Five Good Ideas to attract and keep volunteers
From Five Good Ideas Podcast by Maytree Foundation
April 15, 2026 · 51 min · Season 23 · Episode 5
About this episode
Dr. Megan Conway shares five strategies to attract and retain volunteers in a changing landscape.
Dr. Megan Conway, President and CEO of Volunteer Canada, joined Elizabeth McIsaac, President of Maytree, for the latest Five Good Ideas session to share her five ideas on how to re-engage your volunteer community and attract new supporters. Megan talked about how to meet the changing needs and motivations of today’s volunteers, remove barriers that keep people from participating, and reconnect with those who have volunteered with you in the past. Megan’s five good ideas: 1. Design volunteering for belonging, not just help 2. Treat access to volunteering as a design and equity issue 3. Reframe volunteering as contribution, skill building, and participation 4. Invest in volunteer infrastructure as a public good 5. Make volunteering visible in civic leadership and policy For the resources and a video of the session, visit https://maytree.com/five-good-ideas/five-good-ideas-to-attract-and-keep-volunteers/.
People in this episode
Host: Elizabeth McIsaac
Guest: Dr. Megan Conway
Topics covered
- volunteering
- community engagement
- nonprofit management
- volunteer motivation
- equity in volunteering
Keywords
- volunteers
- community
- engagement
- nonprofit
- participation
- infrastructure
- leadership
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Volunteer Canada, Maytree
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