According to recent volunteer statistics, volunteers represent a significant one-third of the nonprofit workforce. Whether they’re helping at events, staffing programs, or serving on a board of directors, volunteers are key players in the success of every organization — making volunteer management an essential skill for any nonprofit professional.

But volunteer management isn’t just about recruiting volunteers and telling them what to do. It also means getting to know them and helping them grow into capable, impactful leaders. In this article, we’ll discuss exactly how to identify and cultivate the leaders in your community.

1. Keep an Eye Out for Promising Volunteers

The volunteer management process allows you to see volunteers through every stage of their journey with your nonprofit. From recruitment to their first shift and beyond, you get to watch firsthand as they grow, develop relationships, and overcome challenges. This observational role can give you unique insight into each individual’s capabilities and potential to become a great leader.

As you interact with volunteers, keep an eye out for anyone with promising skills paired with a desire to grow and excitement about your mission. Specifically, pay attention to when volunteers:

  • Take extra initiative at events. If a volunteer steps up to help someone else out or takes the lead on teaching other volunteers how to use your event software, take note.
  • Demonstrate beneficial skills or knowledge. Look out for volunteers with exceptional communication, organizational, and time management skills.
  • Mention relevant past professional experience. For example, a volunteer who previously worked on a political campaign may have canvassing or phone banking experience that could translate well to nonprofit advocacy campaigns.
  • Truly embody your nonprofit’s mission. Beyond a willingness to grow, the most important quality a volunteer can have is a passion for and belief in your mission. With enough commitment to your cause, they can work through any challenge.

When you identify a volunteer with these qualities, make a note in their profile in your volunteer database. Specify what you saw or heard about them, and explain how you think this characteristic could contribute to their leadership development. Centralizing this data in their profile will help you and other nonprofit staff cultivate the volunteer’s leadership skills further.

2. Offer Additional Training

When it comes to actually cultivating volunteer leaders, one of the easiest ways to do so is to simply offer more training. Additional training opportunities might take the form of:

  • A mentorship program: Mentoring is doubly impactful for volunteer leadership development since it helps both mentees and mentors enhance their skills. Volunteer mentors get to take on more responsibility and assume a leadership role in a low-stakes environment, while mentees learn from their knowledge and expertise firsthand.
  • Training workshops: Special workshops hosted by your nonprofit or an outside professional help volunteers zero in on a specific skill or topic in a group setting. For instance, you might plan a petition workshop where volunteers learn basic advocacy skills along with best practices for acquiring signatures both online and in person.
  • Courses or certifications: Just like with professional credentials, attaining a certification provides individuals with a confidence boost and physical proof of their skills and capabilities. Invite volunteers to take online or in-person training courses where they can earn certifications to inspire their growth.

The best part is that these training opportunities won’t just help volunteers better serve your organization. The leadership skills they build now will also carry over into their professional careers, helping them secure jobs, get promotions, and achieve their personal goals.

3. Give Volunteers More Responsibility Over Time

Once volunteers have shown leadership potential and taken steps to improve their skills, you can give them more responsibilities. This will look different depending on your nonprofit’s needs, but aim to give volunteers responsibilities that align with their personal skills and interests.

For example, a volunteer who worked on political campaigns might be highly skilled at persuasive communication. To give them more responsibility and tap into this skill, you might ask them to lead a volunteer recruitment team or give a speech to prospective donors at a fundraising event. A volunteer who staffed a youth education program for two years, on the other hand, might like to shadow the program director and act as their assistant for a time.

Just be sure not to overwork or overwhelm your volunteers. Increase responsibilities gradually and maintain a positive culture in your volunteer community that supports rather than pressures emerging leaders. If a volunteer doesn’t feel ready for a particular task, don’t push them to do it. Encourage them to try and remind them that you’re here to support them through challenges, but respect their decision if they decide not to.

4. Support and Empower Emerging Volunteer Leaders

An attitude of support should always be at the heart of your volunteer program. After all, your volunteers give their time and effort to your nonprofit freely, and you have to maintain positive relationships with them to retain their support long-term. 

Take the time now to outline some general guidelines and ideas for ways you can empower all of your volunteers, not just those who show obvious leadership potential. These might include:

  • Sending personalized thank-you messages after volunteer events.
  • Creating a library of resources volunteers can access on their own.
  • Recognizing standout volunteers both privately and publicly.
  • Having a supportive, approachable staff member present at every volunteer event.

You never know who might surprise you by stepping up or showing interest in a leadership position. By creating an atmosphere where every volunteer in your program feels supported, you’ll provide the space they need to grow into leaders at their own pace.

When you invest in your volunteers, they’ll repay your organization tenfold with the passion, energy, and dedication they bring to furthering its mission. And as a nonprofit leader who knows how to locate and empower these valuable volunteers, you’ll bring even more skills to the table, too.

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