How to Re-Engage Lapsed Volunteers and Boost Retention | Ep 18

“Retaining volunteers is 70% less expensive than recruiting new ones—so why aren't we doing more to bring them back?"

 👉🏻 Want a guide to re-engaging volunteers?
 Download the FREE guide: https://public.volunteermatters.org/files/podcast/whitepapers/Re-Engaging_Lapsed_Volunteers_(ep18).pdf

Join Mark, President, and Sophia, Customer Success Coach at VolunteerMatters, a leading volunteer management software dedicated to helping nonprofits build stronger, more impactful volunteer programs.

This episode dives deep into:
- Why retaining volunteers is more cost-effective than recruiting new ones
- How poor tracking systems and weak communication can alienate returning volunteers
- Actionable strategies to re-engage lapsed volunteers—from personalized outreach to feedback loops
- …and more.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction: Why volunteers stop showing up
00:26 – The ROI of retaining vs. recruiting new volunteers
01:04 – Why volunteer experience quality is foundational
02:16 – Returning volunteers add exponential value over time
03:44 – Many orgs don’t know who’s new vs. returning
05:05 – Why tracking volunteer data is critical
08:03 – Top reasons why volunteers lapse
11:09 – Communication gaps: the root of disengagement
13:03 – What a strong volunteer experience looks like
16:27 – Personalizing outreach to re-engage past volunteers
18:08 – Segmenting volunteers based on activity
19:00 – Fix the reasons they left in the first place
20:01 – Why real-time, iterative feedback matters
22:33 – Volunteer incentives and appreciation events
24:08 – Re-engagement powered by peer volunteers
27:27 – Episode Recap

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Website: https://www.volunteermatters.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-volunteermatters-podcast/id1765384042
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/41OzyIlomp8LLrZ68fgb77?si=sg92xnBGRDuL4HDnB_F1Rg