If you do not have your volunteer roles in writing, with full
descriptions about what the volunteer in each role will do, how many
hours a week or month the volunteer will commit in each role, how long
of a commitment you expect a volunteer to make for each role (a day, a
week, a month, six months), and what success in the role looks like,
your efforts to recruit volunteers will fail.
If you do not have a system and commitment in place to answer within 24
hours any email or application from someone that wants to volunteer,
your efforts to recruit volunteers will fail.
If you do not have a system or commitment in place to get new
volunteers into roles and tasks QUICKLY, your efforts to recruit
volunteers will fail.
I cannot emphasize these three points enough. If you start recruiting
before you have those two things in place, you won't get the volunteers
you need, you will anger people that want to volunteer with your program
and you will generate negative public relations. In the future, your
calls for volunteers will not be taken seriously. People who don’t get a
quick reply, or any reply, to their inquiry to volunteer, don’t get
complete answers to their questions, don’t understand why their
application was rejected, etc., will share their bad experiences with
their networks - their associates on Facebook, their family, their
co-workers, etc.
If you are recruiting volunteers for
high-responsibility roles, like for a mentoring or tutoring
program or board position, see this resource
on recruiting for such high-responsibility roles.
Recruiting Local Volunteers To Increase
Diversity Among the Ranks
Having plenty of volunteers to undertake all the roles at
your organization usually isn't enough to say a volunteering program is
successful. Another indicator of success is if your volunteers represent
a variety of ages, education-levels, economic levels and other
demographics, or are a reflection of your local community. Most
organizations don't want volunteers to be a homogeneous group; they want
to reach a variety of people as volunteers (and donors and other
supporters, for that matter).
This resource will help you think about
how to recruit for diversity, or to reach a specific demographic.
Please use it in all of your volunteering recruitment efforts.
Everything you say & do is a recruitment
message
Every message your organization sends out is, at least indirectly, a
volunteer recruitment message. Every Facebook status update, every
tweet, every newsletter story - it affects how people think about your
program and about volunteering with you. If most of your letters to
supporters and speeches to civic groups are about how your organization
needs money, people are going to get the impression that your
organization needs money much more than people. If most of your messages
are about the difference your volunteers make in the lives of young
people, people are going to feel an emotional connection to what you do.
If you post photos online of people having fun, of people being happy,
etc., you are creating an image of an organization that would be
pleasant to be a part of. If you post messages that thank your
volunteers, you are saying to potential candidates, "We value our
volunteers!" If you don't answer questions or criticisms posted online
about your program, that may make someone wonder how responsive you
would be for volunteer.
One of my favorite users of Facebook is Peace
Corps, because every message they send out is, at least
indirectly, a recruitment message. For instance, when they ask on a
Facebook status update, "What did you love most about being a Peace
Corps volunteer?", and people respond, the responses from alumni, and
even the organization's response to criticism or questions from
non-Peace Corps alumni, become recruitment messages for new
volunteers.
Messages that work - and those that don't
Messages that attract potential
mentors:
- testimonials from volunteers
- testimonials from your clients about their experiences with your
volunteers
- evaluation of your program showing it’s effective
- photos that show volunteering as fun, important, impactful, etc.
- "this is your opportunity to make a difference for climate change
/ homeless families / local, hungry children / dogs without
families..."
- "this is your opportunity to get directly involved in theater
performances / museum shows / historic preservation / the culture of
immigrants in our community..."
- "this is your opportunity to improve children's education
experiences / comfort people who have experienced violence / support
people with intellectual disabilities..."
- “Are you up to the challenge?” (a lot of people would be attracted
to the idea that you DON'T take everyone, that if they were
accepted, they would be "special")
Messages that do NOT attract mentors:
- “We need” messages (need rather than opportunity)
- announcements regarding your annual report (zzzz)
- boring photos (people sitting at desks or in a row of chairs,
listening to something)
- “We have lots of work to do”
That doesn't mean that you shouldn't post about your annual report - you
most certainly should. But remember that all of your outreach,
collectively, is creating an image of your organization. You want that
image to be inspiring, one that draws the right people to support your
program as volunteers.
