Volunteer recruitment online: Tips, Tricks and Ways to Engage

Examples (Who?) | Strategy (How?)

By Frank Barry

Director, Professional Services

Blackbaud

About me

My name is Frank Barry

I work at Blackbaud

I provide services to our customers

I think I’m addicted to Social Media

Session description: This session will give you ideas and offer best practices to

recruit and engage volunteers using Web 2.0 and various other online tactics.

Learning Objectives:

1. Gain better understanding of new/emerging online tools

2. Learn strategies for effective volunteer recruitment

3. Learn ways to maintain and engage volunteers

What we will cover …

3 Reasons Why

• It's a fast and no-extra-cost way to find volunteers.

• It's an excellent way to target non-traditional volunteers, and people that are under-represented on your volunteer ranks.

• You can reach a targeted group, such as a particular kind of professional (a lawyer focused on the arts, a human resource professional in a particular region, an accountant with expertise in a particular kind of software, etc.)

Some Tools to Help You …

Source: http://steve-hilbert.com/drawings.html

• Facebook– 200 million users– Total of 65.7 million unique visitors

• Twitter– 1,382% year over year– 7 million unique monthly visitors

• YouTube– 100 million monthly viewers in the US– 6.3 billion videos were viewed on the site– 75 billion videos to 375 million unique visitors in 2009

• LinkedIn– Currently has more than 34 million users – 7.7 unique visitors

Big Players

3 Creative Examples

Twestival | Pledge to End Hunger | 12for12k

On 12 February 2009 202 cities around the world held Twestivals, bringing together the Twitter community for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water.

1. Twestival

Huh? (Video)

Twestival

• Continuous video/blog updates

• Strategic Social Media Partnerships

• Engaged with local leaders/volunteers

• Activities held in 202 Cities around the world

Twestival: Tools

Twestival: Communication

Twestival: Communication (Video)

Twestival: Partnerships

Twestival: Leaders/Volunteers

Twestival: Results

Twestival: Results (Toronto)

• Grassroots

• Raised $25K

• 600 in attendance (event)

• 13 days to organize.

Twestival: Results

• 1,000 volunteers hosted events • Over 200 cities participated around the world• More than 10,000 people attended• Raised $250k• 55 water projects started in Ethiopia, Uganda

and India – serving over 17,000 people• 1st Twestival well drilled in Ethiopia on

the April 11-14th 2009

Designed to make it easy for people to do something meaningful in the short-term and create a dialogue about solving the root issues.

2. Pledge to End Hunger

Pledge to End Hunger

• Strategic corporate partnerships

• Unique Marketing at social media event

• Connect with influencers

Pledge to End Hunger: Tools

Pledge to End Hunger: Partners

• Tyson Foods

• PayPal

• Wal-Mart's 11 Moms

Pledge to End Hunger: Marketing

• 1500 new pledges in a hour

Pledge to End Hunger: Friends

Pledge to End Hunger: Influencers

• ~680k people

Pledge to End Hunger: Results

• 4812 Pledges

• 140k lbs. of food

• 560k meals served

• 1500+ food pantries stocked

• Austin, Dallas, St. Luis and Indianapolis impacted

3. 12for12k

Raise a minimum of $144k for each of 12 charities over the course of 2009.

The concept is simple:

* 12 months of the year

* 12 charities, a different charity each month

* $12,000 per charity

12for12k

• 12 month fundraising/awareness campaign

• Strategic blog partners

• Engaged Twitter tribe

• Unique ways to participate

12for12k: Tools

• Twitter

• Blogging

• Video

12for12k: Partnerships

See the Avatars?

12for12k: Partnerships

Every month each partners blogs about the Charity of the month

12for12k: Tweet-a-thon

12for12k: Tweet-a-thon

12for12k: Virtual Pajama Party

12for12k: Blogging Contest

12for12k: Results

• ~22k in 4 months• Highly engaged Tribe

What Else?

• http://www.volunteermatch.org/

• http://www.idealist.org/if/as/vol

• http://www.onlinevolunteering.org

• http://www.1-800-volunteer.org

Closing Thoughts

Think Differently

Build relationships with influencers

Source: David Wilcox, the Social Reporter

Flip the Funnel – Seth Godin

Be Unique

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahmedrabea/381161436/sizes/l/

Create Buzz

Keep it Simple

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintjcl/2584178300/sizes/l/

Rule of 1/31/3 Web presence | 1/3 One way | 1/3 Social

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/66164549@N00/1384837583/

1. Gain better understanding of new/emerging online tools.

2. Learn strategies for effective volunteer recruitment.

3. Learn ways to maintain and engage volunteers.

Learning Objectives

What Questions do you have?

Frank BarryDirector, Professional Services

Blackbaud

Twitter: @franswaa

Blog: http://www.netwitsthinktank.com

E-mail: frank.barry@blackbaud.com

Website: http://internet.blackbaud.com

Thank You!

CreditsPeople who influenced this presentation:

• Danny Brown: http://www.12for12k.org

• Amanda Rose: http://www.twestival.com

• Pledge to End Hunger: http://www.pledgetoendhunger.com

• Beth Kanter: http://beth.typepad.com/ (Thanks for nonprofit and industry expertise as well as awesome presentations)

• Chris Brogan: http://chrisbrogan.com (Thanks for Homebase, Outposts and Starter moves)

• David Armono: http://darmano.typepad.com/ (Thank for Listen, Learn, Adapt)