Up to Our Ears in Committed Volunteers: Successful Volunteer Recruitment

1. Up to Our Ears in Committed Volunteers: Successful Volunteer Recruitment 200702673

2. Volunteer recruitment is not a one-time event: Recruitment should begin the moment you learn that you have been awarded a Thrivent Builds Homes grant, and continue until the home is complete.

3. Crafting a good volunteer recruitment message: • Interesting and enticing; easily understood • Contains the necessary information; detail of expectations • Presents the problem and how volunteers will help solve it • Includes what’s in it for the volunteer • Includes steps to be taken to participate Featured Tool: Thrivent Builds Homes Brochure

4. Once you have your message, who delivers it? • Speaker’s bureau • Volunteer recruitment team • Newsletters • Web sites • Pulpit/Congregation presentations • Meeting announcements • Snail mail and e-mail • Newspaper ads • Radio PSAs • Word-of-mouth Featured Tool: Presentation – Post-home Selection

5. Recruitment campaigns – use one or use them all: • Mass recruitment – spread your message as broadly as possible, using many communication formats • Targeted recruitment – ideal approach when seeking specific volunteers such as Lutherans • Inner circle recruitment – don’t forget about going back to those who are already connected and involved, such as current volunteers, clients, staff, friends and relatives, donors, etc. Featured Tool: Volunteers Needed News Release Template (Lutherans or General)

6. What every volunteer wants to know up front: • Where they will be volunteering • To whom they will be reporting • A clear statement of the goal(s) • Tasks or skills required to reach those goal(s) and who will teach those skills, if necessary • Minimum amount of time they are expected to volunteer Featured Tool: Role Descriptions (Chapter Specialist, Congregational Champion, Affiliate Project Leader, Site Host)

7. Recruitment tools available on Thrivent Builds Resources: www.thriventbuilds.com/resources • Bulletin inserts • Newsletter text • Pre-coded Web page • Phone scripts • Self-mailer template • Role descriptions • Poster • Print ad template • News release templates • Videos

8. Tips to help you retain and grow your volunteer crew for your next Thrivent Builds project: • Ask current volunteers to each recruit a friend to volunteer with them next time • Plan to recognize the contributions of your volunteers – a simple potluck at the end of the project is always fun • Regularly highlight your volunteers in the Habitat, Chapter or RFO newsletter • Regularly highlight progress of the build and volunteer participation in sponsoring church communication channels • Stay in contact Featured Tool: Thank you certificates

9. If you have questions about this training: Cheryl Winget (Habitat for Humanity International) Media Relations Specialist Cheryl.winget@thrivent.com 612-340-5025 Minneapolis, MN Nicole Doebert (Thrivent Financial for Lutherans) Web & Marketing Specialist Nicole.doebert@thrivent.com 920-628-4403 Appleton, WI

10. Those who can, do.  Those who can do more, volunteer.  ~Author Unknown