Wanted – Volunteers: Recruiting Volunteers For Your Fundraiser

For obvious reasons, unpaid volunteers are essential to the success and profitability of any fundraising campaign. After all, if your organization is in need of funds, it doesn't have an excess to pay someone else to do the dirty work. But finding willing and able volunteers can be a tricky thing; sure, every parent or member of your group should want to see your organization succeed and meet its fundraising goals, but people are busy and good volunteers are often overloaded with requests.

Why Good Help Is So Hard To Find

To find and recruit good volunteers, it helps first to understand some of the reasons people do not step up to the plate, even though they may want to. Some of the more common reasons people don't offer themselves as volunteers include:

- They weren't asked, personally.
- They are busy with other obligations, paid work, and life in general.
- They have been used and abused by fundraisers before, or have too much already on their volunteer plate.
- They are overwhelmed and don't know what to expect, or are unsure if they have the required skills for the job.

Busting Up Road Blocks

If you can help your pool of potential volunteers overcome some of these hurdles and misgivings, they will be happy to contribute to the success of your fundraiser and, subsequently, your organization. There are a number of steps you can take to remove the road blocks prohibiting volunteers.

Define roles and responsibilities- Prepare (and KEEP) written descriptions of each position and what is expected of the volunteer fulfilling that role. Be sure to include any specialized skills the job might require, and if other support people will be available to help.

Outline time requirements - Estimate the time each position will take; that way, everyone can take a job they can foresee having time for.

Delegate - Structure your volunteer base so that other people have volunteers ready to be delegated to.

Allow for position-sharing - People are more likely to volunteer if they know they are not going it alone, and that they have backup in the event of a conflict, emergency, or question.

Mount an informational campaign - Prepare flyers and letters to let people know that a recruitment campaign is ongoing, and/or that a new fundraiser is in the works and needs their help. Present the planned fundraiser or volunteer committee during an event or meeting, or host a dedicated night. Always provide printed literature with plenty of contact information and some expectations of need. (A good time to do this is at the beginning of the year, before schedules are filled and when spirit is at its best).

Specifically ask people, in person, if they will volunteer - This can be done in a variety of ways, including setting up a table at a well-attended event (or in a busy hallway), calling people individually (and following up), and passing the call via word-of-mouth at every available opportunity.

Post sign-up sheets in obvious places to encourage and offer people an easy way to get involved.

Good planning is the key to getting volunteers to commit to your fundraising project. With a well-thought out fundraising campaign, and an organized, informational volunteer recruitment program, you will find plenty of people who can and will do their part to reach your fundraising goals.

This is an article created by the FundraisingIP.com Editorial Team. Read about fundraising tips, different kinds of fundraisers and more at FundraisingIP.com.

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