Skip to main content
Finding and Working with Volunteers
How to Find Volunteers
- Request a list of alumni that includes the affinity index. This index can help identify potential volunteers that may otherwise go unnoticed
- Utilize the chapter outreach survey
- Ask around, identify connectors in your community and ask them who may be interested
When Considering Who Should Be Volunteers
- Identify the skill sets and passions of people you know; what are their interests (i.e. careers, mentoring, event planning, relationship building, service, fundraising, sports, music, etc.)
- When asking someone to serve, try to match their interests with your needs
- People are much more likely to excel in their service when they are passionate about their assignment
Be willing to Ask for Help
- Why you need to ask
- People who want to be involved won’t offer to help until they are asked
- Don’t assume someone will turn down the position; more people are willing and ready to help than you would expect
- You may think some people are too busy to be involved; however, oftentimes busy people are the ones who are best at getting things done and are most willing to help
- Who should you ask
- Anyone who you think would enjoy being involved
- Ward members; consider making an announcement in your ward bulletin
- Ask current members to invite new people
- Review the Alumni list for your chapter
- Consider parents of students
- It does not matter whether they attended BYU or not; anyone can be a part of the BYU Alumni Association
- How do you ask
- First, know what you need
- Be specific
- Be honest in expectations and commitments
- Personal invitation
- Train
- Don’t make a volunteer wait, they need to be involved immediately
Tips for Recruiting Members
- Some people will be hesitant to join at first, that’s okay
- Invite them to a board meeting, so they can see what you are all about
- As you discuss your upcoming events and activities at your meeting, they will be able to experience your excitement and enthusiasm first hand, thus becoming more likely to join you
- Another strategy is to ask them to help with a specific activity; as they participate in this event and enjoy their experience, they are likely to stay involved
- Be flexible
- Give people options in regards to their assignments
- Allow people to be involved as much or as little as their time and comfort level allow
- Some prefer to take charge, be innovative, and lead big events
- Others prefer to have very specific tasks to complete
- Including many specialists on your team is a great way to involve a variety of different people
- Be specific
- Every board member should be given:
- A specific job title
- A job description; it should include a layout of what is expected of them
- Details about the time commitment
- Adequate training in regards to their specific tasks
- Ample appreciation for everything they are willing to do
- Be willing to delegate
- Make assignments, delegate responsibilities, and give them decision-making authority
- As long as members have a clear understanding of your vision and their responsibilities, you can give them the ball and let them run with it
- Get people involved as soon as possible, this will help them feel like a contributing member
- Be accommodating
- Be accommodating in regards to the frequency and time of your board meetings
- What may be an ideal meeting time for you may be an inconvenient time for your board members; try to accommodate their needs and work around their schedules
- Be consistent
- Hold board meetings at the same time each month (or quarter)
- Always have the next meeting on the schedule before the end of a current meeting
- Try not to cancel board meetings; this kind of inconsistency will cause interest to wane
- Begin and end meetings on time; people are more willing to participate when you are respectful of their time; socializing should occur after the meeting
- Have an agenda and clear focus for your meetings; this will facilitate efficiency
- Keep board members informed
- Take notes at each meeting and send notes to all committee members
- These notes should include all assignments that were made during the meeting as well as the dates the assignments need to accomplished by
- At the next board meeting, review the previous month’s assignments and have each committee member report on what they have accomplished
- The expectations to report will encourage committee members to accomplish their assignments and attend chapter meetings
If They Say No
- Don’t take it personally
- Ask some of the following questions:
- It seems as if you like our organization and the work we’re doing, is that true?
- Do you need to know more about our chapters/mission?
- Is our chapter not a good fit for your interests?
- Would you be willing to help in the future?
Be Appreciative
- CELEBRATE—keep volunteers coming back
- Make it fun
- Provide meaningful roles—be specifics with timeline, due dates
- Reward through recognition—volunteers should feel needed, appreciated, and celebrated
- Show volunteers their success
- Personalization—personalized emails and thank yous
- Set aside time just for connections
- Ideas
- Appreciation Dinner
- Refreshments at meetings
- Personalized thank yous