This NebGuide offers tips to volunteer coordinators that will help them recruit the best volunteers for any position.
Introduction
How does one go about recruiting volunteers to serve their organization? Knowing what motivates a person is the first step of understanding how to recruit a volunteer. According to Frederick Herzberg\u27s Motivational Theory, there are five key motivators that should be kept in mind when providing volunteer opportunities. They are: achievement, recognition, challenging work, increased responsibility and development.
In addition, past participation in an organization motivates volunteers to give back to an organization from which they or family members have previously benefited. Friends and family serve as important motivators to service. It\u27s important that the characteristics of the volunteer job are matched with the motivation of the potential volunteer

Fox, Janet

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Extension 2000 G1415 Recruiting Volunteers Janet Fox University of Nebraska - Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist  Part of the Agriculture Commons, and the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Fox, Janet, "G1415 Recruiting Volunteers" (2000). Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. 102. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist/102 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Extension at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. G1415D-29Recruiting VolunteersJanet FoxExtension 4-H Youth Development SpecialistWith people’s busy lifestyles, it’s important that organi-zations know how to effectively recruit volunteers to supporttheir programs. While people are busy, they are volunteeringat record rates. The Independent Sector Gallup Survey (1999)reported that volunteerism is increasing with an estimatednumber of 109.4 million people volunteering. Approxi-mately 50 percent of American adults and teens volunteer atlest 3.5 hours per week.How does one go about recruiting volunteers to servetheir organization? Knowing what motivates a person is thefirst step of understanding how to recruit a volunteer.According to Frederick Herzberg’s Motivational Theory,there are five key motivators that should be kept in mindwhen providing volunteer opportunities. They are: achieve-ment, recognition, challenging work, increased responsibil-ity and development.In addition, past participation in an organization moti-vates volunteers to give back to an organization from whichthey or family members have previously benefited. Friendsand family serve as important motivators to service. It’simportant that the characteristics of the volunteer job arematched with the motivation of the potential volunteer.Volunteer Recruitment CampaignsVolunteer recruitment is one of those balancing acts inwhich volunteer managers are always engaged. Becausevolunteer needs and opportunities vary, recruitment methodshave been developed to fit the difference circumstancesorganizations face when recruiting volunteers. Each is quiteunique in what it seeks to accomplish and in what it iseffective in accomplishing.Mass RecruitmentMass recruitment consists of spreading the message asbroadly as possible about potential volunteer positions. Thethought behind this method is that somewhere there issomeone who will find the volunteer opportunity interesting.The primary methods for mass recruitment are:• distribution of brochures and posters,• use of mass media advertisements, and• speaking to community groups.The mass recruitment method will bring in potentialvolunteers, but the number and quality can’t be guaranteed.With this method, volunteer managers find themselves jug-gling to make things fit together as they sort through thevolunteers and potential jobs. While not the most desirablerecruitment method, it is useful when a large number ofvolunteers are needed for a job that doesn’t take a lot of skillsand has a limited scope.Targeted RecruitmentTargeted recruitment, the desired approach for mostvolunteer roles, works best when the role one wishes to fill isnot suitable for most people. A targeted recruitment cam-paign is designed to track down a few people who have thespecific skill or characteristic. A targeted recruitment cam-paign involves answering a series of questions:• What are the skills and attitudes needed to do the job?• Based on this picture, where can one located thedesired types of people?• How can the recruiter match motivations in recruit-ment efforts?Targeted recruitment is highly efficient. Ultimately, thevolunteer manager will identify people by name to approachabout volunteering. Targeted recruitment is ideal when seek-ing involvement of new types of volunteers, because it helpsThis NebGuide offers tips to volunteer coordina-tors that will help them recruit the best volunteers forany position.the organization think through the needs and interests of thepopulation and then proactively seeks individuals within anew group. The limitation of targeted recruitment is that it islabor intensive, requires thinking, tracking and tailoring foreach volunteer position.Inner Circle RecruitmentInner Circle recruitment works with people who arealready connected to the organization. A clear strength ofinner circles theory is that it approaches volunteers who arealready involved in the organization. Ideal groups to struc-ture inner circles recruitment include:• Current volunteers• Clients• Staff• Friends and relatives of volunteers• Alumni• DonorsBy encouraging person-to-person recruiting, everyonein the organization becomes involved. Both the volunteersand staff should understand what their recruitment responsi-bilities are within the framework of the overall plan. Theprimary advantage of inner circles recruitment is to providethe organization with a constant supply of volunteers tocompensate for attrition while the volunteer manager doesremarkably little work to recruit. The disadvantage of thistype of recruitment is that it can be very limiting and will leadto an in-bred group, all of whom look and think a certain way.Characteristics of a GoodVolunteer Recruitment MessageNo matter what recruitment method is selected, thevolunteer manager should know the qualities of a goodrecruitment message. These characteristics are consistent,whether an organization is running a widespread mediacampaign or a volunteer manager is personally recruiting apotential volunteer. The recruitment message should con-tain:• The opening message should be interesting enough toentice the potential volunteer to consider volunteeringfor the organization.