How a Messaging Shift Increased Volunteer Applications 54% in 90 Days: The CASA Case Study
Updated: Sep 23
Sue Borst | Sue Borst Marketing
When Child Advocates San Antonio (CASA) needed more trained volunteer Advocates, the instinct was to run more marketing: more posts, more ads, more information sessions. Instead, we found the actual problem first. Within 90 days of a messaging strategy overhaul, volunteer inquiries rose 54%. Over the following year, sworn-in Advocates grew 200%.
Here's what actually changed, and why the fix wasn't "more marketing."
The Problem: Applications Were Declining Despite Growing Need
CASA trains court-appointed volunteer Advocates for children in the foster care system. Post-pandemic, the organization faced a familiar nonprofit problem: the need for Advocates was growing, but volunteer applications were declining, and attendance at information sessions was inconsistent.
CASA was active. They were posting, advertising, and holding sessions regularly. The activity wasn't the issue.
The Real Issue Wasn't Marketing Activity. It Was Message Clarity.
When we mapped the full volunteer journey, from someone's first exposure to CASA through becoming a sworn-in Advocate, the gap became clear: every touchpoint described volunteering in transactional terms. Time commitment. Training hours. Application steps. What the messaging never communicated was the emotional weight of the role: that one person can become the consistent adult who changes a child's outcome in the system.
People don't volunteer for a foster care nonprofit because of a training schedule. They volunteer because they're moved to act. The messaging wasn't wrong, it was just answering the wrong question.
The Strategy: Journey Mapping and Message Alignment
The work wasn't a rebrand or a new campaign. It was messaging strategy applied consistently across every existing touchpoint: website copy, SEO-focused landing pages, digital ads, social campaigns, email communications, volunteer outreach materials, and the information sessions themselves. All of it was rewritten around a single core message: "Be the Advocate," supported by "You can be the voice that changes a child's story."
Nothing about the volunteer process changed. What changed was the reason CASA gave people to say yes.
The Results: What Changed After 90 Days
54% increase in volunteer inquiries within 90 days
200% growth in sworn-in Advocates over the following year
Increased diversity among volunteer applicants
No new ad budget. No new channels. The same audience, reached with messaging built around impact instead of logistics.
Why This Matters Beyond Nonprofits
This is the pattern I see across almost every client engagement, nonprofit or for-profit: businesses assume a lead problem is a visibility problem, so they add more activity. Usually it's a clarity problem. More activity will not solve an unclear strategy. CASA didn't need more marketing. It needed the marketing it already had to say the right thing.
Read more about how clear messaging transformed CASA’s volunteer recruitment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long did it take to see results?
Volunteer inquiries increased 54% within the first 90 days of the messaging realignment, with continued growth in sworn-in Advocates over the following year.
Does this approach only work for nonprofits?
No. The same journey-mapping and message-alignment process applies to any organization where the offer isn't converting despite consistent marketing activity, including professional service firms, financial advisors, and manufacturers.
What was actually changed in this project?
No new channels, budget, or campaigns. The existing website, landing pages, ads, social content, email, and outreach materials were all realigned to one consistent core message.
Where can I learn more about this case study?
The full CASA case study, including the campaign messaging and scope of work, is available on the Sue Borst Marketing portfolio.
If your own inquiries or leads have plateaued despite consistent marketing activity, that's usually a message clarity problem, not a visibility one.
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