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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