Find volunteers.
Practice your elevator pitch.
Make a communication plan.
It’s easier to keep good volunteers than find new ones.
The resources we’ve provided can be used to thank your current volunteers and encourage them to stay on or expand their responsibilities. Call out all your volunteers on a social media post. Send thank you emails after each season. However you do it, your volunteers will appreciate the affirmation and be more likely to stay.
Cultivate the relationships you already have.
Saying “thanks” can go a long way. Make sure you always thank your volunteers and use your thank you as an opportunity to ask them to become more involved. Use our general volunteer follow-up email template (Word) as a guide to ask volunteers to take the next step by becoming a coach or coach assistant.
Use your passion to make the ask.
Why are you a coach for Special Olympics Minnesota? Your answer to this question is the best place to start when reaching out to new volunteers. Explaining why you’re passionate about Special Olympics is sure to spark an interest in others.
Ask yourself where you go for information in your community.
Is it a community Facebook page? A bulletin board at a local business? List Special Olympics Minnesota volunteer opportunities in the same place where you go to get your own information.
Use social media to tell your own story.
Share your Special Olympics Minnesota story with your friends and family on social media. Use a photo from your time volunteering and speak from your heart. Give information on how others can get involved. When they see how passionate you are, people are more likely to want to join in.
Familiarize yourself with Special Olympics Minnesota’s mission.
You don’t want to get stuck on an easy question. Make sure you know a little bit about what Special Olympics Minnesota offers to both coaches and athletes so you can address related queries. Here’s a great list of frequently-asked questions about SOMN.
Partner with an athlete.
Your athletes are powerful ambassadors for the importance of coaches and volunteers. Consider using their words, experiences and stories to show why they need good mentors, teachers, trainers and helpers. Get quotes and photos from athletes on your team to use in your materials—or better yet, take them with you when you make the ask!
Write up an FAQ for your team.
You’ve heard it all, but some questions keep coming up. Create a flyer, email, social media post or other form of communication addressing common questions.