• The body of the message should present information inan order that psychologically matches how people willthink about the offer.Need: Is there a problem?Solution: Can this job help solve it?Fears/Questions: Can the prospective volunteer helpwith the job?Benefits: What’s in it for the prospectivevolunteer?Contact Point: What steps does the potential volun-teer need to take to get involved?As a general rule, people will first decide whether theorganization is worth volunteering for, then decide whetheror not to get involved. The volunteer opportunity stressed maybe to the organization’s, the clientele’s, or volunteer’s per-ceived need or benefit.• The message must be easily understood. Test themessage to see if it makes sense to someone other thanthe person writing or designing it. Is the messageclearly understood?• The message should give a complete picture of theproblem, type of work, requirements, time frame andcontact person.Managing Volunteer Recruitment CampaignsNo matter what method one uses to recruit a volunteer,following these guidelines will help make the volunteerrecruitment campaign successful.• Be ready to put volunteers to work before any recruit-ing is conducted.• The more creative you are in designing vital work forvolunteers, the greater the potential will be to attractall sorts of people to volunteer.• Find the balance between the needs and dreams of theorganization and the motivations and dreams of thepeople who might want to volunteer.• Success in recruitment is measured only in finding thebest people for the positions available — or in findingthe right resources to fill a need.• Recruiting is connected to, but different from, adver-tising, public relations and publicity. An organization’spublic image can help or hinder their ability to recruitvolunteers.• An organization should always be recruiting, evenwhen not consciously doing so. Think about the re-cruiting consequences and ramifications of everythingthat is done.• Never assume potential volunteers know what is neededor who wants to become involved.• One must believe in what they are asking others to do— believe in the mission of the organization and in thevalue of volunteering.Recruiter’s EvaluationTake a look at yourself as a recruiter using this sample evaluation. Give yourself a score on a scale of 0-10 with0 for never to 10 for always on each criteria of success. The higher the score, the better.______   1. I called the person by name and took time to get acquainted.______   2. I shared my belief in the organization and its purposes, and offered opportunities for the potentialvolunteer to ask questions about the organization.______   3. I discovered the prospective volunteer’s needs, interests and motives and offered them an opportunitythat fits.______   4. I helped the potential volunteer by being specific about the role and time involved.______   5. When necessary, I helped the volunteer stay interested by breaking the job into smaller parts, offeringopportunities the volunteer felt comfortable with and, offering a choice of several roles that werecomplimentary of the volunteer’s qualifications.______   6. I demonstrated that volunteering for this organization is a worthy cause and focused on benefits tothe volunteer and their family while also discussing the challenges of the role.______   7. I explained the kinds of resources, training and support available, showing examples of materials.______   8. I gave the person a clear and reasonable job description.______   9. My personal biases did not affect my recruitment of the volunteer.______ 10. I asked for a decision, including when the person was available providing I needed them to start withina month of the conversation.______ 11. I thanked the volunteer for his/her time.SourceCampbell, K. N. and Ellis, S. J. (1995). The Help I-Don’t-Have-Enough-Time Guide to Volunteer Management.Philadelphia, PA: ENERGIZE, Inc.Mc Curley, S. and Vineyard, S. (1986). 101 Ideas for Volun-teer Programs. Downers Grove, IL: Heritage Arts Pub-lishing.Mc Curley, S. and Vineyard, S. (1988). 101 Ideas for Volun-teer Recruitment. Downers Grove, IL: Heritage ArtsPublishing.Vineyard, S. and Mc Curley, S. (1995). 101 More Ideas forVolunteer Programs. Downers Grove, IL: Heritage ArtsPublishing.This publication was reviewed by Dr. Mary KayMunson, University of Illinois Volunteer Specialist;Dr. Leverne Barrett, University of Nebraska CooperativeExtension Leadership Action Team Co-Leader; LaDeaneJha, University of  Nebraska Cooperative Extension Leader-ship Action Team Co-Leader; Dr. Dale Safrit, Ohio StateUniversity Associate Professor and Dr. Mary Williams,Florida Cooperative Extension County Director/4-H.File under: CONSUMER EDUCATIOND-29, Consumer Information — GeneralIssued October 2000, 2,000Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln cooperating with the Countiesand the United States Department of Agriculture.University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincolnand the United States Department of Agriculture.© 2005, The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska on behalf of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension.  All rights reserved.

