An article on volunteerism by Rosalind P.D. Eaton, CVA

The request for help I get most often involves filling volunteer positions. How do I get volunteers? I have ten spots for volunteers and I’m not sure who to ask. I need help, right now!

First, no panicking – make a list. 

I suggest that you take some time, brainstorm, and write your wish list. What would you perfect, pie-in-the-sky volunteer be like? Include how often they would ideally volunteer, what skills they would bring to the table, personality traits (friendly, reliable, honest, punctual, etc.) they would ideally have, equipment they would have, and any other aspect that would be the most helpful.

Second, keep this in mind – you are not going to get everything you want from every volunteer.

Using your wish list, write out a realistic volunteer job description for each position you want to fill. For example, if you need an usher, a bartender, and a cashier, you should have three different job descriptions. Some of these positions will have common characteristics, but each position needs to have its own description.

I’m going to stress the word realistic. Each description needs to be realistic.  Your expectations need to be realistic. For example, you cannot expect every volunteer to be available every day, or even every week. You need to embrace flexibility while realistically filling your needs. Do not be afraid to ask for your wish list items, but understand that you might not get them all, or even in the ways you expected. You might end up with five people willing to volunteer. One can be there every day. Two others can only come half the time, the other two have limited availability on specific days during specific hours.  Take time to evaluate your schedule – is it possible to utilize all these people on the days and times they are available? If it becomes too tenuous, it’s okay to let a volunteer know that they are not the right fit for that specific volunteer position. Do you have something else that they might fit into? Is there another opportunity coming up that might work better for their schedule? Is there another ministry looking for a person exactly like the one you are not able to accommodate?

This example is true of scheduling, of skills, and of interests.  You might need to search out volunteers who will be best suited for the volunteer role you’re trying to fill. 

Third, use the personal ask.

Advertising in the newsletter and on the website is helpful. It allows you to cast a wider net to a bigger audience, reaching people both in person and digitally. The Find Your Ministry Fair is a great place to talk to people in person. Making a video appeal is also valuable. Many people volunteer in order to fulfill a social aspect that they are missing. Personal asks help you fill that need, by engaging potential volunteers one-on-one, in person, on the phone, over Zoom, etc. For example, our Membership Secretary includes a beautiful pitch for volunteers at our New Member classes and has signup sheets for short-term, one-off volunteer opportunities each time.  The opportunities are different each time, based on what is going on in the church at that time of year. The opportunities offered are designed to be simple, engaging to a wide group of diverse people, and are intended to help these new folx deepen their connections to the larger All Souls community.  Each class has multiple people signing up for these opportunities, which may not have been filled otherwise.

Four, different methods attract different people.

Diversity is literally in our motto, and in our congregation! When you have your volunteer job descriptions ready, write little blurbs for them to help attract interested people to them. People will react differently to phrases, requests, and information. Here’s an example:

Bartender needed for fundraising event to benefit All Souls Church. Must be 21 years old and available on March 15 for a shift between 6:00-10:00pm. Needed to setup, serve, and cleanup afterward.

Here’s the same job, but with a shake up:

Shake your martini maker at the fundraiser for All Souls on March 15! Volunteer bartenders (aged 21+) needed for a shift between 6:00-10:00pm. Help with setup, serving, and cleanup while meeting the congregation and serving tasty beverages!

Embrace that diversity and be creative with your asks. You never know who you’ll reach until you try. The richness of our congregation lies in the people who make it up.

Five, it is wise to set boundaries.

Not every person is the best fit for each opportunity. Let’s go back to our bartender example. A parent who wants to volunteer with their young child may not be the best fit to be a bartender.  There’s also an age requirement to serve alcohol, which means you need to have your volunteers be a minimum age. Those are two possible boundaries you would set for this particular example.

Our gardening team meets once a month during the warmer months to maintain the church grounds and plants. All ages, abilities and experience levels are welcome. This team has many different types of opportunities available that are great for a wide variety of people, of all ages. This team needs to set fewer boundaries.

Our Sunday Luncheon team also welcomes all ages, abilities, and experience levels – and have experienced team leaders who monitor the less experienced volunteers as a safety concern. Children and adults are taught knife handling skills, food prep cleanliness, and are monitored to ensure everyone is kept safe. Children are not allowed in the church’s kitchen unsupervised; and sometimes volunteers are needed to act as supervisors. It’s important to ask your volunteers if they are comfortable with supervising certain activities.

Six – don’t ask for things you are not willing to do.

I find it extremely important to lead by example, particularly in volunteer environments. You should be willing to do every task you ask of a volunteer. Yes, there are more desirable and fun activities, but the less fun things also need to be completed. Cleanup is my favorite example of this. People love to come to events but have mysteriously disappeared when it is time to pick up trash or wash dishes.  You might need to edit your jobs descriptions or your schedule to make sure those less-desirable tasks are covered. Try to spread them out across multiple opportunities whenever possible. Understand that if you aren’t able to fill them, you will probably be the one to do them.