by Charles Simmins

Created on: July 09, 2009   Last Updated: August 22, 2009

Effective recruitment of volunteers has become even more important as rough economic times trim the budgets of not for profits. Volunteers fill the gaps. Effective recruitment does not mean quantity alone, but recruitment of numbers who will stay and contribute.

Begin with existing volunteers. They know what needs to be done and they have a good idea what sort of person can do it. Ask them to help by introducing the organization to friends or family that they believe will want to contribute their time and energy.

Ensure that you have determined what you need volunteers to do, and how they will do it. The organization may not be paying these people, but job descriptions and goals are still necessary. Poor organization, lack of define tasks and no sense of purpose spell out a not for profit that a volunteer will not want to invest their valuable efforts into.

Let prospective volunteers know that they will be mentored when they join. They should know that they will not be left alone, untrained and expected to function without help.

Reach out to service clubs such as the Kiwanis or Rotary. These people have purposely joined a club that does volunteer work. A service club can often run one specific fund raiser or take over one necessary task, such as painting a camp. These clubs exist to serve, so allow them that opportunity as often as possible.

Look at your recruitment policies and procedures. Are there unreasonable barriers to willing volunteers, such as long waits to be approved by a Board of Directors or training requirements that can only be fulfilled during working hours? The goal of effective recruiting is to make the process as easy and comfortable as possible for the recruits. Traditional practices may need to be modified to allow for a smoother transition from volunteer candidate to volunteer.

Make volunteer recruitment an important task for the entire organization. Emphasize to the existing staff and volunteers that new volunteers bring their energy and willingness to work, and the organization needs those things. Volunteers should receive a warm welcome and support as they learn about the group, its goals and ideals, and how their work assists the group.

Recruiting volunteers effectively has very little difference from doing the same for employees. A volunteer wants to know what they can expect. Being flexible with the amount of time requested from the volunteer, the training and the scheduling of training and providing support during the transition into the group will all be attractive and effective ways to recruit volunteers.

A volunteer has a great many choices of where to take their efforts. Effective recruiting of volunteers meaning giving them good reason to choose your organization.

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