G1415 Recruiting Volunteers

UNL | Libraries

University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Historical Materials from University of 
Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Extension 
2000 
G1415 Recruiting Volunteers 
Janet Fox 
University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist 
 Part of the Agriculture Commons, and the Curriculum and Instruction Commons 
Fox, Janet, "G1415 Recruiting Volunteers" (2000). Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
Extension. 102. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist/102 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Extension at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - 
Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension by an 
authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
G1415
D-29
Recruiting Volunteers
Janet Fox
Extension 4-H Youth Development Specialist
With people’s busy lifestyles, it’s important that organi-
zations know how to effectively recruit volunteers to support
their programs. While people are busy, they are volunteering
at record rates. The Independent Sector Gallup Survey (1999)
reported that volunteerism is increasing with an estimated
number of 109.4 million people volunteering. Approxi-
mately 50 percent of American adults and teens volunteer at
lest 3.5 hours per week.
How does one go about recruiting volunteers to serve
their organization? Knowing what motivates a person is the
first step of understanding how to recruit a volunteer.
According to Frederick Herzberg’s Motivational Theory,
there are five key motivators that should be kept in mind
when providing volunteer opportunities. They are: achieve-
ment, recognition, challenging work, increased responsibil-
ity and development.
In addition, past participation in an organization moti-
vates volunteers to give back to an organization from which
they or family members have previously benefited. Friends
and family serve as important motivators to service. It’s
important that the characteristics of the volunteer job are
matched with the motivation of the potential volunteer.
Volunteer Recruitment Campaigns
Volunteer recruitment is one of those balancing acts in
which volunteer managers are always engaged. Because
volunteer needs and opportunities vary, recruitment methods
have been developed to fit the difference circumstances
organizations face when recruiting volunteers. Each is quite
unique in what it seeks to accomplish and in what it is
effective in accomplishing.
Mass Recruitment
Mass recruitment consists of spreading the message as
broadly as possible about potential volunteer positions. The
thought behind this method is that somewhere there is
someone who will find the volunteer opportunity interesting.
The primary methods for mass recruitment are:
• distribution of brochures and posters,
• use of mass media advertisements, and
• speaking to community groups.
The mass recruitment method will bring in potential
volunteers, but the number and quality can’t be guaranteed.
With this method, volunteer managers find themselves jug-
gling to make things fit together as they sort through the
volunteers and potential jobs. While not the most desirable
recruitment method, it is useful when a large number of
volunteers are needed for a job that doesn’t take a lot of skills
and has a limited scope.
Targeted Recruitment
Targeted recruitment, the desired approach for most
volunteer roles, works best when the role one wishes to fill is
not suitable for most people. A targeted recruitment cam-
paign is designed to track down a few people who have the
specific skill or characteristic. A targeted recruitment cam-
paign involves answering a series of questions:
• What are the skills and attitudes needed to do the job?
• Based on this picture, where can one located the
desired types of people?
• How can the recruiter match motivations in recruit-
ment efforts?
Targeted recruitment is highly efficient. Ultimately, the
volunteer manager will identify people by name to approach
about volunteering. Targeted recruitment is ideal when seek-
ing involvement of new types of volunteers, because it helps
This NebGuide offers tips to volunteer coordina-
tors that will help them recruit the best volunteers for
any position.
the organization think through the needs and interests of the
population and then proactively seeks individuals within a
new group. The limitation of targeted recruitment is that it is
labor intensive, requires thinking, tracking and tailoring for
each volunteer position.
Inner Circle Recruitment
Inner Circle recruitment works with people who are
already connected to the organization. A clear strength of
inner circles theory is that it approaches volunteers who are
already involved in the organization. Ideal groups to struc-
ture inner circles recruitment include:
• Current volunteers
• Clients
• Staff
• Friends and relatives of volunteers
• Alumni
• Donors
By encouraging person-to-person recruiting, everyone
in the organization becomes involved. Both the volunteers
and staff should understand what their recruitment responsi-
bilities are within the framework of the overall plan. The
primary advantage of inner circles recruitment is to provide
the organization with a constant supply of volunteers to
compensate for attrition while the volunteer manager does
remarkably little work to recruit. The disadvantage of this
type of recruitment is that it can be very limiting and will lead
to an in-bred group, all of whom look and think a certain way.
Characteristics of a Good
Volunteer Recruitment Message
No matter what recruitment method is selected, the
volunteer manager should know the qualities of a good
recruitment message. These characteristics are consistent,
whether an organization is running a widespread media
campaign or a volunteer manager is personally recruiting a
potential volunteer. The recruitment message should con-
tain:
• The opening message should be interesting enough to
entice the potential volunteer to consider volunteering
for the organization.
