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Volunteer Work on a Resume: Examples and Templates

Here’s everything you need to know to effectively showcase volunteer work on a resume, including volunteer resume examples and templates.

10 months ago   •   6 min read

Volunteering isn’t just a great way to help out your community — it can also be used to build your resume. Whether you don’t have a lot of paid work experience yet or you’re trying to get experience in a specific niche, volunteer work is a great way to round out your resume, learn in-demand skills, and fill in any missing gaps.

Keep reading to learn how to effectively showcase volunteer work on your resume. In this article we will cover:

• Volunteer resume templates you can download
• Examples of volunteer resume accomplishments
• Essential volunteer-based skills to list on your resume

How to list volunteer work on a resume

• Start by creating a separate resume section. Give it a title like “Volunteer Experience” or “Community Involvement.”
• Alternatively, you can list volunteer work directly in the Work Experience section of your resume — just make sure to put “Volunteer” somewhere in your job title.
• List the organization and your dates of service (years or months).
• List your job title. If you had a specific job title, like “Fundraising Coordinator,” use that, but if not, “Volunteer” is fine.
• Choose 2-3 examples of things you accomplished during your role.
• List these in bullet points, starting with an action verb like Managed, Collaborated, or Organized.
• If possible, add some numbers to quantify each accomplishment — for example, “collected $15,000 in donations” rather than “collected donations.”
• Get instant feedback from our free resume scanner before you send it off.

Volunteer resume templates

Here’s an example of a resume you could use to show off your volunteer work for a nonprofit organization:

A template like this works well if you don’t have a lot of paid work experience, by taking your volunteer experience and letting it shine upfront.

Here’s another volunteer resume example:

This template is ideal if you have a mix of paid and volunteer experience that you want to showcase on your resume. You can download these volunteer resume templates — and more — from our ATS resume templates page.

I recommend uploading your resume to the tool below to check whether you have effectively highlighted your volunteer experience, along with any transferable skills gained from that experience.

Examples of volunteer work on a resume

Whether you start with one of the templates above or prefer to create your own resume from scratch, you’ll need some actual accomplishments to fill it out. Here are some volunteer resume examples you can copy and paste or use as a jumping-off point to write your own.

Nonprofit volunteer resume

Volunteer work looks great on a resume, whether you’re applying to work at a nonprofit organization or you just want to show off a few relevant accomplishments. Here’s an example:

XYZ Nonprofit Organization, June 2019 - Present Volunteer • Organized and executed fundraising events, resulting in over $15,000 in donations. • Coordinated with volunteers to collect and distribute donations to local families in need. • Provided support for various programs and initiatives, including outreach to underserved communities.

Community service volunteer resume

Community service isn’t just a nice thing to do — it’s also a great way to build skills and gain experience, especially if you’re just starting out. Here’s an example:

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE ABC Youth Center, September 2018 - May 2019 Volunteer Mentor • Mentored and provided support to a group of 10 at-risk youth, promoting positive behavior and academic success. • Coordinated activities and field trips, fostering teamwork and communication skills among youth participants. • Encouraged and guided youth in setting and achieving personal goals, resulting in increased self-esteem and motivation.

Student volunteer resume

If you’re a student or recent graduate, volunteer work is a valuable addition to your resume. This can include student activities and organizations. Here’s an example:

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE Resume Worded Finance Society, September 2017 – May 2020 Head of Events • Founded the first ever Business Series to organize finance training for 500 students. • Organized and advertised 10+ quarterly networking events with 300+ participants in 3 universities in Boston. • Managed the launch of new booking system to improve organization of events; system now used across university.

Hospital volunteer resume

Looking to start your medical career? Adding some volunteer work alongside your studies is a great way to show that you’re committed to the field and passionate about your work.

Here’s an example:

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE Resume Worded Medical Center, 2016 - 2018 Volunteer Emergency Medical Technician • Volunteered as an EMT for one night-shift weekly in one of the busiest areas in New York City. • Provided basic patient assessments to assess the severity of the patient’s condition, subsequently providing BLS to treat those conditions; 100% success rate in resuscitating emergency patients. • Worked as part of a 3-person team to treat patients & understand their medical and family histories.

Political volunteer resume

Political organizations can be contentious, but there’s a way to list them on your resume while staying professional. Instead of talking about a specific issue, keep the focus on the work you did and leave partisanship out of it. Here’s an example:

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE Young Voters Society, June 2019 – April 2020 Poll Agent • Registered high school students to boost voter participation among 19-year-olds by 71%. • Partnered with a team of 12+ poll watchers to prepare election ballots within 30 minutes, establishing a 98% accuracy rate in counting votes.

