonprofit genuinely overlap.

How to approach companies

Research before you reach out.

Look for companies that:

• Have an established CSR or employee volunteering programme
• Operate near your location
• Have employees with relevant professional skills
• Have publicly stated interests that align with your cause
• Already support organisations working in your field
• Have an employee base likely to engage with your work

Then identify the right person. Depending on the organisation, this might be someone in CSR, sustainability, HR, employee engagement, communications or community investment.

Lead with a problem you can help the company solve:

“We have a series of practical projects where groups of 10–20 employees could make a measurable contribution.”

Or:

“We are looking for professionals who could provide short-term expertise in finance, communications and digital strategy.”

Make the proposition easy to understand.

Start small and cultivate the relationship

A first volunteering event can be the beginning rather than the end of the relationship.

Afterwards, report back on what happened. Thank the employees personally. Share the outcome. Ask what worked and what could be improved.

Then have a second conversation.

What other needs does the nonprofit have? What are employees interested in? Are there skills within the company that could be useful? Could another department participate?

Over time, a company can move from providing occasional volunteers to becoming a reliable partner.

That requires cultivation. The nonprofit should understand the company's priorities, while the company should understand the nonprofit's real needs. The relationship should develop around actual work and shared objectives, rather than being treated simply as a source of free labour.

Employee engagement can also help strengthen wider relationships between companies and nonprofits, particularly when employees develop their own connection with the organisation and its mission.

7. Cast the net wider (and use more than one marketplace)

There is no single place where all the right volunteers are waiting.

Different platforms attract different audiences, so spreading opportunities across several relevant channels can substantially increase your chances of finding the right person.

For remote and skilled volunteers, consider professional networks and skills-based volunteering platforms. For local volunteers, look at community organisations, universities, schools and local volunteering networks.

And don't overlook platforms specifically designed to connect companies, nonprofits and volunteers.

Copalana Skills Volunteering is one option for nonprofits looking for structured professional expertise. Nonprofits can define the skills, languages, deliverables and time expectations required for a project, making it possible to present a much more concrete proposition to potential volunteers.

For in-person volunteering, Copalana Team Events offers another route. Instead of recruiting individuals for an ongoing commitment, nonprofits can create defined team volunteering opportunities that companies and groups can book.

The broader lesson is important: don't make the volunteer do the searching.

Put your opportunities in several places where the people you need are already looking, and make each listing specific enough that someone can quickly understand whether it is right for them.

8. Retention starts before recruitment

Finally, finding volunteers is only half the challenge.

If every new project begins with a search for another group of people, your organisation is constantly starting from zero.

Retention therefore deserves as much attention as recruitment.

That means making sure volunteers:

• Know exactly what is expected of them
• Have a clear point of contact
• Receive the information and training they need
• Can see the connection between their work and your mission
• Receive feedback
• Feel that their contribution is noticed
• Have an easy way to stay connected

Good onboarding and clear communication are particularly important. Volunteer management guidance from Idealist and Points of Light emphasises clear responsibilities, training, supervision, check-ins and recognition as important parts of creating a positive volunteer experience.

And don't underestimate the importance of saying thank you.

After someone has contributed, tell them what happened as a result. If they helped prepare 200 food parcels, tell them where those parcels went. If they spent two hours improving your website, show them the result.

People are much more likely to return when they can see that their time mattered.

Asking for a friend

If there’s one key takeaway from all of this, it’s that an attitude towards volunteers themselves is often the difference between finding them or not.

Volunteers shouldn’t be thought of as merely unpaid employees. They should be treated as just as valuable as good friends. Because that’s what they are: friends to your nonprofit and your cause, generous and caring, your biggest cheerleaders when times are good and a solid rock of support when times are tough.

Just like your friends, they’re all different. Some people want to spend Saturday morning getting their hands dirty. Others want to spend two hours advising on a legal problem from their laptop. Some want to volunteer every week. Others can offer one afternoon a year.

But they’re all valuable. So make sure you’re offering them the same things you do with your friends: honesty, openness, gratitude, time, and support. Everyone is more willing to give their time when they feel respected and appreciated.

And if these values are shining through as you search for volunteers, then don’t worry: you’ll find them.