As a nonprofit, much of your labor comes from well-intentioned volunteers looking for an opportunity to provide help to a cause they believe in. According to the Council of Nonprofits, formal volunteering has seen a decrease since 2019. Research found that volunteering dropped from 30 percent in 2019 to 23.2 percent in 2021. While the COVID-19 pandemic played a major role in the decrease, nearly half of nonprofit CEOs surveyed in mid-2022 said recruiting enough volunteers was still “a big problem.”
With so many animal nonprofits selecting from the same pool as you, it’s important to make your organization stand out from the pack. Developing an animal nonprofit public relations strategy focused on recruitment is one key to garnering attention. To ensure your strategy checks all the boxes, consider partnering with a PR agency that has experience working with other animal nonprofit organizations, like Orange Orchard.
Two tactics that agencies who specialize in animal nonprofit PR use are proactive media outreach and social media.
Proactive Media Outreach
PR specialists utilize proactive media outreach as a way to garner earned media opportunities for their clients. Throughout the process, our experts will pitch established journalists in the nonprofit space story ideas geared toward recruitment. These stories can be crafted in a way that showcases the values of your animal nonprofit while also drawing attention to your volunteer needs. In addition, our experts can also pitch print-ready press releases that showcase your positive news. This establishes your nonprofit as a credible organization while also increasing brand awareness.
Social Media
While print and broadcast media are excellent avenues to deliver information, countless people turn to social media platforms to get the latest news. With the ability to reach a broad range of individuals, our experts can develop a monthly calendar that highlights your desire for more volunteers. This will keep your social media pages active with messaging to support your needs. In addition, news articles and blogs can also be shared via social media to increase awareness for those pieces of content.
If you are ready to improve your volunteer recruitment strategy with animal nonprofit PR specialists, contact our team at (865) 977-1973 or reach us online.