Charity work resume

No volunteer work is too small for your resume. Remember to keep the focus on what you accomplished with some action verbs and metrics, like in this example:

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE XYZ Animal Shelter, August 2017 - December 2018 Volunteer • Assisted in the care and adoption of over 100 animals, including dogs, cats, and rabbits. • Coordinated with staff and other volunteers to organize successful adoption events, resulting in a 30% increase in adoptions. • Raised over $5,000 in donations through social media campaigns and community outreach efforts.

Resume-worthy skills gained through volunteer experience

Don’t have volunteer experience in the area you’re planning to work in? That doesn’t mean it isn’t relevant! When listing experience — volunteer or otherwise — on your resume that isn’t obviously related to the job you’re applying for, the key is to emphasize transferable skills. Some of the best soft skills to highlight on a volunteer resume include:

Communication

Problem solving.

• Organization
• Project management
• Customer service
• Relationship building
• Conflict resolution

But don’t rush to list these skills in your Skills section — transferable skills like these belong in your Work Experience accomplishments instead. For each skill that you want to highlight, choose an example of a time when you demonstrated that skill and turn it into a bullet point. Here are some examples:

• Collaborated with a team of volunteers to organize a successful fundraising event that raised $10,000 for a local charity.
• Worked in a team to implement a new system for tracking donations, resulting in a 25% increase in donor retention.

If you’re struggling to come up with things you accomplished, try thinking about what your whole team accomplished instead. Not only will this add some more achievements to your resume, it also shows that you’re a team player, which is something every employer wants.

• Provided excellent customer service as a volunteer at a community center, effectively communicating with diverse populations and resolving issues in a timely manner.
• Managed social media accounts for a nonprofit organization, creating engaging content and responding to inquiries from followers.

Instead of saying something vague like “communicated with members of the public,” try to focus on how you communicated — for example, working in a customer-facing position, calling donors, or managing a social media account.

• Created a system for organizing and distributing supplies to volunteers during a disaster relief effort, resulting in a more efficient and effective response.
• Identified and addressed issues with a nonprofit's website, improving user experience and increasing traffic by 30%.

If you’ve ever been in an interview, you’ve probably been asked about a time when you encountered a problem and how you solved it. That’s not just a good interview question — it’s also a great idea for a resume bullet point like the ones above.

• Led a team of volunteers in planning and executing a successful environmental conservation project, resulting in recognition from local government officials.
• Coordinated a group of volunteers for a charity event, delegating tasks and ensuring smooth operations throughout the day.

Applying for roles where leadership is a must but without formal management experience? Volunteering is a great way to help with that — any time you led a team, trained new volunteers, or spearheaded a project can be used to show your leadership skills.

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This Is Exactly How to List Volunteer Work on Your Resume

When it comes to writing or updating your resume, you know you should include your relevant work history, education , and technical skills .

But what about your volunteer experience? Will hiring managers even care about the time you spent building homes in Central America or organizing that charity walk?

I’ll make this one easy for you: yes!

You should absolutely include volunteer experience on your resume. It’ll help you stand out, make you seem like a real-life, three-dimensional person, and give the hiring manager a better idea of what makes you tick. Plus, as more and more companies begin to embrace social responsibility, job seekers with demonstrated interest and experience in community involvement are even more valuable.

Here’s the right way to add volunteer experience on your resume, in three easy steps.

1. Choose the Right Format

You’ll usually want to feature your most relevant professional experience at the top of your resume, which means your volunteer experience should go toward the bottom (after your professional experience, but before your education and skills section). Don’t worry too much about your volunteer work getting missed—most recruiters scan resumes, looking at section headers, job titles, employers, and tenure first, so they’ll likely notice a clearly-labeled volunteer experience section.

If it’s directly relevant to the job you’re applying for or you have limited professional experience, you can include your volunteer work with your paid positions. Just be sure that you’re labeling it clearly by including “volunteer” in the job title (for example, “Volunteer Social Media Manager”) or in the job description (for example, “Managed social media for an emerging nonprofit as an experienced volunteer”).

2. Keep it Concise (But Make it Count!)

Space will likely be limited in this section of your resume, so be selective with your content. Think about what’ll be the most impactful and relevant to the role or company you’re targeting. If you don’t have a lot of room to spare, you can summarize your work for each organization you’ve volunteered for in a single sentence:

Fundraising Volunteer | Non-Profit Organization | San Francisco, CA | March 2017

Sourced $2K in donations in a single month through a cold calling, door knocking, and email campaign.

Volunteer Pet Pal | Animal Shelter | New York, NY | November 2016-July 2017

Cared for 100+ shelter animals awaiting adoption, including dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and a lizard.

If you have a little more room to work with, you can break your experience down into two to three bullet points , similar to the way you’d highlight a paid position.

3. Note the Exceptions

One minor, but important caveat: Volunteering for certain organizations may give away more personal information than you’re ready to share with a prospective employer.

