Enhancing the Member Experience With Volunteer Opportunities

Membership-based organizations often rely on volunteers to help operate and deliver member value. While members likely join these types of organizations for career development opportunities or to support a specific mission, they tend to stay because they feel a genuine sense of community and purpose. 

A robust and engaging volunteer program is a powerful catalyst for building that connection, which is why viewing volunteering as a separate function is a missed opportunity. When volunteer opportunities are strategically integrated into the member journey, they become a core part of the experience.

In this guide, we’ll review volunteering approaches that allow you to boost engagement, build community, and increase member retention.

Promote volunteerism early and often.

Frame volunteering as a valuable part of the member experience. This means discussing these opportunities from the very first interaction and continuing to plug them when possible. Some key touchpoints where you can mention volunteer opportunities include:

• In your new member onboarding emails.
• As a recurring section in your member newsletters.
• In your online community forum or member portal.
• At the end of webinars, workshops, and other events.
• On registration forms for live events.
• In renewal notices to reinforce community value.

When volunteering is only mentioned in a generic email blast, it feels disconnected from the member experience. The ask may come across as an extra task for members to add to their to-do lists.

On the other hand, consistent promotion positions these roles not as “help needed,” but as exclusive opportunities for members to connect, learn new skills, and deepen their involvement with your mission.

By sharing the opportunity from the very beginning and reinforcing its connection to your mission, you make volunteering a core, valuable part of their membership. You’ll shift the perspective from “giving up free time” to “gaining experience and forming connections.”

Map volunteer roles to the member lifecycle.

A member’s experience and willingness to contribute evolve over time. A one-size-fits-all approach to volunteering ignores this. By mapping roles to different stages of the member lifecycle, you make volunteering appear much more valuable and relevant to their needs.

iMIS’s member journey mapping guide recommends creating maps for different audience segments, like members at certain career stages or in specific roles. You might create personas (AKA fictional representatives based on likely characteristics) for each segment. Here are some examples:

With your different segments in mind, lay out the different journeys they go through and connect enticing volunteer opportunities to each stage. Let’s look at how you might generally engage people at different points in their member journey.

New members

New members are still learning the ropes. They need low-commitment, high-connection roles that allow them to gain experience and learn more about your organization without feeling overwhelmed. Offer simple ways for them to get involved, such as:

• Serving as a greeter or checking guests into an event. They can welcome guests as they arrive, answer basic questions (like where the coat check is), and help with the check-in process.
• Monitoring the chat during a webinar. Have them monitor the live chat and gather attendee questions for the Q&A session at the end.
• Welcoming new members to your online community. If you have a members-only space where people can connect and share their insights, try having volunteers respond to 3-5 other new people who introduce themselves to ensure everyone feels comfortable.
• Participating in a one-time feedback session. Invite them to a 30-minute virtual focus group to share their thoughts on the onboarding experience or website navigation.
• Helping set up or clean up at an in-person event. This requires no prior knowledge and is great for meeting other volunteers and staff.

These opportunities build an immediate sense of belonging and empower members to contribute early on.

Engaged members

Members who regularly attend events or consume your association’s content are ready for the next step in their volunteer journey. They have demonstrated their commitment and are often looking for deeper, more substantive involvement opportunities. Offer roles with more responsibility, such as:

• Being an ambassador for a new member. Pair them with someone who just joined your organization to guide them through their first few months, answer questions, and model active participation.
• Writing for your organization's blog or newsletter. If they have expertise in a specific area, invite them to share their insights in a short article or member spotlight.
• Submitting a testimonial. Ask to record a short interview with them or have them write a few sentences about their experience, which you can then feature in your member recruitment materials.
• Co-hosting or moderating a community discussion. Ask them to lead a breakout room during a virtual conference, moderate a panel discussion, or co-host a "coffee chat" on a topic they know well.
• Serving on a short-term project committee. Invite them to help plan a webinar, update an industry resource guide, or serve on a selection committee for an awards program.

These roles recognize their engagement, leverage their growing knowledge, and give them a greater stake in the organization's success.

Expert and long-term members

Your most seasoned members may look for high-impact ways to apply their knowledge, guide your organization’s strategy, and give back to their professional community. Provide them with leadership and skills-based volunteer opportunities, such as:

• Leading a masterclass or conference presentation. Ask them to share their expertise as the main presenter for an advanced-level webinar or a session at your annual conference.
• Mentoring mid-career professionals. Seasoned experts can provide critical guidance to members who are advancing their careers.
• Serving on a strategic committee, a task force, or your board of directors. Invite them to a high-level group that shapes long-term policy, tackles a major industry challenge, or guides a new strategic initiative.
• Developing new educational content. Invite them to serve on an advisory panel to outline a new professional certificate program, review a draft of a new curriculum, or co-author a module for an advanced, in-depth workshop.

These roles leverage their significant experience, honor their long-term commitment, and provide value to your entire member base.

Track and recognize volunteer contributions.

To make volunteering a true part of the member experience, track involvement alongside the rest of your member data. Use your membership management software to monitor which members actively volunteer and what roles they fill. This way, you can recognize those contributions and provide tailored recommendations for future involvement.

Make recognition meaningful and frequent.

Move beyond a mass “thank you” email, and get creative with your recognition. This shows members that you value their relationship with the organization, not just their dues payment.

eCardWidget’s member appreciation guide recommends that you:

• Send appreciation eCards that celebrate their individual volunteer contributions.
• Give them branded gifts like t-shirts, mugs, or notebooks that they can use to champion your organization.
• Offer extra membership perks like exclusive content or discounts on your association’s events to tie volunteerism back to the value they receive from their membership.
• Host an appreciation event like a dinner, happy hour, or award ceremony.
• Give social media or newsletter shoutouts to celebrate them publicly with their permission.
• Celebrate them in your online community with a special badge for their profile, like these:

Use your membership system to track which types of recognition your members prefer. This level of thoughtful, data-informed appreciation is what transforms a one-time volunteer into a long-term community leader at your organization.  

Wrapping up

By weaving volunteer opportunities into the fabric of the member experience, you change the entire dynamic of your community. Volunteering stops being something members do for your organization and becomes something they experience with your organization. This is how you build a deeply engaged and connected community that retains its members year after year.