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Finding VolunteersIt can be the bane of fundraising committees – finding volunteers.
In these days of busy lives, single parent households and mortgage
stress, people are prone to crossing the street and avoiding your eyes if they
think you are going to approach them for help with the latest fundraising
effort.
So how can you go about getting good volunteers committed to
your fundraising goal? The following 10-step process might give you some ideas.
STEP 1: Assign a volunteer sergeant
– Who is the one person you can always rely on, who is always the first to
volunteer, and who works as tirelessly as you do? That is the person who should
be in charge of building your volunteer force.
STEP 2: Identify your needs and plan an approach
– work out exactly what your committee’s needs are. Make a list of jobs that
need doing, and write a brief job description for each. Be sure to include job
responsibilities, any qualifications, job training and benefits.
STEP 3: Choose your targets – if you
are a school committee, parents of preppies attending their first year of
school are often keen to get involved. If you are a sporting organisation, look
to your new members and their families – they will be eager to show their
support in any way they can.
STEP 4: Be active and get personal
– relying on passive recruitment through newsletters and word-of-mouth will
only get you so far. Be prepared to make personal appeals for help to
individuals – work the phones, as phone calls are a bit harder to put off and
ignore than emails! Pitch the job to people, be prepared so you can tell them
what sort of help you need, and how much time they will need to commit.
STEP 5: Provide an induction briefing for your volunteers
– here’s where you start showing that you value your supporters. Ask volunteers
what they want to get from their experience, and how you can help. Orient them
to your organisation, and provide an opportunity for them to ask questions.
STEP 6: Be patient – the
nature of volunteers is that they are not necessarily highly skilled experts.
Be patient with them, be supportive and encouraging. Look for ways to provide
support to help them work better as a team.
STEP 7: Stay in touch – come
back to your team regularly, and revisit their goals and job descriptions. If
the role is changing then you may need to change their goals too. Show that you
are responsive and flexible, and you will retain volunteers for the long haul.
STEP 8: Handle problems quickly – guess
what? Ignoring problems doesn’t make them go away, it usually makes them worse.
Don’t let small problems become huge ones. Force yourself to have that
difficult conversation, or you may be inadvertently reinforcing inappropriate
behavior. But remember – be diplomatic!
STEP 9: Celebrate success – say
thank you, report results, recognise extra effort. Don’t be afraid to single
out individual achievement, but be wary of being seen to favor some over
others. Have a big party, or host a morning tea – however you celebrate, make
your volunteers fell valued and appreciated, and you will see them again next
year.
STEP
10: Start early – start work this year on finding next year’s
crop of volunteers. Why not get this year’s volunteers to help you write role
descriptions for next year – after all, who could be better qualified for the
job? And get this year’s volunteers to help with recruiting next year’s
volunteers, and watch that network expand!
Helen Creswick
Fundraising Directory
(c) Direct Digital 2007
This article can be reproduced without permission for any purpose that is not-for-profit (eg newsletters) as long as it is credited appropriately and a link or reference placed back to the Fundraising Directory website. Please contact us for more information on 1300 653 305.
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