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‘GET OUT AND GARDEN’ DAY

Volunteers Needed to Help in Communities on May 19 | May. 14, 2012

MASTER GARDENERS GRADUATE

Another Training Program Will Start This Autumn | May. 10, 2012

MERCHANT DISCOUNT PROGRAM HELPS BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS

Community Volunteers Get Discounts from Local Businesses | May. 7, 2012

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Liberty, NY 2012

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Sullivan Renaissance partners with NYSERDA

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Volunteers

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Tips for recruiting and retaining volunteers

Get Their Attention

  • The first step in recruiting volunteers is to get their attention.
  • Recruiting volunteers should be a process rather than a problem.
  • What resources does your community have (i.e. churches, hospitals, schools, business groups, religious organizations, citizen associations, clubs, ethnic groups, cultural associations, service groups, youth groups, senior groups, grassroots groups, welcome wagon, major property owners, businesses, individuals)?
  • Go to where people are. Go to the meetings of other groups; go to the events and places where people gather.
  • Eighty percent of volunteers doing community work said they began because they were asked by a friend, a family member or a neighbor.
  • Consider posting notices in laundromats, grocery stores, high schools, university student unions, churches, synagogues and mosques, recreation centers, performing arts centers, post offices, drug stores, health clinics and doctor’s offices and libraries.
  • People are drawn to public interest activities that produce results in a reasonable length of time. They participate when their participation makes a difference.
  • People are drawn to group activities that are fun, creative or educational.
  • People are drawn to group activities that make some part of everyday life easier.
  • People are attracted to programs that utilize positive, honest, enthusiastic appeals.
  • The best volunteer recruiters are volunteers who are happy with your organization. Have current volunteers tell their story at meetings or gatherings.

Excite Imagination

  • Getting to know one another needs to be a part of every community building effort. The most elementary achievement of community development is the connection between two people where none had previously existed. Make time at your first meeting for getting to know one another. Good relationships between people will make action easier and sustainable.
  • Conduct orientation sessions. Tell the volunteers the basics of the project, its philosophy and what they will be doing. Have support materials such as “before” photos and “after” renderings.
  • Volunteers increase community ownership. Reach out to community as a whole to include a variety of stakeholders in the project.
  • Write letters to the editor in the local newspaper.
  • A volunteer program is a two-way street: it must meet the needs of the organization and the needs of the volunteer. Everyone wins!
  • People often volunteer to serve some higher purpose.
  • One or two people can make all the difference by serving as catalysts to bring together many other people who would otherwise remain apart.
  • Get all active volunteers involved in thinking up new methods for recruiting.
  • Try to think what would interest YOU in volunteering. What’s in it for the volunteer? What is to be gained personally by doing the job?
  • Encourage action-based programs and offer activities for neighborhood youth to get involved. Organize projects that focus on kids. . If the children are involved in an activity, parents will often get involved.
  • Be creative in selecting a project. Restoring an old monument or building for instance is an opportunity for students to learn local history and help preserve it for the future.
  • Tell your local newspaper, radio and television station about the project and the positive impact it will have.

Call to Action

  • Make them feel welcome and give them a job to do.
  • Define the type of job to be done. Be as specific as possible. Have someone check on progress. People do not feel good about doing a job if nobody cares whether it gets done.
  • Select a project whose benefits will be enjoyed by the whole community.
  • Show that volunteering with your organization offers both tangible and intangible rewards.
  • Offer opportunities for families to volunteer together.
  • Too many long meetings discourage community involvement. Make meetings short and end them on time.
  • Recognize their efforts. Saying “thank you” goes a long way. Pay special attention to the jobs volunteers are given.
  • Appreciate all contributions, no matter how small.
  • If the area and facilities are suitable, conclude the project with a picnic or block party.
  • Identify and solicit potential project and event sponsors (donated materials, food, etc.)
  • An online discussion group offers volunteers an easy avenue to share learning and ideas and to ask questions of each other.
  • Email offers a way to update volunteers quickly about a resource they may find valuable in their service. Consider creating a regular weekly mailing.