Getting to the Table: Activating Conversations About Strategic Volunteer Engagement

For too long, volunteer engagement has been sidelined as a secondary or “nice-to-have” function in many organisations — appreciated but not deeply invested in, relied upon but rarely resourced strategically. And yet, volunteers extend the reach, deepen the impact, and strengthen the community roots of countless organisations. In today’s climate of funding pressures, workforce shortages, and increasing social need, the question is not whether to engage volunteers, but how to do it strategically and sustainably.

Leaders of Volunteers — the people who plan, coordinate, support, and develop volunteer programmes — understand the vital role volunteering plays. They see the difference it makes, and they know what’s needed to engage volunteers well. What they often lack is a seat at the leadership table and the internal support to make the case for systemic investment in volunteering infrastructure. To shift this, we need to activate conversations with executive leaders and funders — and that means equipping Leaders of Volunteers with the tools, language, and confidence to advocate effectively.

From Passionate Practice to Strategic Priority

Volunteer engagement must be positioned not as an operational afterthought, but as a core lever for mission delivery. The first step is reframing the conversation. Instead of focusing solely on volunteer numbers or hours (which reinforce the idea of volunteers as free labour), conversations must connect volunteer engagement directly to the organisation’s strategic goals and community outcomes.

When approaching executives or funders, frame volunteer engagement in terms of:

• Organisational capacity: How do volunteers enable your organisation to serve more people, deliver more programmes, or meet demand in ways paid staff alone cannot?
• Resilience and responsiveness: How have volunteers contributed during times of crisis or helped the organisation adapt quickly?
• Community trust and reach: How do volunteers connect your organisation to diverse communities or lived experience perspectives?
• Impact and outcomes: What change has occurred because of how volunteers were involved — for service users, communities, or the volunteers themselves?

Linking volunteering to strategic outcomes shifts the narrative from “extra help” to “core contributors.”

Making the Case: Quantifying and Qualifying Volunteer Impact

One of the barriers to deeper investment in volunteer engagement is the difficulty in measuring its full value. Traditional metrics like the number of volunteers or hours worked provide a narrow picture. Leaders of Volunteers need to strengthen their ability to collect and share data that demonstrates how volunteer engagement advances impact.

Ways to build a stronger evidence base:

• Outcome-focused reporting: Where possible, tie volunteer contributions to programme or organisational outcomes. For example, rather than “10 volunteers supported a youth mentoring programme,” report “young people with volunteer mentors showed a 30% increase in school attendance.”
• Volunteer satisfaction and development: Use surveys and interviews to capture volunteers’ growth, sense of purpose, or connection to community — this data can be compelling for funders interested in wellbeing outcomes.
• Client feedback: Include feedback from those who benefit from volunteer-supported services. Testimonials or case studies bring impact to life.
• Value-add comparisons: Show the additional reach, services, or outcomes made possible because of volunteer contributions compared to what would be possible with paid staff alone.

Quantifying the work of the Leader of Volunteers is also critical. Track what you do — volunteer hours managed, roles developed, orientations delivered, issues resolved, partnerships built, events coordinated, evaluations completed — and connect that to organisational success. Use logic models or theory of change tools to illustrate how your leadership of volunteers contributes to programme and mission outcomes.

Advocating from Within: Building Internal Support

Many Leaders of Volunteers operate in isolation, with little influence on executive decision-making. To change this, advocacy must start within the organisation. Here’s how to build traction:

1. Speak their language
   Use the language of strategy, impact, and risk. Executive leaders respond to data, alignment with strategic plans, return on investment, and risk mitigation — so frame your messages accordingly.

2. Align with strategic priorities
   Link volunteer engagement goals to your organisation’s current priorities — whether it’s expanding reach, improving equity, innovating delivery, or deepening relationships with communities.

3. Build champions
   Find allies in other departments, or partner organisations, who benefit from volunteer contributions — programme managers, fundraisers, or communications staff. Encourage them to speak up about the value of volunteer engagement in their work.

4. Share success stories
   Use storytelling to bring numbers to life. Share examples where strategic volunteer engagement made a measurable or meaningful difference. Make it personal and tangible.

5. Be ready with solutions
   When making the case for investment, be prepared with practical proposals — whether it’s a new volunteer engagement strategy, a training budget, a staff role, or evaluation tools. Show you’re not just asking for more — you’re offering a plan to deliver more.

Engaging Funders: Making Volunteer Engagement Fundable

Funders often overlook volunteer engagement because they aren’t asked to support it, don’t understand its strategic value, or don’t see evidence of its impact. To activate this conversation:

• Include volunteer engagement in funding applications
  Don’t bury it — feature it. Describe how volunteers contribute to achieving funded outcomes, and request budget lines for the staffing, training, tools, or evaluation required to engage them effectively.

• Educate and inform
  Invite funders to observe volunteer roles in action or share success stories that spotlight volunteer impact. Help them understand the “behind-the-scenes” infrastructure that makes it work.

• Highlight the return on investment
  Show how a modest investment in volunteer engagement enables significantly greater reach or cost-effective delivery. Emphasise that volunteers aren’t free — they’re leveraged.

• Call for systemic change
  Advocate collectively for funders to embed volunteer engagement expectations and supports into their frameworks — similar to how many now include requirements for cultural safety, sustainability, or partnership with Māori.

Getting to the Table — and Staying There

Activating these conversations takes courage, preparation, and persistence. Leaders of Volunteers must be equipped, recognised, and empowered to contribute to high-level decision-making. This means advocating not just for volunteer engagement, but for the recognition of volunteer leadership as a vital profession with its own body of knowledge, skill, and strategic importance.

To do this well, Leaders of Volunteers need:

• Professional development in strategic thinking, data literacy, and advocacy
• Peer support and networks to share strategies and stay energised
• Leadership that invites their voice and values their insight

When Leaders of Volunteers get to the table, the conversation changes. Volunteer engagement becomes a shared responsibility, not a side project. And organisations are better positioned to unlock the full power of volunteering — not just in numbers, but in outcomes, equity, innovation, and community connection.

It’s time to pull up a chair — and make the case that volunteer engagement is not only worth doing, but worth doing strategically.