Everyone at your organization is a recruiter
Everyone at your organization - every volunteer, every employee, every
long-term consultant - should be able to say what your does, just very
basically, that your organization involves volunteers, and where people
can find complete information online about volunteering. The accountant,
the human resources manager, the six-month marketing consultant: all
should be able to say what the organization does, in their own words (no
“canned” speech) and what the web address is. Also, all employees,
consultants and volunteers, regardless of their responsibilities, should
be invited to presentations on success stories about your program - it
will inspire them about the organization they work for AND make them
better volunteer recruiters with family and friends.
Outreach
Once you have EVERY ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS IN WRITING (preferably on
your web site) and a system and commitment to reply WITHIN 24 HOURS to
people that say they want to volunteer, you can post messages meant to
recruit volunteers to.
- your own web site
- your Twitter account: include the city and state where you are, if
you want volunteers from that region, and the word "volunteer"
somewhere in the tweet (and encourage
your staff and volunteers to "like" the post and share it)
- your Facebook account (and encourage your staff and volunteers to
"like" the post and share it)
- your Instagram account (and
encourage your staff and volunteers to "like" the post)
- your blog
- Facebook groups, as appropriate (is there one for the neighborhood
you are in or the city where you are located?). Include the full
name of your organization, a link to your web site for more info,
etc.
- Reddit communities, as appropriate (is there one for the
neighborhood you are in or the city where you are located?). Include
the full name of your organization, a link to your web site for more
info, etc.
- VolunteerMatch,
AllforGood,
and whatever web site your local United Way or volunteer center uses
Also, as said earlier on this page, having plenty of volunteers to
undertake all the roles at your organization usually isn't enough to
say a volunteering program is successful. Another indicator of success
is if your volunteers represent a variety of ages, education-levels,
economic levels and other demographics, or are a reflection of your
local community. Most organizations don't want volunteers to be a
homogeneous group; they want to reach a variety of people as
volunteers (and donors and other supporters, for that matter). Please
think about how to recruit
for diversity, or to reach a specific demographic that is
under-represented among your current volunteer and staff ranks.
The reality is that all of the above will probably be enough to get
you all of the volunteers you need. I encourage you to try JUST these
aforementioned recommendations first, before doing anything else, so
that you are not overwhelmed with applicants.
And be sure to take down recruitment posts if you DO get overwhelmed
with volunteers.
If all of this still doesn't get you enough volunteers, then you can
also send an email noting your volunteer recruitment directly to:
- the career office or volunteer center / community engagement
center at all area colleges and universities
- faculty at area colleges and universities that might know of
students that would be good candidates (contact web design teachers
if you need a web designer, contact faculty teaching students
studying social work if your nonprofit has clients that a social
worker might work with, contact accounting teachers if you need help
with administrative tasks, etc.)
- very large businesses/corporations that employ hundreds of people
in your community
- business associations, the chamber of commerce, etc.
- civic organizations (Kiwanis, Junior League, Jaycees, Lions,
Rotary, Elks, etc.)
- special-interest groups (Retired Senior Volunteer Program/RSVP,
American Association of Retired Persons/AARP, medieval reenactors,
historical societies, local gaming associations)
- communities of faith and ethical societies/humanist societies
- nonprofits who may work with people that would make excellent
volunteers. For instance, Adelante
Mujeres in Forest Grove, Oregon works with the large Latino
population in the area, helping them to start businesses, explore
careers, learn how support their children in school and college,
etc. Many of their clients would make excellent volunteers for other
organizations, because volunteering would help their clients be more
connected to the community.
Your web site needs to be super-detailed!
Please see this web page, also on my site,
the
Information About & For Volunteers You Should Have on Your Web
Site, for details on what your organization should have on its
web site in order to be able to recruit and support volunteers. If
your organization or department involves volunteers, or wants to,
there are certain things your organization or department
must
have on its web site - not by law, of course, but from a point of view
of ethics and credibility. To not have this basic information about
volunteer engagement on your web site says that your organization or
department takes volunteers for granted, does not value volunteers
beyond money saved in salaries, or is
not really ready to
involve volunteers. In addition to what I have on that page, your web
site also needs to have this information:
- complete, detailed how to be a volunteer
- why volunteer
- what volunteers (literally - what do they do)
- testimonials from volunteers and those that have benefited from
such
- photos
- information on how volunteers are screened (be up front about
criminal background checks - and who pays for such)
- information on what makes a great volunteer
- information on what would exclude someone from becoming a
volunteer (be frank)
- videos
Volunteers can help
There are a lot of people who would love to volunteer to build a list
of people and their email addresses that would be good to contact
regarding volunteering with your organization, who would post these
messages on social media for you, etc.