For example, if you’re the vice president of the PTA, a recruiter will likely assume that you have children, while volunteering for a religious or political organization may reveal your spiritual or partisan beliefs. This could make you more vulnerable to unfair bias.

I know, it totally sucks. But, it is a reality (albeit a largely illegal one). So, you may want to consider leaving potentially-revealing volunteer work out.

Most recruiters only spend a few seconds scanning a resume before deciding whether to read on in more detail. Including an impactful volunteer experience section will help you to grab (and hold) a prospective employer’s attention.

Plus, chances are you really care about the organizations you’ve given your time to. So why not give them a little love?

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This Is Exactly How to List Volunteer Work on Your Resume

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When it comes to writing or updating your resume, you know you should include your relevant work history, education , and technical skills .

But what about your volunteer experience? Will hiring managers even care about the time you spent building homes in Central America or organizing that charity walk?

I’ll make this one easy for you: yes!

You should absolutely include volunteer experience on your resume. It’ll help you stand out, make you seem like a real-life, three-dimensional person, and give the hiring manager a better idea of what makes you tick. Plus, as more and more companies begin to embrace social responsibility, job seekers with demonstrated interest and experience in community involvement are even more valuable.

Here’s the right way to add volunteer experience on your resume, in three easy steps.

1. Choose the Right Format

You’ll usually want to feature your most relevant professional experience at the top of your resume, which means your volunteer experience should go toward the bottom (after your professional experience, but before your education and skills section). Don’t worry too much about your volunteer work getting missed—most recruiters scan resumes, looking at section headers, job titles, employers, and tenure first, so they’ll likely notice a clearly-labeled volunteer experience section.

If it’s directly relevant to the job you’re applying for or you have limited professional experience, you can include your volunteer work with your paid positions. Just be sure that you’re labeling it clearly by including “volunteer” in the job title (for example, “Volunteer Social Media Manager”) or in the job description (for example, “Managed social media for an emerging nonprofit as an experienced volunteer”).

2. Keep it Concise (But Make it Count!)

Space will likely be limited in this section of your resume, so be selective with your content. Think about what’ll be the most impactful and relevant to the role or company you’re targeting. If you don’t have a lot of room to spare, you can summarize your work for each organization you’ve volunteered for in a single sentence:

Fundraising Volunteer | Non-Profit Organization | San Francisco, CA | March 2017

Sourced $2K in donations in a single month through a cold calling, door knocking, and email campaign.

Volunteer Pet Pal | Animal Shelter | New York, NY | November 2016-July 2017

Cared for 100+ shelter animals awaiting adoption, including dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and a lizard.

If you have a little more room to work with, you can break your experience down into two to three bullet points , similar to the way you’d highlight a paid position.

3. Note the Exceptions

One minor, but important caveat: Volunteering for certain organizations may give away more personal information than you’re ready to share with a prospective employer.

For example, if you’re the vice president of the PTA, a recruiter will likely assume that you have children, while volunteering for a religious or political organization may reveal your spiritual or partisan beliefs. This could make you more vulnerable to unfair bias.

I know, it totally sucks. But, it is a reality (albeit a largely illegal one). So, you may want to consider leaving potentially-revealing volunteer work out.

Most recruiters only spend a few seconds scanning a resume before deciding whether to read on in more detail. Including an impactful volunteer experience section will help you to grab (and hold) a prospective employer’s attention.

Plus, chances are you really care about the organizations you’ve given your time to. So why not give them a little love?

How to Showcase Your Volunteer Work on Your Resume

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Katherine Lewis is a freelance writer who specializes in writing about family leave.

Maybe you are reentering the workforce after a career break, or maybe you are looking to change careers. Either are good reasons to contemplate including volunteer work on your resume. The answer of whether or not you should all depends on the position you're applying for.

Whether to put volunteer projects on your resume depends on how relevant the work was to your career or future career and as well as how deeply involved you were in the organization. A key thing to remember is to be scrupulously honest to avoid misleading hiring managers about unpaid work in your past. If done right, having a volunteer resume section could help you stand out in a crowded field of job applicants.

The Pros and Cons to Sharing Volunteer Work

You may wonder whether to include volunteer work for your children's preschool or the Parent Teacher Association. Are you worried that by including this would tip off the hiring manager that you're a working mom and that's a strike against you?

If you do list it and the company doesn't consider you, think about this: Would you really want to work for an organization that doesn't support working moms ? You can't change the fact that you are a working mom, and it's nothing you should have to hide.

When you are called in for an interview it's already on the table that you're a working mom. When your future employer knows this fact you'll get a good idea during the interview process how their company culture views working parents.

If you don't list your volunteer work you may be leaving out a piece of the puzzle that describes who you are as a person. Are you passionate about the volunteer work that you've done? If so, by letting your future employer know about it you may bet the opportunity to talk about something your passionate about besides your past positions.

