Volunteer Series, Part Four: How To Recruit, Engage, and Partner With Community Volunteers

Across Maine, organizations are breaking down barriers to the outdoors, advancing climate justice work, and educating the next generation of environmental advocates.

How exactly are they doing it all in a landscape with limited funding and strained resources?

In many cases, organizations turn to the community for help accomplishing their work — and the community shows up in return. Volunteers help nonprofits gather critical scientific data, educate the public, and even make grantmaking decisions.

Recruiting, organizing, and engaging volunteers, while juggling other duties, is a tall order. For the fourth installment of our volunteer series, we talked with Holly Sheehan, Club Coordinator of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club (MATC), to learn how MATC makes it all work so seamlessly.

One Mission, Hundreds of Hands

MATC is responsible for maintaining and managing more than 267 miles of the Appalachian Trail footpath, 35,000 acres of corridor land, and 60 miles of official side trails. With Sheehan as the only year-round, full-time employee, the organization must rely on volunteers to do its best work.

In fact, volunteering is central to the trail’s history. “The Appalachian Trail would not exist if it weren’t for volunteers. It was built by volunteers,” says Sheehan. “And the volunteer workforce is such a key piece to the management, safety, and accessibility of the trail today.”

Indeed, MATC currently partners with more than 800 volunteers across the state who complete more than 15,000 hours of volunteering each year. These community members monitor encroachments on the trail lands, establish boundary markers, and maintain the trail for all to use.

Now, with a brand-new facility that will serve as a base camp for trail crew members and volunteers, MATC is even better equipped to engage community members in volunteer work.

Seven Best Practices for Working With Volunteers

MATC is a shining example of a nonprofit that effectively scales its volunteer engagement to make a difference throughout the state. Here’s a look at seven best practices for partnering with volunteers — and how MATC acts on each to accomplish its goals.

1. Use Multiple Avenues To Recruit Community Members

Recruitment is all about engagement. When nonprofits diversify the ways they reach out to the community, they’re able to connect with people who are already passionate about the work and educate those who might not know about it yet.

According to Sheehan, MATC has found recruitment success by posting about volunteer opportunities regularly on Facebook and Instagram. It has also established partnerships with groups from Portland High School, Colby College, and Wabanaki Youth in Science to sustain youth engagement.

The organization never lets a potential opportunity fall through the cracks. “Our volunteer coordinator responds to inquiries that come in through our website,” says Sheehan. “Then, the coordinator links prospective volunteers to opportunities like trail maintenance or scheduled work trips.”

2. Draw on People’s Passions and Interests

Finding ways for volunteers to do the work they’re most excited about is critical not only to recruiting them, but also to keeping them engaged long term. As Sheehan says, “People are doing this because they want to!” Creating opportunities for volunteers to do what they love is a win-win.

At MATC, and at many other nonprofits, volunteers often have a deep connection to the work. “Contributing to the stewardship of the trail gives people meaning and a sense of community. They’re doing some good in the world,” Sheehan notes. “A lot of our volunteers are hikers who want to give back to the Appalachian Trail and to the environment. They have a personal relationship with the trail.”

3. Create Strong Organizational Structures

The more volunteers an organization takes on, the more important it becomes to establish clear roles and expectations. Organizational structures — including who reports to whom and why — can help keep volunteers organized as programs scale.

MATC, for example, breaks the trail down into five segments, each overseen by a volunteer district manager. Trail maintainers work under those managers, while campsite maintainers report to campsite managers in each trail segment.

MATC also breaks down clear responsibilities for volunteers in various managerial positions and committees, including the Ridge Runner Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Development Committee. “A committee chair heads each of them, and we ensure someone from our board of directors sits on each committee, as well,” says Sheehan.

4. Communicate Regularly

“We have a lot of Zoom meetings!” Sheehan says. Indeed, with hundreds of volunteers across the state, MATC relies on various communication methods, including virtual meetings to keep everyone engaged and informed.

Regular board of director meetings allow for communication to trickle down through the organizational structures, while volunteers stay abreast of updates and events through the “Maintainer” newsletter. MATC also hosts two major events per year to connect with volunteers and potential volunteers.

5. Provide Training, Mentoring, and Collaboration Opportunities

Creating regular opportunities for volunteers to learn from one another and from experts in the field accomplishes three things:

• It keeps people engaged in the organization

• It enables volunteers to keep their skills sharp and learn new things

• It allows for like-minded individuals to collaborate with one another, find joy, and build friendships

Throughout the year, MATC offers regular training sessions on topics such as maintaining a trail or a privy, monitoring a corridor, or applying CPR and first aid.

“My husband and I maintain a section of Little Bigelow, and we recruit our friends and partners like the Portland High School Outdoor Club to help us,” says Sheehan. “We train them through mentoring, by going out there and doing the work with them.”

6. Lean on Organizational Partners

In many cases, a nonprofit’s organizational partners have skills, resources, or materials that it currently lacks. These partnerships enable a nonprofit to extend its reach and provide volunteers with experiences it might not be able to offer on its own.

MATC, for example, has the ongoing support of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which manages the well-known trail from Maine to Georgia. “We work closely with it to use a lot of its resources and staffing,” says Sheehan. “It also advises us on our work on the trail and with volunteers.”

7. Set Volunteers up for Success

The key to successful volunteer engagement is good organization. Clear roles and expectations are essential, and communicating the impact of volunteers’ work helps people see how they’re contributing to the bigger picture.

Sheehan’s advice? “Have really meaningful projects that are built for success. Do your homework and make sure the logistics and directions are well thought out.”

Get Involved With MATC!