Finding Volunteers for Your Shelter: 8 Tips for Success

Whether your pet shelter has 10 or 100 furry friends, volunteers are the unsung heroes of any successful rescue mission.

That said, knowing how to find volunteers for animal shelters isn't always easy. Volunteer outreach takes more than putting out a call for help — you need the right strategies to connect with animal lovers eager to make a difference. We're sharing tips for engaging volunteers and introducing our new Volunteer Functionality to make managing your shelter's volunteer program easier than ever.

8 Ways to Recruit Volunteers and Keep Them Engaged

1. Spread the Word

People can only volunteer if they know you're looking for someone to get involved. Let it be known you're actively looking for volunteers on your shelter's website or social media. You can also place ads on the radio or in your local newspaper. Get the message out to anyone who may be looking for volunteer opportunities at an animal shelter.

2. Host Open Houses

Invite the community to see your shelter in action. Host an open house for potential volunteers and donors to learn about your animal rescue. Sometimes, a behind-the-scenes look at a pet shelter lets people see the difference they can make and are more likely to get involved.

3. Reach Out to Local Organizations

Many students and professionals are eager to participate in community service projects. Consider asking local schools, universities, businesses, and community groups if you can advertise that you need volunteers for a local pet shelter.

4. Train Your Volunteers

Training sessions are a great way to retain volunteers at animal shelters. Training helps volunteers feel confident and capable. Guide new volunteers through their responsibilities or provide instructional videos they can watch at their own pace if you're short on time. Be patient, answer questions, and consider their feedback.

5. Be Transparent

One of the best volunteer recruitment strategies is being clear about your needs. Do you need volunteers to feed animals, clean kennels, walk dogs, or socialize cats? Will your shelter volunteers help with administrative work, adoption events, or fostering animals? Being upfront about roles and responsibilities will attract the right volunteers.

6. Offer Flexible Volunteering Opportunities

Not everyone can commit to a regular schedule. To reduce volunteer turnover, offer a mix of one-time and recurring opportunities. One-time roles could include things like helping at an adoption event or fostering a pet. For those looking for a more long-term commitment, roles like assisting with daily shelter operations or caring for pets might be better.

7. Showcase Your Appreciation

Volunteers lend their time because they're passionate about animals, not because they “have to.” Let your volunteers know how much you appreciate them and how valuable their time is. Here are a few ways you can show your appreciation.

Organize events or treats just for your volunteers. This doesn't have to be extravagant or expensive. Even a pizza or ice cream party or a heartfelt thank-you note goes a long way.
Give volunteers shout-outs on your shelter's social media pages.
Offer perks like free shelter merchandise or invitations to special events.

8. Use Animal Shelter Management Software

Using software designed for animal shelters will help you stay organized, reduce errors, and create a better experience for your staff and volunteers. PawPlacer takes the chaos out of managing your shelter with an all-in-one platform that streamlines every step for animal welfare organizations.

Meet PawPlacer's New Volunteer Functionality

Managing a growing team of volunteers can feel overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Use a platform to help you manage your volunteers (and every other part of your shelter).

PawPlacer's Volunteer Management System lets users add volunteers, recurring schedules, and one-time shifts. These are displayed in a calendar-style view for easy tracking. Each volunteer has basic details, guardian verification for minors, the ability to add references, and the ability to sign waivers. Volunteers can have required hours and types (like court-mandated or community service), and shelter employees can easily log shifts toward those hours with a full audit trail.

PawPlacer's volunteer form adapts to the volunteer's age. If the volunteer is under 18, the form automatically includes fields for guardian information and permissions. For volunteers 18 or older, these fields will not appear.