Also, if you do not include it, you are keeping your resume strictly professional . This may need to be the case depending on your field of work or the position you're applying for. If the position has 50% travel you may not be considered if they know you're heavily involved at the school. (But also you should consider if you would want a position that would take you away from what you're passionate about.)

Examples of Volunteer Work You Should and Should Not Include

When you're putting together your resume, volunteer work you might consider listing could include:

• Leadership roles, whether of an entire organization or an active committee.
• Any experience that's relevant to the job you want. For instance, if you are applying for a graphic designer position and you designed your daughter's elementary school yearbook, that is probably worth including.
• Service to organizations that share the same mission as your prospective employer, i.e. the companies you're targeting in your job hunt.

Don't think this means you need to add every single role you've held. The danger in putting anything on your resume, including volunteer work, is that an interviewer just might ask you about it. So you might consider keeping off your resume any volunteer positions such as:

• Work that involved little effort on your part, such as a one-time walk to raise money for cancer research.
• A supporting role, such as stuffing envelopes at a fundraising event.
• That involved controversial or sensitive organizations. Think about the subjects that are borderline in polite conversation: politics, sex, and religion.

Where to Showcase Volunteer Work on Your Resume

How you'll present volunteer work depends on the type of resume you have. If you have a chronological resume , you can include volunteer work in a section titled "Related Experience."

If you have a functional resume, which is common among stay-at-home moms returning to work after a career break, you can include meaningful volunteer work alongside other positions, whether paid or unpaid. List the position you held and include a description of skills used and outcomes that are specific and as quantitative as possible.

For instance, if you organized a fundraising dinner for your local children's hospital, be sure to include that the event included a guest list of 600 people, raised $50,000 for cancer research and had overhead costs of only 15 percent. Mention any transferable skills, including sales (when you solicit people for donations), management (when you keep tabs on three dozen unruly volunteers) and event coordination (all the day-of-dinner details and last-minute crises).

How to Showcase Volunteer Work on LinkedIn

Are you're already using LinkedIn to network and job hunt? If so, did you know that LinkedIn offers a special section for volunteer work? It's titled "Volunteer."

To add this to your LinkedIn profile, first log in. Next, click "Improve your Profile" at the top, scroll down to the "Volunteer" section and click on "Add Volunteer Experience".

Follow the same rules that you would for volunteer work on a traditional resume. You can include deep, meaningful experiences that you would want to discuss in a job interview in hopes of making a good impression on the interviewer.

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How to List Volunteer Work on Your Resume

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When it comes to writing or updating your resume, you know you should include your relevant work history, education , and technical skills .

But what about your volunteer experience? Will hiring managers even care about the time you spent building homes in Central America or organizing that charity walk?

I’ll make this one easy for you: yes!

You should absolutely include volunteer experience on your resume. It’ll help you stand out, make you seem like a real-life, three-dimensional person, and give the hiring manager a better idea of what makes you tick. Plus, as more and more companies begin to embrace social responsibility, job seekers with demonstrated interest and experience in community involvement are even more valuable.

Here’s the right way to add volunteer experience on your resume, in three easy steps.

1. Choose the Right Format

You’ll usually want to feature your most relevant professional experience at the top of your resume, which means your volunteer experience should go toward the bottom (after your professional experience, but before your education and skills section). Don’t worry too much about your volunteer work getting missed—most recruiters scan resumes, looking at section headers, job titles, employers, and tenure first, so they’ll likely notice a clearly-labeled volunteer experience section.

If it’s directly relevant to the job you’re applying for or you have limited professional experience, you can include your volunteer work with your paid positions. Just be sure that you’re labeling it clearly by including “volunteer” in the job title (for example, “Volunteer Social Media Manager”) or in the job description (for example, “Managed social media for an emerging nonprofit as an experienced volunteer”).

2. Keep it Concise (But Make it Count!)

Space will likely be limited in this section of your resume, so be selective with your content. Think about what’ll be the most impactful and relevant to the role or company you’re targeting. If you don’t have a lot of room to spare, you can summarize your work for each organization you’ve volunteered for in a single sentence:

Fundraising Volunteer | Non-Profit Organization | San Francisco, CA | March 2017

Sourced $2K in donations in a single month through a cold calling, door knocking, and email campaign.

Volunteer Pet Pal | Animal Shelter | New York, NY | November 2016-July 2017

Cared for 100+ shelter animals awaiting adoption, including dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and a lizard.

If you have a little more room to work with, you can break your experience down into two to three bullet points , similar to the way you’d highlight a paid position.

3. Note the Exceptions

One minor, but important caveat: Volunteering for certain organizations may give away more personal information than you’re ready to share with a prospective employer.

