Calm the fire.
National Volunteer Fire Council
the brand
Providing a unified voice for Fire/EMS
volunteer organizations.
The National Volunteer Fire Council is the leading nonprofit membership association representing the interests of the volunteer fire, EMS, and rescue services.
Being a volunteer firefighter at your local firehouse is more than just running into burning buildings.
Volunteers help with everything from performing home safety check, to being a fire responder, to educating locals & children about fire safety.
Volunteering as a firefighter is a diverse way to strengthen multiple skills and create bonds in your community while also formally volunteering.
To sign up, simply to to the NVFC website and click on the “Make Me A Firefighter” program at the top.
There you will find resources about volunteering from requirements you’ll need to firehouses in your area in need of heroes like you.
the ask
business challenge
15% lift in volunteer firefighter sign up’s through the NVFC.
marketing objective
Make becoming a volunteer firefighter feel like the most impactful way to give back.
the solution
issue
Formal volunteering is on the decline,
and firehouses are feeling the hit.
(not to mention our world is on fire both literally and metaphorically.)
“The rate of formal volunteering through organizations dropped by seven percentage points, from 30% in 2019 to 23.2% in 2021”
-AmeriCorps, volunteer information page
read the facts, here.
“The number of volunteer firefighters reached a low of 676,900 in 2020 ”
-NVFC, infographic
context
Firehouses rely on volunteer firefighters because 65% of firefighters in the US are formal volunteers.
And the reason that number is so high is because our government does not fund fire departments sufficiently.
And we have seen this before.
“Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”
Throughout our nations’s history there have been times when we, the people, have needed to step up and volunteer to help our country.
AND THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES AGAIN!
So what kind of person steps up when our government doesn’t?
target
The Untapped Aide
Age 25-44:
(We are actually seeing firefighters age out)
Almost 35% of volunteers are above the age of 50.
So, younger volunteers is the goal so we can get them to be life-long heroes.
Volunteer History:
Has either never volunteered because they don't know how/where to start, or they have a few times before but in common types of volunteering that was isolated or a one time thing.
Discover,
Our target’s behaviors & beliefs.
Explore,
Our targets hierarchy.
But this group has some hurdles to getting involved, including:
A feeling of lost community
Training requirements
Time demands
more context
Not to mention were facing a loneliness epidemic.
“United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a new Surgeon General Advisory calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection in our country.” (2023)
“Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.” (2023)
And the Coronavirus pandemic
has just exacerbated this undiscussed mental epidemic.
but
there is a way to help yourself while actually helping others.
In many studies were seeing that,
“not only does volunteering makes us happier — it can also improve our mental health over time.” (2021)
because
insight
We think volunteering is about helping others, but it’s really a way of helping ourselves.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”
so the goal is to…
Get Untapped Aides who are spiraling/lost and don't know how to help themselves, to sign up to be a volunteer firefighter, by showing them that in lending a hand, they will help themselves just as much as they help others.
strategy
Fight fires while calming your own.
Give back to yourself while giving back to others.
By becoming a volunteer firefighter,
you can better yourself while bettering your community.
All thanks to the “Make Me A Firefighter” program,
brought to you by