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Recruiting members
The first thing your community group will need to be effective is a few like-minded members. Your oganisation will probably running on the goodwill of voluntary labour.
Volunteers are motivated by wanting to make a difference - they want to play a vital role in creating change. Most of all, they want a job to do. To assist with their job satisfaction, think about what job roles and skills your group needs and recruit suitable people based on this.
To recruit volunteers and inform potential supporters about your issue, you can:
- drop flyers in local letterboxes
- send an email to your friends (and ask them to send it on to their friends)
- recruit online (via your own website or through a community noticeboard such as www.govolunteer.com.au.
- post a flyer on the community notice board at your local university, sports clubs, shopping centre and libraries
- put an ad in your local newspaper
- hold a volunteer information day and put this in your local paper's free "What's On" listing
- find a great angle for your issue to get a story into your local paper. Include your contact details (phone or email) to enlist volunteers. Find out how to write a media release for journalists in the Greenpeace Media Kit.
- set up an information kiosk or stall at the local fair or markets
- if you already have some members, host a "bring a friend" coffee morning.
Keeping members inspired
Staying inspired as a volunteer isn't always easy so here are tips for introducing new member and keeping your volunteers happy.
Volunteers form To find out more about your new recruits, ask them to fill in a volunteers form. This should include their name and address as well as why they want to volunteer for your group. Ask for a list of their skills and experience and this will help you determine which role they are best suited to. Consider their job satisfaction. Ask them to write down any skills they hope to learn by joining your group. When will they be available to volunteer?
Communication Once you've identified the skills and interests of your new volunteers, talk to them about the aims and objectives of your organisation and brief them fully on your activities. Discuss your progress and job roles. Try to identify some tasks that match their abilities and interests so they can feel like a valuable member of the group and may start work without too much assistance. At a later stage, they may wish to move into a different skills area in the group and recieve training from another member to enhance their experience.
Introductions Make sure you show volunteers around your group space and introduce them to everyone. Inform them of upcoming meeting dates and invite them to attend.
Acknowledge their efforts Volunteers appreciate some reward for their hard work. Sure, doing something good for the community is reward enough but it's always nice to be recognised. Even if it's as small as buying a coffee, providing food at meetings or presenting them with a birthday present, it all counts. Making time to chat with volunteers on a one-to-one basis is very important. Make yourself available to hear their concerns or issues and ensure they are kept up-to-date on current events. Whatever you do, don't leave them out of the loop!
Further info
At Volunteering Australia's GoVolunteer recruitment website, any Australian community group or not-for-profit organisation can post their vacancies online.