For example, if you’re the vice president of the PTA, a recruiter will likely assume that you have children, while volunteering for a religious or political organization may reveal your spiritual or partisan beliefs. This could make you more vulnerable to unfair bias.

I know, it totally sucks. But, it is a reality (albeit a largely illegal one). So, you may want to consider leaving potentially revealing volunteer work out.

Most recruiters only spend a few seconds scanning a resume before deciding whether to read on in more detail. Including an impactful volunteer experience section will help you to grab (and hold) a prospective employer’s attention.

Plus, chances are you really care about the organizations you’ve given your time to. So why not give them a little love?

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Assisting with activities organized by your PTA, school or classroom teacher supports student learning and achievement in schools.

Stepping up as a volunteer also signals to your child how much your family values education and actively supports the efforts of teachers and the school to nurture students’ learning, development and growth.

How much time and commitment is involved depends on your availability. It can range from one time only assignments to monthly, weekly or daily volunteer activities such as helping to:

• Tutor and mentor students
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• Assist in a class, library or school office
• Enrich classroom learning by sharing a special skill, talent or experience
• Plan or run a PTA or school program, activity or event
• Prepare classroom materials, mailings or newsletters at home
• Manage PTA websites and social media at home
• Coordinate class phone calls, texts and emails to other parents

See what volunteer opportunities are offered on campus or at home by checking PTA and school newsletters, websites and social media. Sign up for volunteer jobs that fit well with your interests, availability and skill sets. To get connected, contact your PTA president.

Take Action: Download PTA Job Descriptions for Volunteer , Volunteer Coordinator , Room Representative and Room Representative Coordinator from the California State PTA Toolkit

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Volunteers for your PTA | Recruiting, Keeping, & Thanking Them

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Your PTA needs volunteers…and lots of them. Your organization quite simply wouldn’t run without them. However, finding volunteers can be a challenge. Your members WANT to help but may need a little encouragement to sign up.

Membership Toolkit works with all sorts of parent organizations and nonprofits and has assisted thousands of PTAs and PTOs in growing their volunteer communities. We’ve seen some great tips and tools that we want to pass on to you!

Before jumping into recruiting, it pays to take some time to figure out what you specifically need and what your organization can offer volunteers. You’re asking people to work for your organization without pay so it’s important to highlight what they can gain from working with you. Understanding what you’re looking for will help the process go smoothly.

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Retaining Your Volunteers

Celebrate your volunteers.

Before You Recruit Volunteers for Your Parent Organization

Before you begin recruiting volunteers for your organization, you might take some time answering some basic questions about your group so you can better explain the how and why of volunteering to your potential recruits. 

Clarify Your Mission

It’s hard to ask someone to help you when you don’t know what you need help with or why your organization does what it does. Chances are your board has already come up with a mission statement. If not, this is a great time to sit down and talk with the board to form one. Most likely, your PTA is charged with establishing a good connection between home, school, and the community. You probably do this by raising funds to supplement educational materials, providing fun fellowship activities, and assisting teachers with things they need for their classroom.

Make sure you can speak to the previous year’s efforts in fundraising and opportunities provided for the students as well as any specific goals for the upcoming year. Showing your volunteers what a worthy cause they can help work toward will be great motivation.

Explain Expectations for Volunteers

We’ve all said it and we’ve all heard it–“I just don’t have enough time”. Many are reluctant to sign on to volunteer because they don’t have time in their schedule. We know everyone is busy and trying to manage work/home balance but if you explain the opportunities available to volunteers, they’ll be more likely to sign up. 

Be up front about time commitments for each position. Maybe a potential volunteer only has certain days they can help. Some may find that they aren’t able to volunteer in person but could handle a few home tasks like cutting items for the PTA bulletin board, or sending in snacks with fun tags for a Teacher Appreciation Celebration. Make it clear to volunteers that any small amount of time they can dedicate is helpful.

Show the Benefits of Volunteering

Take the guesswork out of appealing to new volunteers by asking previous volunteers why they participated and what they specifically enjoyed about their time volunteering. 

Most volunteers participate because they’ve been specifically asked (a great tactic we’ll discuss later), or to have fun and socialize. Here are some other reasons we’ve come across over the years:

• to make new friends
• to test leadership skills
• to learn something new
• to share a skill/talent
• to have an impact
• to get to know & feel a part of the community

Tapping into a good motivator for your volunteers can help tie their work to your mission and create a greater purpose. It can help volunteers look beyond a time commitment and how volunteering affects their lives to how beneficial their time is to helping others.