When someone applies or inquires about
volunteering
Reply within 24 hours about next steps.
If you don't already have this question on your application - "How
did you hear about our organization or volunteering with us?" - then
add it, or ask it in your followup email to all new candidates for
volunteering. Track each month what outreach method is the most
effective in attracting volunteers.
Notify applicants promptly and respectfully if they do not meet
program requirements to volunteer with you. If appropriate, encourage
them to look at something like VolunteerMatch
for opportunities with other organizations.
Also see
- All of My Volunteer Engagement Resources
Resources to help with creating accessible volunteer roles,
welcoming everyone as volunteers, how to create a mission statement
for your volunteer engagement, creating specific types of volunteer
roles, virtual volunteering, and so much more.
- Short-term Assignments for Tech
Volunteers
There are a variety of ways for mission-based organizations to
involve volunteers to help with short-term projects
relating to computers and the Internet, and short-term assignments
are what are sought after most by potential "tech" volunteers. But
there is a disconnect: most organizations have trouble identifying
such short-term projects. This is a list of short-term projects for
"tech" volunteers -- assignments that might takes days, weeks or
just a couple of months to complete.
- One(-ish) Day "Tech" Activities
for Volunteers
Volunteers are getting together for intense, one-day events, or
events of just a few days, to build web pages, to write code, to
edit Wikipedia pages, and more. These are gatherings of onsite
volunteers, where everyone is in one location, together, to do an
online-related project in one day, or a few days. It's a form of
episodic volunteering, because volunteers don't have to make an
ongoing commitment - they can come to the event, contribute their
services, and then leave and never volunteer again. Because
computers are involved, these events are sometimes called
hackathons, even if coding isn't involved. This page provides advice
on how to put together a one-day event, or just-a-few-days-of
activity, for a group of tech volunteers onsite, working together,
for a nonprofit, non-governmental organization (NGO),
community-focused government program, school or other mission-based
organization - or association of such.
- Creating One-Time, Short-Term Group
Volunteering Activities
Details on not just what groups of volunteers can do in a two-hour,
half-day or all-day event, but also just how much an organization or
program will need to do to prepare a site for group volunteering.
It's an expensive, time-consuming endeavor - are you ready? Is it
worth it?
- Examples of Virtual
Volunteering
The most comprehensive list of virtual volunteering tasks you will
find anywhere. Hosted on the Virtual
Volunteering Wiki.
- Required Volunteer
Information on Your Web Site
If your organization or department involves volunteers, or wants to,
there are certain things your organization or department must
have on its web site - not by law, of course, but from a point of
view of ethics and credibility. It also will help tremendously in
your recruitment efforts.
- Using Third Party Web Sites Like
VolunteerMatch to Recruit Volunteers
There are lots and lots of web sites out there to help your
organization recruit volunteers. You don't have to use them all, but
you do need to make sure you use them correctly in order to
get the maximum response to your posts.
- Diagnosing
the causes of volunteer recruitment problems
Before you hire a consultant, even me,
to see what the problem is regarding why you don't have enough
volunteers, or the kinds of volunteers you want most, you might be
able to diagnosis the problem yourself - this blog is meant to help
you do that. The only catch is that you MUST be honest as you answer
the questions listed here. Also, answering these questions is rarely
a one-person exercise; you may think you know the answer, but you
need to ask other staff members, including volunteers themselves,
what their answers are to these assessment questions. This is one of
the most popular blogs I've ever written.
