Keeping Volunteers Coming Back: Communication Basics

Getting Started Guide

1. Volunteer Signup
2. Event Checklist
3. Day-Of
4. Retention
5. Promotion

Getting volunteers to show up once is hard. Getting them to come back? That’s where most organizations struggle.

The secret isn’t more work for you—it’s automatic communication that makes volunteers feel valued without adding to your plate. Serve.Love handles this in the background while you focus on your mission.

Automatic + Easy Manual Touchpoints

The best retention strategy combines automatic messages (so you never forget) with quick manual recognition (so it feels personal).

1. Post-Event Thank-You + Survey

After a volunteer checks in to an event, they automatically receive a thank-you email with an optional feedback survey. One message that does double duty: shows appreciation and collects insights.

Auto-survey setup screen — Click to enlarge: Enable automatic surveys in your organization settings

The email thanks them for volunteering, confirms their hours, and asks for quick feedback. A simple “thank you” sent within 24 hours dramatically increases the chance a volunteer returns—and you get valuable insights at the same time.

Thank you and survey email received by volunteers — Click to enlarge: The thank-you email volunteers receive after checking in

Survey responses are collected and available in your dashboard. Look for patterns—if multiple volunteers mention the same issue, that’s your cue to fix it.

2. Monthly Volunteer Summary Report

Want to recognize your top contributors? The Monthly Volunteer Summary report shows you who’s been active, how many hours they’ve contributed, and who deserves a shout-out.

Use this report to:

Spot your MVPs – See who’s contributing the most hours
Plan recognition – Identify volunteers to thank publicly or reward
Track trends – Notice if participation is growing or dropping
Prepare board reports – Quick stats on volunteer engagement

When You Want to Reach Out Directly

Automatic messages handle the routine stuff. But sometimes you need to reach volunteers yourself—announcing a new program, sharing a success story, or recruiting for a specific event.

The Volunteers Tab

Your Volunteers tab is home base for direct outreach. Search and filter to find exactly who you want to contact:

Volunteers who attended a specific event
People within a distance radius of your event location
Everyone with a particular skill or interest
Filter by tags you’ve assigned
Search by name, email, or phone

Detailed volunteer search with filters — Click to enlarge: Filter and search to find exactly the volunteers you need

Select the volunteers you want, then use Selected User Actions to send a message, email, or export their contact info.

Newsletter Broadcasts

For organization-wide updates, use the newsletter feature to reach all your volunteers at once. Great for:

Monthly or quarterly updates
Announcing new volunteer opportunities
Sharing impact stories and successes
Holiday messages or special recognition

The 80/20 Rule of Volunteer Communication

Here’s what works: 80% automatic, 20% personal.

Let the system handle thank-yous, surveys, and monthly summaries. Save your personal outreach for moments that matter—welcoming new volunteers, recognizing milestones, or sharing big wins.

Volunteers don’t need to hear from you constantly. They need to feel valued when they do hear from you. Automatic communications maintain the relationship; personal touches deepen it.