Spokes | Resources for Nonprofits

Find Us On Social Media:

  • About
    • History of Spokes
    • Annual Report
    • Meet Our Expert Volunteer Faculty
    • Staff & Board of Directors
    • News
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Organizational Membership FAQs
    • Spokes’ Privacy Policy
    • Support Spokes
      • Our Generous Donors
  • Membership
    • Membership Benefits
    • Our List of Members
    • What Members Are Saying
    • Member Success Stories
  • Services
    • Nonprofit Board Service
    • Major Nonprofit Events
    • Starting a Nonprofit
    • Meeting Spaces
    • Special Resources for Uncertain Times
    • General Nonprofit Resources
  • Login
  • Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • Classes/Workshops
    • Ask an Expert
  • Job Board
    • Job Board

Replenishing Your Volunteer Pool

September 23, 2024 by Michael Simkins

“Lack of volunteers” is a common theme lately in our executive director/CEO roundtables at Spokes. Currently volunteers are “aging out” and it’s a struggle to replace them. I decided to ask our friend chatGPT about this issue. As usual, it had lots of ideas.

For openers, it provided the following trends that contribute to the situation:

  • Aging Population of Traditional Volunteers: Older generations, especially Baby Boomers, have historically been strong contributors to volunteerism. As they age, they are either reducing their involvement or are unable to continue due to health reasons.
  • Younger Generations Volunteering Less: While Millennials and Gen Z are often involved in social causes, their approach to volunteering is different. They tend to prefer short-term, project-based engagements or virtual volunteering, rather than long-term commitments. Their work-life balance, financial pressures, and busy schedules also play a role in their reduced engagement in traditional volunteering.
  • Shift in How Younger People Engage: Younger generations are often more attracted to causes that align with their personal values and might prioritize advocacy, digital activism, or donating money over volunteering time in a traditional sense. They also prefer organizations that offer flexible, meaningful, and tech-savvy volunteer opportunities.
  • Competition with Other Activities: Younger people have more competing interests, such as career development, social activities, and other forms of civic engagement. Nonprofits may struggle to attract them unless they adapt to these preferences.
  • Lack of Targeted Outreach: Some nonprofits may not have adjusted their volunteer recruitment and engagement strategies to appeal to younger generations, who often rely on social media and online platforms for such opportunities.

Next time, I’ll share some of the suggested approaches for countering this trend.

Board Recruitment

May 21, 2022 by Michael Simkins

What’s the best way to find new board members?

While there is rarely one best way to do anything, when it comes to finding new board members a great way to start is to know what you’re looking for. Create a concrete list of traits or attributes you need to have represented on your board. You need to be strategic. You’ll hear this referred to as a board matrix. List desired traits, skills, and characteristics down the left column. In the top row, give each of your current board members a column, then check off which attributes each brings to the table. Basically, you’re doing an inventory of what you currently have “in stock” and identifying what you need to go find.

Knowing what you need makes it so much easier to know where to look! Need a lawyer? Talk to lawyers. Talk to people who know lawyers. Contact the local bar association. Need someone with lots of community contacts? Get acquainted with a member of a local service club. That person may not be interested but may well know someone who is. Share your specific need with your friends. They’ll have ideas.

Be aware that you don’t need a separate person for each trait. Often, you can find someone who will fulfill more than one need. For example, one board I served on wanted to have a lawyer on the board. Also, the board was mostly male “baby boomers” and wanted a better balance of perspectives. Through sharing their vacancy with people in the community, they found a female, Gen X attorney!

Here are some helpful resources:

  • Finding the Right Board Members
  • Sample Board Matrix
  • 6 Realistic Expectations for your Board Members

Article Categories

  • Financial and Legal
  • Fundraising
  • Governance
    • Board Development
  • Human Resources
  • Marketing & Communication
  • For Board Members
  • For Executive Directors
  • For Staff and Volunteers

DISCLAIMER: Spokes offers informed advice and recommendations, not professional counsel. Blog content is current as of the date shown. Individual posts are not necessarily updated, so please confirm the accuracy of the information, especially of older posts.

Popular Topics

"executive committee" board board of directors California nonprofits charity communication consulting donations donors employees financial fundraising Governance grants leadership marketing meetings nonprofit nonprofit governance nonprofit management nonprofits philanthropy policy productivity Professional Development responsibilities retirement spokes taxes volunteers

Member Testimonial

“The Spokes ‘Best Practices in Nonprofit Management’ workshop has helped open my eyes to everything that needs to get done – it has helped our organization get to the next level. Being a well-rounded organization seemed possible after attending that workshop.”

Rhys Janson
Executive Director
Son Care Foundation
San Luis Obispo, California

What Else Are Members Saying?

Learn about Spokes membership

Guiding nonprofits to achieve their goals through support and expert resources.

How Can We Make A Difference Together?

Spokes welcomes local professionals who would like to share their expertise in support of the nonprofit sector.

Get Started Contributing

Recent Articles

  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium grant being discontinued
  • Mission-Aligned Money Management
  • The Value of Nonprofit Board Service

Copyright © 2025 Spokes | Resources for Nonprofits. All Rights Reserved.
PO Box 5122, San Luis Obispo, CA 93403
Hosting by NDIC.
Photography by Nicole Boughton.