COVID is taking its toll in many ways. And yet, we've all been inspired to see donors and volunteers stepping up and helping their neighbours in a time of need.

As volunteer-driven organizations face increasing demand for their services, even those of us who are lucky are struggling to adapt to the new normal, with older volunteers having to step back, and younger volunteers taking on new and out-of-our-comfort-zone roles.

For many volunteers, that means they can burn out and feel disconnected from the cause.

One of the core reasons we invest in volunteer appreciation events and we try to build community among our volunteers is to connect our people to their impact and show them they're part of something big—bigger than they may see in their day-to-day activities.

This can fight feelings of burnout and disconnection.

So, here are 5 ideas you can use at your volunteer-driven organization to build community, to connect your volunteers with each other and recharge their commitment to the cause.

Remote Games Night

There are a whole bunch of great options for games. There's Jackbox, BoardGameArena, Scribbl, and many more. Get everyone on a Zoom call, share the game link, and away you go! The games are always a blast and your volunteers will get to have a fun hour or two and see each other's faces.

Be sure to let everyone introduce themselves and share some exciting updates about your organization's recent achievements.

Volunteer Spotlights

Get a photo of your volunteer, describe something great about them, and you have a spotlight! Tag them in social media and proudly tell the world how great your volunteers are.

Seeing themselves and other volunteers on your social media platform will give them some pride in the organization, and give them a feeling of connection to the other spotlighted volunteers.

Facebook Group or Slack Team

A Group on Facebook can be a great way to connect your volunteers and give them space to meet each other, to see how many of them there really are, and to create space connected to your cause that's outside the main activities of your organization.

In the same way, a Slack Team can be great for this. The free plan should suffice! It's a good app that many people already have. You can create different channels for different topics, and set up daily prompts or games to keep the conversations flowing! If your organization is using it and you're paying, you can always add volunteers as single-channel guests to keep costs down on the paid plan.

p.s. If your organization isn't already using Slack, you should be!

Warm & Fuzzy Notes

If you have a space but you're strictly limiting the number of people on site, that means fewer volunteers are meeting each other and interacting. Making an extra effort to foster connections is a good idea!

It could be as simple as adding extra spaces to a sign-in/out sheet - Quote of the day, cute story, etc. Give people a writing prompt and get them to write to each other. The same can be done using post-it notes on site.

Zoom Party Games

All of us have discovered, or found a new appreciation for, group video calls like Zoom, Meet, & Skype. And yet, with a big group, trying to do social activities can be tough. The best way to create a fun environment is to build some structure into it, so everyone takes a turn talking without the conversation getting dominated by one or two people, with everyone else listening.

My favourite way to add some fun structure is to play a simple party game like Two Truths and a Lie, Never Have I Ever, or simple round-table trivia (have everyone bring a few questions for the group).

So there you have it! It's tough right now, and the rulebook has changed, but that doesn't mean you can't engage volunteers and make them feel connected to your cause!

Alex McGowan is a co-founder and the Chief Community Officer at Purposely, and a seasoned volunteer coordinator by trade. He's always excited to talk about volunteer management and would love to hear your ideas about this blog or any other volunteer-related topic. You can connect with him by email at amcgowan@purposely.ca or on LinkedIn.