Volunteering 4.0: Making Association Work Visible in the Interactive Member Portal

New members are often motivated to take an active role in the association. However, if they encounter unclear structures and working methods, their motivation quickly fades. It is therefore crucial to introduce newcomers to the association’s work in an understandable way. This ensures that members can continue to identify with the association in the long term. You can achieve this in several ways. First, the association’s working methods must be understood. If you work with an interactive Member Portal, you should include new members in it as quickly as possible. A simple welcome post on the platform helps to greet new members. You can also share documents on netiquette and first steps in the network to explain how the Member Portal works.

Then it is time for the concrete association work. Here, newcomers should quickly gain the impression that their involvement in the association is desired. If you share, for example, the events calendar with them, members can see at a glance when and how they can get involved in the association. It is also helpful to draw attention to project groups or committees that need support. New members thus gain a quick overview of where they can apply their strengths. The be-all and end-all of association work in the Member Portal is communicating with members. In this way, you always offer them points of contact to take part in association work on an occasional basis.

Many members want to engage voluntarily, but have little time to do so alongside work, family and leisure. Volunteering 4.0 must not only give them the opportunity to contribute occasionally to the association. Their participation should also be quick and simple. No member wants to spend hours finding the responsible person and their contact details. It helps members when there is a clear directory listing all members and their roles within the association. In the Member Portal, this exists in the form of a members’ directory. If you encourage members to complete their profile fully, their formal role in the association and additional information become visible at a glance. Thanks to the search function, responsible persons can be found and contacted in no time. Members also get to know one another before the first personal contact and can find a basis for cooperation.

Committee work is essential for the association. When members come together on a central issue, they need a space in which to organise and exchange ideas. Many committees therefore meet several times a year in person. They are bound to a specific time and place. This complicates collaboration, as meetings must not only be organised but also prepared and followed up. This poses a major challenge, especially in voluntary work. For alongside their everyday lives, members often have little time to deal with additional association matters. Even if the motivation for committee work exists, organisational tasks and difficulties of understanding can obstruct cooperation.

Instead of countless Emails or Because communication with one another is possible digitally, not every detail requires an in-person meeting. Often a post followed by a discussion in the respective group is enough to clarify smaller issues. Time-limited tasks can also be addressed and completed here in a short time. If a large part of the organisation, such as finding a suitable date for the next meeting, is no longer necessary, members have more time for what is essential: the actual tasks and projects of the committee.

The general assembly, as the highest decision-making body, is crucial for association work. In Volunteering 4.0, however, its organisation is becoming increasingly complex. Even finding an appropriate date for convening the general assembly is difficult due to the large number of participants. In addition to further organisational details, you must also notify all members and officials. Many members are difficult to reach because they rarely keep up with what is happening in the association. This is where digital tools come into play, supporting you in organising the general assembly. Using features such as surveys, the location and time of the general assembly can be defined clearly. Various notification options, from Email to direct message to a pinned post in the Member Portal, ensure that as many members as possible are reached.
After the general assembly, results are documented and made accessible to members. This guarantees that nothing developed in the general assembly is lost. It not only gives officials and full-time staff an overview of what needs to be done next. Members are also informed about the next steps in the association and feel included in association work.