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Volunteer Recruitment

(includes Volunteer Motivation)

Also see, Books on this topic and the list of "Websites Where You Can Post Volunteer Opportunities"

Articles/excerpts on this subject

The ABCs of Recruitment, by the Community Literacy of Ontario
Barriers to Volunteering: Hidden messages in your recruitment from The NonProfit Times "On Volunteers" column
The Black Church, from the book Pass It On
But Everyone Knows...The Case for Prospective Volunteers from The Nonprofit Times column "On Volunteers"
Changing Work Patterns from Count Me In!
A Choice Blend: What volunteers want from organisation and management, by the Institute for Volunteering Research UK (2008)
Creative Volunteer Roles from The NonProfit Times "On Volunteers" column
Decide Needed Role and Set Recruitment Goals from Mobilizing People for Marketing Success
Finding Daytime Volunteers, from The NonProfit Times "On Volunteers" column
From Barriers to Bridges: A Guide for Volunteer-Involving Organisations (Microsoft Word file) , from the National Centre for Volunteering, UK
Getting to Yes: Strategies for Volunteer Recruitment, by Susan J. Ellis for Girl Scout Leader magazine
Happiness of Giving: The Intrinsic Value of Giving and Volunteering on the Quality of Life by Michelle R. Wallpe
How to Recruit Volunteers Using Social Media, on The Social Animal site (2011)
Missed Opportunities for Good Help from The NonProfit Times column "On Volunteers"
"Oh, By the Way!" The Four Words that Volunteers Hate to Hear, by Tom McKee
Online Volunteer Recruitment, by Andrew Urban
Postering Secrets: How & Where to Hang Flyers On Your Campus, from The Student Leader
Putting Ideas into Action from An Asset Builder's Guide to Your Leadership
Recruiting is like Dating: Don't Ask For Marriage on a First Date,
by Thomas W. McKee
Recruiting Volunteers: Factsheet from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
Recruiting Tips for a Mentoring Program by Sheryl Nefstead and Scott Nefstead
The Power of Personal Relationships from Good Guys: The Eight Steps to Limitless Possibility for Fraternity Recruitment
The Revolution in Recruiting, by Ivan H. Scheier
The Seven Deadly Sins of Recruiting Volunteers, by Tom McKee
12 Basic Needs of Every Volunteer
From Volunteers: How to Get Them, How to Keep Them
An Untapped Volunteer Resource: People with HIV Disease, ARC or AIDS from the Journal of Volunteer Administration
Virtual Volunteering Tag Lines (slogans)
Volunteer Recruitment and Retention, by Maria De Simone
Volunteer Recruitment Brochures: How to tap into the marketing power of testimonials, by Katherine Khalife
What's in a Name? from A People Lens: 101 Ways to Move Your Organization Forward
Why Volunteer? by Susan J. Ellis
Writing Persuasive Recruitment Appeals, by Steve McCurley in Grapevine
Your "Circle of Resources", from The Volunteer Recruitment Book

Also see the "Recruitment Insights" area of our Collective Wisdom section.

Free electronic books on this subject

Appealing to Experience: Zeroing in on the Right Message
From Experience Corps, this 44-page booklet discusses how to recruit seniors into volunteering (2005).

Clever Communications, guide for charities who want to know more
about working with the media, including volunteer recruitment, from askCharity in the UK (90 pg. PDF).

Developing the Volunteer Motivation Inventory to Assess the Underlying Motivational Drives of Volunteers in Western Australia by Judy Esmond (2004, 82 pg PDF). Executive Summary also available.

Doing Good Well: Engaging Ad Hoc Volunteers, from the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, Singapore (2008, 40-pg PDF)

Inspiring Volunteers: A Guide to Recruitment and Communications, from MediaTrust and i-volunteer (UK), emphasizing social media (2010, 76 pg.PDF)

A Matter of Survival: Volunteering in, by, and with Low-income Communities
Points of Light Foundation (36-page PDF) guide. See the Neighboring section of their Web site for more materials.

Recruiting Male Volunteers: A Guide Based on Exploratory Research (pdf file)
Assesses factors that increase male volunteering in service programs and offers concrete approaches to overcoming barriers and designing programs that are attractive to males.

Strategic Recruiting: Using Creative Communication Principles to Find the People You
A 26-page PDF published by Community Literacy of Ontario (Canada) about creative outreach strategies for the 21st century.

Tool Kit for Recruiting and Supporting Job-Seeking Volunteers, produced by the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (2011, 32 pgs.) or view the components of the Tool Kit on the MAVA site.

Turn Your Organisation into a Volunteer Magnet, 2nd ed.
Edited by Andy Fryar, Rob Jackson, and Fraser Dyer (2007, 204 pp.)
Essays from contributing volunteer managers around the world on attracting the best and most diverse volunteers and then working with them successfully.

Web sites with information on this subject

Beyond Recruitment
http://www.nald.ca/FULLTEXT/Clo/cover.htm
"An Online Workshop About Recruitment & Maintaining Volunteers in the New Environment" by Community Literacy of Ontario.

Celebrity Volunteers
http://philanthropy.com/jobs/2003/03/20/20030320-881056.htm
Several articles both cautioning about and explaining how to recruit and work with celebrities as volunteers, from The Chronicle of Philanthropy's "Philanthropy Careers" site.

Convio Connection
http://www.convio.com/our-research/newsletter/
A free bimonthly newsletter for nonprofits on how to attract constituents, drive action and build loyalty through online relationship management. Archives available online.

Encouraging Involvement in Community Work
http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/chapter_1006.htm
Chapter 7 of the "Community Toolbox," with self-teaching modules on gaining participation by community members.

Fenton Communications
http://www.fenton.com
Approaches to advocacy communication campaigns. Click on "resources" from the home page to access their free resources.

The Serious Leisure Perspective
http://www.soci.ucalgary.ca/seriousleisure/
Canadian academic William A. Stebbins has devoted his career to studying the connection of leisure to work and volunteering, as well as professional to amateur. The site offers a wealth of materials, including a Digital Library of many articles.

Stronger Together: Recruiting and Working with Ethnocultural Volunteers
http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/heritage/ComPartnE/Strongr1.htm
Online manual by the Central Volunteer Bureau of Ottawa-Carleton (Canada) about how to make volunteer programs attractive and accessible to ethnic minority volunteers, based on input from program managers with experience.

“Tag Lines”
http://www.energizeinc.com/art/subj/VVArchivetag.html
Clever phrases for recruiting volunteers into virtual volunteering assignments.

Volunteer Genie
http://www.volunteergenie.org.uk/
This very useful site, no matter where you are located, is a project of the Voluntary Action Media Unit (VAMU) in the UK. Volunteer Genie aims to help site visitors “use the power of the media to recruit volunteers.” Full of ideas, advice from media experts, and other free guides to develop a media strategy.

Volunteer Recruitment: Tips from the Field
http://www.serviceleader.org/new/managers/2004/03/000213.php#3-1
Resource guide compiled by Sarah Jane Rehnborg and Betsy Clubine with a team of volunteer professionals from around the state of Texas.