Most volunteer conversations start with what’s missing: There’s not enough hands for Saturday’s event. There are donations to sort. There are deliveries to make.

Those needs are real. When we start there, we miss something important: every volunteer has their own reason for showing up.

The Lilly School of Philanthropy’s Next Generation of Philanthropy study found that younger generations see themselves as agents of social change. For them, volunteering isn’t a box to check. It’s a way to act on what they believe.

Why people show up

• Someone whose family once needed the same kind of help.
• A retiree who wants to put years of experience to good use.
• Someone who can’t stop thinking about an issue and wants to do something about it.

When you connect what moves someone to work that truly needs doing, they don’t just fill a shift. They become part of the mission. They become part of the community.

Get to know them

Ask what brought them in. Ask what they enjoy and what they hope to give. It doesn’t need to be a formal interview. A good conversation over coffee is plenty.

Look at your roles with fresh eyes
• Can volunteers see how their task connects to the mission?
• Is there room to use their expertise, learn something new or take on more if they want to?
• Have you told them why the work matters?

Give simple tasks a story

Packing grocery bags can feel repetitive. Knowing those groceries will feed a neighbor’s family tonight changes everything.
You can deepen that connection in small ways. Explain why certain items matter. Ask for their ideas. Let them work side by side with people who care as much as they do.
From volunteer to champion
In Candid, Houston Goodwin writes that when volunteers see their impact and build real relationships inside an organization, they become advocates.
That’s why the volunteer experience deserves as much care as volunteer recruitment.
Plan for it
• Give staff time to guide volunteers, answer questions and listen.
• Keep roles useful and manageable.
• If someone’s interests don’t match what you have, be honest and kind about it.

Make room, don’t hand out purpose

It’s not your job to give volunteers a purpose. They already have one. Your job is to make room for them to act on it.

Start small. Pick one volunteer role. Next to the task list, write what it makes possible. Then ask that volunteer: Do you feel like you’re making a difference? Do you feel supportedin your effort? And really listen to the answers.

When you understand the why behind someone showing up, that’s where real connection begins.