Committed volunteers can personalise a campaign and motivate people to take action.

This is something US President-elect Barack Obama was well aware of nearly two years ago. It was then that he started to get together his army of volunteers who were so crucial in helping him win his election campaign.

Volunteers, of course, are the lifeblood of charities - especially volunteers affected by a charity's cause or with links to the issue campaigned on.

But volunteers are not always given the chance to have their say on how charities communicate.

Over the summer, we've been working with a major charity to put together their annual review. I've travelled around the country with one service user interviewing other service users from various projects supported by the charity. Her questions, words and thoughts, as well as those of the other service users, have shaped the annual review. These service users became communications volunteers.

It's been an extremely enjoyable process for all involved and we feel like we've produced a relevant, unpretentious and moving annual review that tells the charity's story.

Charity communicators can work with service users and volunteers to make their communications better.
Here are five ideas of how you can do this:

1. Focus groups. What do service users and volunteers think of your communications? Do they think the words you use are appropriate or that the branding is current? Organise a focus group to find out.

2. Case studies. Build up a database of volunteers and service users who are willing to talk to the media. Interview them and write their stories up into case studies which you can supply to journalists when they phone.

3. Annual review. Consider including feature length case studies of service users in your annual review which show the change your charity makes to people's lives.

4. Use their ideas. Set up blogs that service users and volunteers can easily contribute to. Get them involved in filming a short video for YouTube. Ask regional offices to run with national campaigns.

5. Use their words. In reports, leaflets, web pages, campaigning materials and newsletters. Whatever communications project you’re working on, think about how you might be able to include the words of service users and volunteers.

Trina Wallace is a writer at ngo.media, an editing and copywriting agency for charities and the voluntary sector.
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