How Crisis engages with volunteers

Crisis runs with the support of thousands of volunteers, from those working directly with people experiencing homelessness, to people serving customers in its shops, or supporting with policy development. And beyond that crucial all-year-round support, around 3,500 volunteers come together to create Crisis at Christmas. 

 

So with that number of people, working right across the organisation, how does Crisis help volunteers to feel engaged, connected, and enthused to give even more of their time?

 

 

Carefully coordinated communications

 

With so many volunteers coming on board, involved in a whole range of ways, Crisis works hard to make sure volunteers aren’t swamped by too much communication.

 

Michael explains: “We work closely with our marketing and audience strategy teams to make sure that the communications volunteers receive are planned and coordinated, whereby we’re not deluging them with a whole range of different comms all at the same time.”

 

“From an organisation level, volunteers receive a quarterly newsletter, including links to online sessions they can attend (like Q&A sessions with our chief executive, Matt Downie). From a central comms perspective, we’re getting the frequency of communications broadly right. Our open rates are really high – our May engagement email had an open rate of 69% and from those who opened we have a further click through rate of 7.4%.”

 

 

Building personal connections

 

Engaging with volunteers isn’t only about organisational-level communication and digital contact. Crucially, it’s the personal connections that keep volunteers returning.

 

“If you don’t like the person you’re volunteering for, you’re not going to come back. We empower our shop managers and volunteer leads to build those connections, and the way they communicate with their volunteers is very much down to those individuals. That’s because they know the volunteers best and what they’re like.

 

“If someone’s giving their time to volunteer, those personal relationships are really important as to whether they keep coming back. That personal connection is key to the experience. You want volunteers to feel valued in person.”

 

 

Helping volunteers understand homelessness

 

Crisis helps volunteers connect with their mission, by encouraging volunteers to gain an understanding of homelessness and how critical Crisis’s services are. 

 

“At our Skylight services, many volunteers work directly with the people who are experiencing homelessness, so they gain an understanding of the journey that people are taking and the value of our services. Where appropriate, they attend team meetings and can find out, for example, if a member’s got a job, or moved into a new tenancy. They can see first-hand the difference we’re making.

 

“Recently, we’ve invited our shop volunteers for a tour of London Skylight services, which volunteers were really enthusiastic about. They can see what experiencing homelessness really is, and that their efforts as volunteers are incredibly valuable. So the next time they’re serving a customer or pricing up books, they have a slightly different motivation. Bringing any volunteer closer to the reason why Crisis exists and how we’re trying to end homelessness is powerful.”

 

 

Gathering feedback, in a variety of ways

 

Crisis sends out an annual survey for volunteer feedback. Responses are consistently positive – with volunteers putting their experience in the upper quartile, including feeling valued and that they’d recommend Crisis as a good place to volunteer.

 

“We also have local volunteer forums where people can feedback, and we respond to that input. [In 2025] we’re also going to trial having posters with QR codes in our buildings at Christmas. These will link to very quick online surveys asking, for example, ‘how’s your volunteering today?’ These snapshots will help us to better understand our volunteers’ experiences, in the moment.”

 

 

Evolving the way Crisis engages with volunteers

 

The volunteer landscape and demographics have shifted, with fewer older volunteers and more younger volunteers.

 

“With that in mind, we’re constantly evolving the way we engage with volunteers. For example, we’re exploring how to thank people directly on social media (if they want to be) or the possibility of creating an online community for volunteers, where they can be thanked within that Crisis community.” 

 

 

Giving volunteers the support they might need

 

Crisis shows how much it values volunteers by offering additional support, including emotional support.

 

“Come to a Crisis at Christmas centre and you’ll see the absolute very best of people – our volunteers show such kindness and compassion. Sometimes it can be a tough environment to be in, so at the end of each session, a senior volunteer will take the time to debrief volunteers and to make sure they’re ok.

 

"And if people have seen something distressing or difficult, we provide a volunteer Assistance Programme, which offers counselling. Because sometimes it’s only after an event, that they might feel unsettled.”  

 

 

Thanking volunteers and showing that what they do matters

 

From sharing impact stories, to appreciation postcards or a face-to-face ‘thank you’, Crisis shows their volunteers are valued.

 

“It’s amazing how simple it is to just say thank you. And when that thank you comes from the people who receive the service, it’s even more powerful. So, for example, all of the artwork that we create for our thanking at Christmas or for volunteer week is created by our members. Or our Christmas video (see below) includes some of the guests talking about how much they appreciate volunteers’ support.

 

“It’s important to be able to tell people ‘this is the difference you make’ – and to be as specific as possible. So one of the things we’re working on is to create a way of tracking whether, if someone has been supported by a volunteer, that help has improved outcomes for the person. We know our volunteers are beneficial. Now we want to be able to say: ‘your volunteering has helped provide this outcome’.”

 

 

 

Having a core group of volunteers for strategic input

 

Crisis is in the final stages of developing a new volunteering strategy, and right from the start it’s been co-produced with volunteers.

 

“It’s absolutely firmed up my belief that if you want to do volunteer engagement well, have a group of volunteers to consult with and empower them to make decisions. The way the volunteers have engaged with, and challenged the organisation, is incredibly refreshing. They’re helping us to do the project in the right way.”