Free Volunteer Orientation Template (12 Interactive Missions Built for Nonprofits)
Looking for a volunteer orientation template you can actually launch this week? You're in the right place.
This is a free, ready-to-use volunteer orientation template built specifically for nonprofits, organized as 12 interactive Missions, and copy-able to your own Goosechase account in two clicks. It walks new volunteers through your mission, vision, team, history, logistics, and ongoing communication channels without making them read a 50-page manual or sit through a 90-minute orientation deck.
What's Inside the Template
The template includes 12 ready-to-use Missions, a mix of text-based reflections, photo challenges, and quick videos that walk new volunteers through everything they need to feel oriented and connected from day one.
The orientation arc
The 12 Missions are sequenced to take volunteers through a thoughtful onboarding journey:
Get to know your organization
- 20/20 Vision — Volunteers review your vision statement and share their own personal vision for the work
- Mission Possible — Volunteers reflect on what about your mission resonates with them most
- Way back when — A quick "what year were we founded?" trivia Mission that gets volunteers reading your org history
Meet the team
- Hi, I'm… — A short video intro letting volunteers introduce themselves and where they're filming from
- Buddy system — Volunteers connect with another volunteer in the Experience and exchange contact details
- You've got mail! — Volunteers send an introductory email to your Volunteer Manager (with a fun knock-knock joke encouraged)
Sort out the logistics
- Assets required — Captures any documentation needs (proof of hours, certificates, etc.)
- Pencil Me In — Volunteers review your schedule and share their availability
Build personal connection
- Have a heart — A short video on why volunteering with your org matters to them personally
- That's the spirit! — A photo Mission where volunteers wear your organization's colors
- Pinkies up! — A lighter, low-stakes question about their go-to beverage (yes, really — it works)
Stay connected long-term
- Follow along! — Volunteers follow your social channels and screenshot the proof, building a connection that lasts beyond orientation
Who This Template Is For
This template was built for nonprofits, but it works for any organization that runs volunteer programs and wants orientation to feel like a welcome, not a chore. That includes:
- Nonprofit organizations: the primary audience and the use case the template was designed around
- Community centers, parks, and libraries running ongoing volunteer programs
- Event organizers onboarding volunteers for festivals, fundraisers, or one-off races
- Educational institutions with volunteer student or parent programs
- Corporate CSR teams onboarding employees into community initiatives
If you rely on volunteers and want them to stay volunteers, the template is a solid starting point.
How To Put This Volunteer Orientation Template To Use
Volunteer Orientation
Welcome your volunteers with this fun, engaging Goosechase. Get them versed on your mission, vision, history, team, and services! Customize this template with your own info. Great for non-profits!
1. To copy an Experience to your account, first, make sure you are logged into your Goosechase account. If you don’t have an account, you can create one.
2. Once logged in, go to the Experience you wish to copy (this one!) and select the blue Copy this Template button in the upper left-hand corner of your page.
3. After you’ve clicked Copy this Template, the Experience will import into your account, and you will receive a confirmation screen once the Experience has been fully copied.
4. Now that the Experience is added to your account, you can make changes and edit the Experience to make it your own, or you can use the Missions in a different Experience by accessing the Mission in your Previous Missions bank. For more detailed instructions, click here.
5. That's it, your template if live. Customize the Missions with your organization's details and you're ready to invite volunteers.
When PBS wanted to make their pledge drives feel less like an interruption and more like a game viewers wanted to play, they layered Goosechase Missions into their broadcasts. The result: one participating station saw a six-figure gift after using Goosechase as part of one of their station events and PBS now has eight stations experimenting locally with the format.
The same Mission-based approach that works for engaging viewers works for orienting volunteers. Both come down to the same idea: people remember what they do, not what they're told.
Read the full PBS case study →
Ready to make orientation something your volunteers actually look forward to?
Copy the Volunteer Orientation Template →
Free, no credit card required. Customize the 12 Missions with your organization's details and you're ready to invite your first cohort.