• The body of the message should present information in
an order that psychologically matches how people will
think about the offer.
Need: Is there a problem?
Solution: Can this job help solve it?
Fears/Questions: Can the prospective volunteer help
with the job?
Benefits: What’s in it for the prospective
volunteer?
Contact Point: What steps does the potential volun-
teer need to take to get involved?
As a general rule, people will first decide whether the
organization is worth volunteering for, then decide whether
or not to get involved. The volunteer opportunity stressed may
be to the organization’s, the clientele’s, or volunteer’s per-
ceived need or benefit.
• The message must be easily understood. Test the
message to see if it makes sense to someone other than
the person writing or designing it. Is the message
clearly understood?
• The message should give a complete picture of the
problem, type of work, requirements, time frame and
contact person.
Managing Volunteer Recruitment Campaigns
No matter what method one uses to recruit a volunteer,
following these guidelines will help make the volunteer
recruitment campaign successful.
• Be ready to put volunteers to work before any recruit-
ing is conducted.
• The more creative you are in designing vital work for
volunteers, the greater the potential will be to attract
all sorts of people to volunteer.
• Find the balance between the needs and dreams of the
organization and the motivations and dreams of the
people who might want to volunteer.
• Success in recruitment is measured only in finding the
best people for the positions available — or in finding
the right resources to fill a need.
• Recruiting is connected to, but different from, adver-
tising, public relations and publicity. An organization’s
public image can help or hinder their ability to recruit
volunteers.
• An organization should always be recruiting, even
when not consciously doing so. Think about the re-
cruiting consequences and ramifications of everything
that is done.
• Never assume potential volunteers know what is needed
or who wants to become involved.
• One must believe in what they are asking others to do
— believe in the mission of the organization and in the
value of volunteering.
Recruiter’s Evaluation
Take a look at yourself as a recruiter using this sample evaluation. Give yourself a score on a scale of 0-10 with
0 for never to 10 for always on each criteria of success. The higher the score, the better.
______   1. I called the person by name and took time to get acquainted.
______   2. I shared my belief in the organization and its purposes, and offered opportunities for the potential
volunteer to ask questions about the organization.
______   3. I discovered the prospective volunteer’s needs, interests and motives and offered them an opportunity
that fits.
______   4. I helped the potential volunteer by being specific about the role and time involved.
______   5. When necessary, I helped the volunteer stay interested by breaking the job into smaller parts, offering
opportunities the volunteer felt comfortable with and, offering a choice of several roles that were
complimentary of the volunteer’s qualifications.
______   6. I demonstrated that volunteering for this organization is a worthy cause and focused on benefits to
the volunteer and their family while also discussing the challenges of the role.
______   7. I explained the kinds of resources, training and support available, showing examples of materials.
______   8. I gave the person a clear and reasonable job description.
______   9. My personal biases did not affect my recruitment of the volunteer.
______ 10. I asked for a decision, including when the person was available providing I needed them to start within
a month of the conversation.
______ 11. I thanked the volunteer for his/her time.
Source
Campbell, K. N. and Ellis, S. J. (1995). The Help I-Don’t-
Have-Enough-Time Guide to Volunteer Management.
Philadelphia, PA: ENERGIZE, Inc.
Mc Curley, S. and Vineyard, S. (1986). 101 Ideas for Volun-
teer Programs. Downers Grove, IL: Heritage Arts Pub-
lishing.
Mc Curley, S. and Vineyard, S. (1988). 101 Ideas for Volun-
teer Recruitment. Downers Grove, IL: Heritage Arts
Publishing.
Vineyard, S. and Mc Curley, S. (1995). 101 More Ideas for
Volunteer Programs. Downers Grove, IL: Heritage Arts
Publishing.
This publication was reviewed by Dr. Mary Kay
Munson, University of Illinois Volunteer Specialist;
Dr. Leverne Barrett, University of Nebraska Cooperative
Extension Leadership Action Team Co-Leader; LaDeane
Jha, University of  Nebraska Cooperative Extension Leader-
ship Action Team Co-Leader; Dr. Dale Safrit, Ohio State
University Associate Professor and Dr. Mary Williams,
Florida Cooperative Extension County Director/4-H.
File under: CONSUMER EDUCATION
D-29, Consumer Information — General
Issued October 2000, 2,000
Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln cooperating with the Counties
and the United States Department of Agriculture.
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
and the United States Department of Agriculture.
© 2005, The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska on behalf of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension.  All rights reserved.


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