5 Tips on Building a Strong Volunteer Base for your Organization

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is a platform for people to volunteer with non-profits, genuinely build new friendships and connect with a community of like-minded peers who also care about making a positive impact. The organization coordinates volunteer opportunities for groups of young professionals several times a month, and pairs each event with a social afterwards.

Social Do-Gooders love being apart of vibrant communities. They are seeking genuine opportunities to build relationships, and an Atlanta-based organization has figured out how to tap into the power of crowds to create positive change.

, established in 2012, is a platform for young professionals to volunteer with nonprofits, genuinely build new friendships and connect with a community of like-minded peers. They center the experience around “Service Made Social”. The organization coordinates group volunteer opportunities several times a month and pairs each event with a social afterwards. Volunteers are able to meet people and have fun, all while giving back to the community.

So, how do you motivate hundreds of young professionals to go out and do good, all while having fun? Here’s their top five tips for creating a strong, engaged volunteer base!

1: Make Service Social

Every volunteer event is designed so that volunteers can give back and meet new people at the same time. Each service opportunity is paired with a fun, cool restaurant in the city so that volunteers can connect after the event and get more out of than just feeling good.

2: Keep projects organized for maximum impact

There’s nothing like being at a service project and getting a lot accomplished – seeing a farm totally cleared out of invasive plants, a park revitalized, or packing thousands of meals on a single Saturday morning. Getting a lot done is the result of setting up the right amount of tasks for volunteers and making sure there’s enough to do for a large group, so everyone is engaged and contributing. This also helps non-profits to accomplish their most urgent projects quickly.

3: Use social media to build community engagement

Our social media channels serve to promote and document Community Bucket events, but also to connect with nonprofits, future partners and the Atlanta community. Members and nonprofits are encouraged to tap into the Community Bucket social network to promote events related to social good. And, this keeps volunteers involved outside of the actual service project.

4: Show gratitude

It sounds simple, but we love our volunteers and want to show them how much we appreciate them! Community Bucket is led by a host team that captains projects and ensures that we can keep growing to accommodate more willing volunteers.

5: Evaluate Impact

In measuring the impact, hours and contribution of our volunteers, we can encourage more people to participate and become part of the Service Made Social movement. When volunteers can see their impact and being part of a larger collective effort, they are more likely to return.

is a platform for people to volunteer with non-profits, genuinely build new friendships and connect with a community of like-minded peers who also care about making a positive impact. The organization coordinates volunteer opportunities for groups of young professionals several times a month, and pairs each event with a social afterwards.  Based in Atlanta, the organization celebrated its’ 3rd anniversary this fall, and reached over 11,000 hours served by 1,728 volunteers in March of 2016.