- Screening Volunteers for Attitude
Screening is vital to finding the right people for some, maybe all,
volunteer roles, particularly those where the volunteer will work
with clients and the general public, and to screen out people who
may be better in shorter-term assignments or assignments where they
would not work with clients or the general public, or who would not
be appropriate in any role at the organization. We put all sorts of
emphasis on criminal background checks and reference checks for
volunteers, but the reality is that a mismatched volunteer, in terms
of attitude, can be a program-killer. Screening volunteers for
attitude will reduce volunteer turnover and ensure everyone has a
more satisfying experience as a volunteer or working with
volunteers.
- Recruiting Local
Volunteers To Increase Diversity Among the Ranks
Having plenty of volunteers usually isn't enough to say a
volunteering program is successful. Another indicator of success is
if your volunteers represent a variety of ages, education-levels,
economic levels and other demographics, or are a reflection of your
local community. Most organizations don't want volunteers to be a
homogeneous group; they want to reach a variety of people as
volunteers (and donors and other supporters, for that matter). This
resource will help you think about how to recruit for diversity, or
to reach a specific demographic.
- Recruiting
Volunteers To Serve in Difficult, Even Dangerous Roles
Some volunteering is perceived as difficult by potential volunteers
and the general public, because of the clients that volunteers will
work with or the kind of activities volunteers must undertake.
Examples: serving as a Big Brother/Big Sister, mentoring a foster
child, assisting adults with developmental disabilities,
volunteering in a shelter for women experiencing domestic violence,
or staffing a suicide hotline. Some volunteering is perceived as
difficult AND dangerous, such as fire fighting or search and rescue
or volunteering in prisons or jails. Some volunteering is perceived
as controversial, such as providing water stations in the dessert
for people entering a country illegally and can die from
dehydration, or defending a women's health clinic patients from
protesters. Difficult, dangerous and/or controversial roles actually
appeal to many people who want to volunteer: they feel strongly
about the cause, or they want to do something substantial and
challenging. But other roles may seem too intimidating to new
recruits, like mentoring a young person going through the foster
care system, working with young people in the juvenile justice
system, working with people with intellectual disabilities, or
working with seniors. How do you recruit for roles that might seem
difficult, dangerous, even controversial? How do you recruit for a
subject area or role that might provoke an initial reaction of fear
among potential volunteers? This
resource can help.
- Recruiting Mentors
(or any high-responsibility volunteers that will work with
clients)
Successful volunteer recruitment is a mentality as much as a method.
Successful recruitment of volunteer mentors comes from a mentality
that permeates the organization, one that prompts employees and
volunteers to always be looking for opportunities for outreach and
partnership, and where all employees and volunteers are advocates
for the program, regardless of the tasks they undertake. This web
page has specific recommendations to recruit mentors for youth, but
these recommendations could be used for most any
high-responsibility, high-commitment volunteer role working with
clients, such as counselors or tutors.
- Finding a
Computer/Network Consultant (volunteer or paid)
Staff at mission-based organizations (nonprofits, civil society
organizations, and public sector agencies) often have to rely on
consultants, either paid or volunteer, for expertise in computer
hardware, software and networks. Staff may feel unable to
understand, question nor challenge whatever that consultant
recommends. What can mission-based organizations do to recruit the
"right" consultant for "tech" related issues, one that will not make
them feel out-of-the-loop or out-of-control when it comes to
tech-related discussions?
- TechTools and Online
Resources for Recruiting Volunteers
There are a variety of tech tools - tools related to computers,
tablets, smart phones, cell phones and/or the Internet - and online
resources that can be used for recruiting volunteers - all
volunteers, not just online volunteers (virtual volunteering). This
page on the Virtual Volunteering Wiki lists some of these tools, but
be forewarned: if you aren't ready to onboard applicants QUICKLY,
then recruiting online volunteers will lead to angry people and bad
public relations. Advice for HOW to use these tech tools in the
various functions of volunteer management, including volunteer
recruitment, can be found in The
Last
Virtual
Volunteering Guidebook. This section of the
Virtual Volunteering Wiki tracks SOME of these ever-changing tools -
however, note that the manager of this wiki makes no effort to try
to be comprehensive nor stay absolutely up-to-date because (1) she
has no funding whatsoever to support this ongoing research and (2)
what constitutes the best online tool is subjective. Instead, this
resource is meant to give you an idea of just how much is
available.s
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