Volunteers are the heart of any successful community. But finding and keeping good volunteers can be daunting. Recruiting volunteers works with your marketing cycle. By continuously marketing your cause, you can engage people to see what they need and how you can help them. This webinar shares some tips and ideas you can use to recruit and retain volunteers for your own community.

1. Tips for Recruiting
New Volunteers
Alice Brzovic
Society for Technical Communication (STC)
July 22, 2016

2. What People Want from STC Communities
Resource ExperienceExperience
Jobs
CommunityCommunity
NetworkNetworking

3. How Volunteer Recruitment Works with Our
Marketing Cycle
Plan
Promote
Engage
Recruit

4. Stages of Volunteer Commitment
Need Volunteer
Life
Happens
Return

5. Overview of STC San Diego
Volunteer Recruiting since 2013

6. Overview of STC San Diego
Volunteer Recruiting since 2013
• In 2013, STC San Diego was desperate for volunteers
• In 2014, we recruited 2 new volunteers
• In 2015, we recruited 2 new volunteers
• In 2016, we recruited 5 new volunteers
• Half of our new volunteers are under 40 years of age

7. Tips for Recruiting Volunteers
Shutterstock

8. Ask for help
www.flicker.com/photos/andjohan

9. Ask for help
www.flicker.com/photos/andjohan
• Display help wanted sign on website
• Ask your network
• Use the bully pulpit
• Be specific

10. Have a job search progression for students

11. Change meeting locations

12. Change meeting locations

13. Have pub social nights

14. Ask for testimonials
A job was referred to me by a fellow at our STC chapter who
works at Qualcomm. I might not have applied for a Q job
because I believed Q to be a FrameMaker shop, and I did not
know FrameMaker at the time. He said that it was a special
assignment and that I could probably handle it. It turns out that
I handled the contract position and eventually got hired! And
although my group does not use FrameMaker a lot, I have
learned how to edit and publish docs in FM. So all is good!
- DJ Towne, Immediate Past President and Treasurer
I’ve found all my work positions and tech comm education over
the last 20+ years through STC contacts, most of them in San
Diego. What a great resource.
- Jean Femia

15. Start a company page on LinkedIn

16. Advertise on VolunteerMatch.org

17. Advertise on VolunteerMatch.org

18. Reduce volunteer workload
Shutterstock, Everett Collection

19. Reduce volunteer workload
• Limit volunteer time to 1 hour per week or less
• Have 2 or more people share a position
• Document processes
• Turn 1 position into 2 or more positions
Shutterstock, Everett Collection

20. Say “thank you”

21. Say “thank you”
• Acknowledge every volunteer at every event
• Have a volunteer appreciation dinner
• Recognize volunteers with awards
• Share volunteer recognition with employers

22. Have Fun
Funny Things Improv Group

23. References
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gottgraphicsdesign/5863884809/

24. References
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gottgraphicsdesign/5863884809/
• Brinkerhoff, Peter C., Generations: the challenge of a lifetime for your
nonprofit, 2007
• Chute, James, Attendance Down at Top Cultural Institutions: many are
developing strategies to attract new audiences, San Diego Union-
Tribune,
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/oct/24/state-of-
arts-san-diego-attendance-numbers/
• Esposito, Timothy, Sharing Award Recognition, http://www.cac-
stc.org/sharing-award-recognition/
• Yudkin, Marcia, Marketing for Introverts,
http://www.yudkin.com/introverts.htm

25. Contact Information
Alice Brzovic
alice (at) writeforsmallbusiness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicebrzovic
https://slideshare.net/alicebrz
@write4smallbiz
STC San Diego
http://www.stc-sd.org
@STCSoCal