Hi {{first_name|there}},
I know it's only October, but the holiday volunteer season is about to hit! The nonprofits that plan for it now are the ones that still have volunteers in January.
Somewhere around the second week of November the phone starts ringing. Families want to serve together, office teams want a group project before the Christmas party, and it seems like everyone in town wants to help on the same Saturday in December. Thanksgiving shifts fill up in a few hours.
Then the day after Christmas everybody disappears, and your inbox stays so quiet through January and February that you start checking whether it's broken. You're short-staffed again right when the cold weather makes the need go up.
The holiday rush is a good problem to have, but it's really a recruiting opportunity in disguise. The goal for this season is to turn as many December helpers as possible into people who come back in January.
The holiday plan (do this in October)
Decide your holiday capacity now. Figure out how many extra people you can actually use and on which days, and write it down before the requests start piling up.
Put your January shifts on the calendar now too. This is the step that people rarely do. If you don't have January dates ready, you have nothing to offer the people you can't fit in December.
Come up with two or three family-friendly roles. A lot of holiday requests are parents with kids in tow. Making cards, sorting donations, assembling kits and greeting guests are all things kids can do with a parent nearby.
Have a plan for groups. Decide your maximum group size, which days you can host groups and what they'd do, so you can say yes in one email instead of five.
Get contact info from every holiday helper. These people are your best leads for the rest of the year, and you'll want a way to reach them in January.
The "we're full" reply that keeps them
Hi [First name], thank you so much for wanting to help this season. Our December shifts filled up fast, which is a wonderful problem to have.
Here's a little secret, though: January is when we need help the most. Could I save you a spot on [specific January date and time]? It's the same work, and it honestly matters even more after the holidays when everyone else disappears.
If that date doesn't work, reply with a better week and I'll find something for you.
Thanks again,
[Your name]
The group request reply
Hi [First name], we'd love to host your group! Here's what works best for us:
Group size: up to [number] people
Days we can host: [days and times]
What you'll do: [task]
Ages: [age guidance]
Pick a date that works and I'll lock it in. And if your team would like to come back in January when we're running thin, we'd be thrilled to have you then too.
Let AI do the first pass
In November and December, sorting all those requests can turn into a part-time job. If your AI assistant can connect to your email and run a task on a schedule, have it read the holiday requests every morning, check them against your capacity, and save the right reply as a draft for each one. You'll still look at every reply before it goes out, but you won't be writing the same email 40 times.
From November 1 to December 31, every weekday at 8am, look through my inbox for new emails asking to volunteer with [Organization]. For each one:
If it's a group, save a draft reply using our group template: [paste the group reply].
If it's an individual or family asking about a December date, check the [sign-up sheet name] spreadsheet. If that day has open spots, draft a reply offering it. If it's full, draft our "we're full" reply offering [January date].
Add every person's name, email and request to a "Holiday helpers" tab in that spreadsheet.
Don't send anything. When you're done, give me a short list of the drafts you made and anything you weren't sure about.
⭐ AI Superstar: the January follow-up, queued up on December 26
That "Holiday helpers" tab is your January recruiting list, and you can have the same assistant work it for you. On December 26 it reads the tab, writes a personal note to everyone who helped or asked to help, and offers each of them a specific January shift, so the follow-up is sitting in your drafts before you're even back from the break.
Here's what you'd tell it:
On December 26 at 9am, open the "Holiday helpers" tab in [spreadsheet name]. For each person, save a draft email that thanks them for helping (or wanting to help) over the holidays, mentions one specific thing from their row, and offers them one of these January shifts: [list January shifts]. Keep it under 100 words and sign it from [your name]. Don't send anything. Tell me how many drafts you made.
We'll post your holiday and January shifts for you
If your organization would interest Christian volunteers, here's an offer to make this season easier. Reply to this email with a link to your volunteer page (or just a list of your holiday and January shifts), and we'll put them on ServeWith for free. We do the typing, you don't have to change anything about how you run sign-ups, and your shifts go out to volunteers near you in our weekly email.
Try it this week
Block off 30 minutes to write down your holiday capacity and pick at least two January dates. Save the two replies above as templates in your email so they're ready when the requests start rolling in.
One question for you
Do you get more volunteer offers in December than you can actually use? Reply and tell me how you handle it. I'd love to share a few good ideas from other leaders before the rush starts.
Thanks for the work you do.
Jacob
Founder, ServeWith
P.S. Know another nonprofit leader who's short-staffed? Forward this to them, or send them to shortstaffed.servewith.org to sign up.