What NOT To Do When Recruiting Volunteers

Over the years, we’ve seen the good and the bad when it comes to recruiting volunteers. Avoid these 10 mistakes that we see organizations make:

• Do not stop recruiting. Continue recruiting. Every member you meet is a potential volunteer. If they have not helped in the past, maybe it was because they were waiting to be asked. 
• Do not expect all volunteers to have the same knowledge. Continuously train all volunteers. Explain expectations clearly. Supply volunteers with guidance manuals and resources for success. Buddy-up experienced volunteers with the newbies; this will help get everyone up to speed. The experienced volunteers will eventually outgrow the organization, leaving their replacements already in place.
• Do not get stuck in a closed mindset. Volunteers hate to hear, “But it is always done this way!” While historical information may be useful, it might be time to consider new options. Volunteers can offer new energy and be very excited. Take time to listen, contemplate, and respond. 
•   Do not depend on one person. Develop committees so that multiple people are involved and prepared for the event/program. What would happen if the lead fell ill or had to move away mid-year? Would the show still go on?
• Do not stress-out your volunteers. Consider the scope of the volunteer job—is it too big for one person to handle? If so, consider splitting the duties or changing the position to reflect what your needs actually are. This might require a change in policy or guidelines.
• Do not judge. First impressions and bias can sometimes cloud our judgement. Assume all volunteers are awesome. After all, they are spending their precious time volunteering. You will also have an opportunity to see that volunteer in action, which may help build future leadership as positions change yearly.
• Do not get lazy. Always be willing to do the same tasks you are asking of others. Be sure to lead by example. Working alongside the volunteers will command more respect and will get the job done more efficiently. 
• Do not expect special treatment. As volunteers, we work for free. We are helping others, not ourselves. We should not flaunt our volunteerism or expect reward.
• Do not assign a volunteer a task they cannot handle. We want our volunteers to be comfortable and feel competent in their task, both physically and mentally. 
•   Do not forget to recognize your volunteers.  Regardless of your budget, be sure to express appreciation by writing a thank you note, purchasing small token gifts, awarding a certificate, acknowledging volunteers on the marquee, or by making a personal phone call. The goal is to have your volunteer want to come back and help. ( Toolkit Tip: Need some great ideas on fun, inexpensive ways to say thank you? Check out our Blog: Have Fun with Puns to Show your Volunteers Your Appreciation )

Recruiting Volunteers for Your Parent Organization | Getting Started

Armed with your mission and list of benefits, where do you actually start? There are many different ways to recruit volunteers for your PTA and good organizations use several of them. Pick and choose or try them all! Just make it clear that your volunteers are valuable and appreciated and the rest will fall into place.

Volunteer Fairs

Your organization can host a Volunteer Fair at the beginning of the school year. This is a great event to incorporate into Back to School Night. If parents are already at school to buy supplies and see their kids’ classrooms, have them visit the fair to see what your PTA is all about. 

Set up different stations explaining the different events/activities parents can get involved with. Have previous volunteers man the booths to talk about what the position entails, the time commitment, and the benefits of helping. Create a display of photos from past events to really show potential volunteers the joy that comes with helping.

Make a Specific Request

Throughout the year, ask for volunteers for specific events that come up. For example, have the chairperson of the Spring Carnival come up with the number of volunteers needed, type of work that needs to be done, and an approximate amount of time required for each task. Then make your appeals frequently and through varied communications like emails, social media, and newsletters, until you have your volunteers.

Spread the Word

Don’t underestimate the power of word of mouth among friends. Board members and current volunteers can talk up all of the benefits of volunteering and the good things your parent organization provides the students and the school. Board members can also encourage their friends to volunteer for a specific task with them–it’s always easier to have a buddy who knows what they’re doing the first time out.

Think Outside the Box

Even after all that work, sometimes the volunteers still aren’t there. It might be time to turn to the community beyond just your school families to fill those spots. Here are some other places to look for great volunteers for your PTA.

Student Volunteer Organizations Did you know that student volunteer organizations are looking to fulfill their service hour requirements? Contact the local high schools in your area. They can direct you to school-based volunteer organizations such as: 

• The National Honor Society
• Student Council Groups

Student Community Groups Apart from schools, you should consider working with student community groups that have volunteerism as a mission such as:

• The National Charity League
• Young Men’s Service League
• Scouting Groups
• Church Youth Groups

Adult Community Volunteer Organizations Did you know that adult community volunteer organizations want to share their servant leadership desires as well? These would include:

• Junior League
• Church-based Groups
• Leadership Organizations with Chamber of Commerce
• Corporations or Businesses that foster volunteerism as a part of work culture
• Retirement Groups

It’s one thing to find and sign up volunteers, but it’s another to keep them coming back event-to-event and year-to-year. It takes one bad experience with one volunteer to be turned off from your PTA forever. And the last thing you want, is for them to share their not-so-fun experience with their circle of friends.  

Here are some steps you can take and tools you can use to ensure the best experience for your volunteers.

Approve Volunteers BEFORE They Volunteer

If all volunteers must be approved before volunteering within the building, it is likely your responsibility to verify their approval status. 

