Finding Volunteers

How do you find volunteers?

Some people will see a need for volunteers before you do and come to you with recommendations on how to meet or solve a situation.

Some will volunteer because they are so passionate about the cause or the purpose you want to address.

Some will volunteer when you make known a need because they have time available and they think they can help in resolving the issue although they are not passionate about it.

Some people won’t volunteer until you ask them to. Either they need prompting or need their ego stroked.

The people above are the easy ones to find.

The difficult ones are the ones you have to try to identify by constantly meeting with and getting to know them and their skills, gifts and abilities. By identifying their strengths you try to match them up with the volunteer needs you have.

It may take many meetings and many invitations to get these people to take the step of volunteering.

Why wouldn’t they readily volunteer?

They may not be confident in themselves or they may not have previously volunteered in this type of situation or organization.

But more importantly they may not be sure about you, your organization or the cause you are recruiting for no matter how noble you think it is. Don’t assume they see things the way you do. You could be so excited about the cause you are involved in that you don’t see any faults with it or yourself or your team, but they do.

By building a trusting relationship with a potential volunteer you may be able to convince them to join you in the journey. They will need to see your commitment to the cause and to other volunteers by your words and actions over a period of time.

Any variance or deviation between your words and your actions will drive or keep people away.

As in all leadership positions you have to look at and examine yourself first. It’s all about your character.

John Maxwell in the book ‘The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader’ discusses Character in Chapter One.

‘What must every person know about character?’

- Character is more than talk
- Talent is a gift, but character is a choice
- Character brings lasting success with people
- Leaders cannot rise above the limitations of their character