1. Understand the language and nature of volunteering locally.
Learning the language and understanding the history of the community is critical to working effectively in every community.

Volunteers are abundant in even the toughest neighborhoods and have a long history of helping, but residents generally do not refer to themselves as “volunteers” and often don’t volunteer as members of formal nonprofits.

2. Overcome barriers to volunteering
Barriers to volunteering include lack of time, financial resources, child care, transportation, as well as low self-esteem and confidence, negative perceptions of volunteering or of volunteer organizations, and cultural and language barriers.

These must be addressed in order to engage local residents.

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