• Make sure that ALL volunteers have applied for their background checks (this includes you and all Board Members also).  
• Work with the office staff to get regularly updated approval lists. 
• Remind your volunteers to bring a government issued photo ID upon their first visit to the campus. 
• Remember to mark the approvals through the Volunteer tab on your Membership Toolkit site , this will allow you to see quickly who is up to date and able to volunteer!

Make New Volunteers Feel Comfortable

Welcome your new volunteers with a phone call, an e-mail, or host an on-site orientation. Volunteers appreciate knowing where to go and how to use the tools available to them. This could include showing them how to use the laminator, where the PTO storage is located, or which bathroom they should use while on campus. It is helpful to include emergency procedures when on campus (i.e. lockdown, inclement weather, fire drills, etc….). The office staff can direct you on these safety measures. When your members feel prepared and confident that they know where to go and what to do, they will be more willing to volunteer for you.

Utilize the Natural Talents of Your Volunteers

Chances are, you have a volunteer pool with a wide variety of talents and experiences that can be used for the betterment of your organization.  But, the only way to know that is to ask and then to listen! Recently, someone asked if I was creative or made crafts as a hobby. I said, “No.” What do you know—they put me in charge of decorating. What? If she had listened, she would have known that I prefer sales. I could have had record sales at the Book Fair had she listened to my response. Instead, she got a big receipt for reimbursement since I went shopping for decorations.  Knowing in advance who has what talents can help you create committees that are sure to succeed! You can even create a “Volunteer Interest” signup form that allows your members to tell you what their talents and hobbies are.  Then, you’ll have a natural pool of people to call on when you have a specific need.

Make Sure Your Volunteers Feel Appreciated

Remember to treat each and every one of your volunteers with kindness. If they are willing and have the desire to help, you want to develop trust and nurture those relationships. The goal is to have volunteers become regular volunteers who will return to help, and possibly one day will eagerly take on larger responsibilities within the organization. Letting your volunteers know how much you appreciate them, and that your organization could not survive without volunteers, will make them want to help out again.

Membership Toolkit Tip:

Make sure you show up for your events with a good attitude!  Organizing volunteers can be stressful but your helpers will feed off of you.  If you show up excited and in a good mood, chances are you will all have more fun and your volunteers won’t view their involvement as work, but instead, something they would willingly do again!

Use Tools to Encourage Volunteers

Newsletters/emails.

Carve out a space in your newsletters and emails dedicated to all things volunteering. Explain WHY you need volunteers and explain how to become a volunteer. Include helpful tips to make first-time volunteers comfortable. This is also a great place to THANK your volunteers publicly. It is always nice for potential volunteers to see that you appreciate those already volunteering. 

Social Media

Social media is a great tool to keep your volunteers up-to-date. Entice them with a fun graphic and details of what you need from them. Don’t forget to use it as a way to thank them afterwards and share pictures of not only your successful event, but your volunteers having fun pulling it off! Others will be tempted to join in next time.

Make It Easy to Sign Up to Volunteer

Membership Toolkit offers unlimited online signups with lots of options . You can decide how volunteer slots present: list format, calendar format, or days and times for shifts. And you can choose who sees the signups–everyone in your database or just one particular group.

Volunteers subscribing to the “signups calendar,” will see their signup commitments on  their personal calendar so they’ll be sure to remember!

Save tons of time by automatically sending reminders to your volunteers as well as thanks after an event is over. Easy!

Use Our FREE Volunteer Appreciation Graphics

Make sure your volunteers know that your organization could not run without them.   Thank them in person and on your website, in newsletters, and on social media. It’s easy to throw one of these graphics into each communication to show your appreciation.

THANK AND ENCOURAGE YOUR VOLUNTEERS WITH FREE GRAPHICS!

Thanking someone for the gift of their time is one of the most important jobs you have as a leader. Volunteer Appreciation Week is the perfect time to do just that! Volunteers give their time because they can see the bigger picture and want to lend themselves to it. That being said, just because they’ve signed up once to lend a hand, doesn’t mean they are locked in for good. Showing your appreciation for all that your volunteers do will help ensure they step up year after year.  

Volunteer Appreciation Week is a designated time of year where you’ll be able to shower all volunteers with love and appreciation for all that they’ve done throughout the year. From your room parents that have signed up for a yearlong gig, to the dads that set the cones out for your jog-a-thon that one morning. All raised their hand and without them, you would have had to find someone else or would have had to do it yourself. For this, you are thankful.

The Volunteer Celebration

A morning? A day? A week? It’s up to you, your committee, and your budget exactly what type of volunteer celebration you have. Pick a time that works within your means, whether it’s a morning continental breakfast, an evening potluck, or a weeklong of grab and go goodies. Anything you choose will work as long as it’s done with thought and care. Make sure to coordinate with your principal and/or admins. They, hopefully, will want to participate and you’ll want to make sure they will have the opportunity to do so-even if for just a quick pop in!

