TEAM Success Leads: Recruiting & Engaging Volunteers
16 Ways To Recruit and Engage Your Team
“Volunteers are not paid not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.”
— Author Unknown
There are, of course, more than 16 ways to recruit and engage volunteers for your organization, but if you are having difficulty finding your first few recruits, we’ve created a list of some of the most common ways to successfully recruit and engage.
Recruiting & Engagement Strategies
We’ve broken out these strategies into two groups: recruiting strategies and engagement strategies. Of course, there may be some overlap and the goal is often to do both. In general, however, you’ll start with recruiting and then move to engaging.
Recruiting
Snowball Recruiting: One of the quickest ways to recruit is to start with people you already know and asking them to refer people they know. Start by making a list of 20+ people you already know who would make great Skysthelimit.org volunteers. You can read through “Am I qualified?” to help generate some ideas. Then reach out to each of those people in whatever way you normally would (email, phone, LinkedIn, Slack, etc.) and tell them why you think they would make a great mentor. Ask if they are interested and if they know anyone else as qualified as they are!
Email Recruiting: If you have access to email lists for your organization and it is acceptable to send bulk emails, this can be a quick way to spread awareness to a large group of people. Typically, the response rate is lower than more personalized efforts, but the time investment is low, and it can prime people for being more open to subsequent communications.
Message Boards: Does your organization use message boards to post about news, events or volunteer opportunities? If so, make sure you get Skysthelimit.org up there! You can try a message like this one.
Newsletters: If your organization sends out newsletters, consider asking the person in charge of newsletter content to run a story on Skysthelimit.org or include a mention of the volunteering opportunity. Be sure to include a link to our website and your email address or program@skysthelimit.org as a contact for more information.
Phone or SMS outreach: If you have access to a phone list and your organization allows you to contact colleagues about volunteering opportunities via phone or SMS, you might try calling or texting people directly to find out if they are interested in learning more about volunteering opportunities.
Events: Does your organization participate in National Volunteer Day? Or have community outreach events? That may be a good way to get in front of new volunteers on a day where volunteering is on people’s minds. Feel free to contact our program team to figure out how to make the most of a one-day event.
Lunch & Learns: Consider hosting a Lunch & Learn! See if your office or CSR department will provide lunch for attendees and use it as a chance to tell them about the need for more diversity in the startup ecosystem and how volunteers can help drive change. Contact the program team if you need material for this type of event.
Social Media: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and Twitter are great places to post about volunteering opportunities and spread awareness about our organization! Nowadays social media has become a main news source and network for many people who are also looking for interesting opportunities in their free time, making it a great place to talk about how skysthelimit.org impacts our communities.
Engaging
Chat / Messaging:
Email Follow-ups:
Phone or SMS outreach:
Bi-Weekly / Monthly / Quarterly Meetings:
Shows of Gratitude:
Success Stories:
Other Best Practices:
Set your goals
Personalize messages by Exploring the Community and recommending specific entrepreneurs that need support (you can link to their profiles and non-members will get preview of their profile).
Pick 3 Ways to Recruit
Go out and test each of these 3 Ways to find the best one! Then focus on it.