Volunteer Appreciation Budget

No matter what you are going to do, you’ll have a budget to maintain. If you are planning a week of grab and go goodies, seek out donated items from your local stores and businesses. A catered lunch? Big chain and local restaurants do donate or discount catered lunches for nonprofits, but you have to ask. And don’t forget to give them a social media shout out! If you are celebrating virtually, think about setting up grab and go boxed lunches or meal vouchers you can put in a card for your volunteers to pick up or you and your committee can drop off. Any of these options are a fantastic way to show your appreciation. 

Volunteer Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Virtual Meet-Up

Yes! All of these work well to host an event. Volunteers are usually the ones running around trying to get all the things done. They are the best and most appreciative group of people you will ever do anything for! Choose one and run with it. Meals can be catered (remember to ask for a discount!) or potluck. Be sure to include teachers in your planning to get their ideas. They may want to run with it.  I know this firsthand. At my son’s school, our teachers took volunteer appreciation over many moons ago and now it’s an amazing luncheon they put on every year. It’s something we all look forward to. All because at one meeting, the teachers were included in the conversation and two teachers said “we’ll handle it”. Needless to say, we are so appreciative of those two teachers that set the “new pace” for our volunteer week! 

Thank Your Volunteers Personally

Nothing can be truer than the saying “it’s all in the details”, so make it personal, not business-like.  Set your theme for your event. It can be as simple as printing out volunteer or acts of kindness quotes and putting them on the tables. (Check out our Volunteer Graphics and quotes above to download.)  Think about what type of celebration they’d prefer. In person at a restaurant, the cafeteria? Virtually? Short and sweet or a lingering dinner with lots of catching-up time? Do they want their kids and spouses there or do they want some “me time” and just have it for them? All details to consider. 

Use our 101 Ways To Say Thank You for ideas on all that you can do. Once you decide on the event details, make sure to send out an invite (hand-delivered or electronic) to each volunteer.

The Volunteer Thank You

Why are you all gathered? So that you can thank them! If you are honoring special volunteers for the year, make sure and give a proper toast with details on all that they’ve done. Don’t forget to thank their families for their time as well. Volunteers’ spouses and kids are often the first to arrive and the last to leave. They are often part of the set up and clean-up crew. Make sure to recognize that. Maybe think about giving a little special thank you gift to their kids.    Baked goodies, flowers, plants and a good ol’ fashioned printed framed award speaks volumes. Our Fun With Puns article has some fun and easy gifts all will love. Again, it’s all in the details. At the end of the day, your thank you should be heartfelt and genuine as that will be the greatest gift.

There is never one person behind a year’s worth of events.   Your volunteer appreciation celebration is the time to thank and show how appreciative you are to all that lend a hand and help make the work a little bit lighter…and definitely more fun.

Volunteers are the backbone of parent organizations and we simply couldn’t do it without them. So, recruit and retain them just as you would paid staff and treat them as the integral part of your organization that they are. If you prepare a little, keep lines of communications open, and set expectations up front, you will have no problem finding good people to help your cause. Oh, and don’t forget to thank them…often!

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Who Can Be a Volunteer?

Working parents, stay-at-home parents, young adults, grandparents–basically anyone can be an invaluable PTA volunteer. The volunteer does not have to be a college graduate and can be young or middle-aged, work outside the home or within the home, or be retired.

What Skills Are Required?

While there is always a need for those with expertise in a given area such as communications, marketing, social media, legislation, etc., any volunteer with a desire to learn new skills who is willing to actively participate and follow through is welcome to submit an application.

Why Do People Volunteer?

Most people will volunteer because they have specifically been asked. And, of course, many will volunteer for fun and socialization.

In addition, many people volunteer with PTA to:

• Feel needed
• Learn something new
• Explore a career
• Get to know a community
• Help someone
• Gain a skill
• Test themselves
• Become an “insider”
• Test leadership skills
• Have a sense of purpose
• Have an impact
• Be part of a team
• Make new friends
• Share a skill/talent
• Gain status
• Demonstrate commitment to a cause
• Do one’s duty
• Keep skills alive
• Have an excuse to do something they love
• See that resources are well allocated
• Be a watchdog
• Because there is no one else to do it
• Have an alternative to giving money

Take Action, It’s Time to Get Involved

Whatever your reasons for wanting to volunteer, we welcome any member to apply for a committee position, apply for a region service delivery team position, or apply to be a region director with Washington State PTA by completing this online form . There is a wide range of positions available at the state level with a variety of options for your skill sets and time availability. Learn more . To volunteer at a local PTA or council please contact that PTA’s leadership.