Allyson DrinnonAssociate Director

Habitat for Humanity International

adrinnon@habitat.org

04/18/23

Being Attractive to Community Volunteers

04/18/23

How to attract volunteers: Brand Promise

Why Does Habitat Use Volunteers?

Why do volunteers

Come to Habitat?

04/18/23

How to attract volunteers: Brand Promise

Habitat’s Mission Statement

Seeking to put God’s love into action

Habitat for Humanity brings people together

To build homes, communities and hope.

04/18/23

How to attract volunteers: Brand Promise

Our Scaling Strategy

Habitat seeks to maximize its impact by effectively allocating resources across three spheres of influence: community, sector and society. Habitat’s scaling approach focuses on facilitating improvements for a sufficient number of households, in a sufficient number of communities, to help the public understand the need and potential for community change. This in turn drives: a) broader engagement in housing solutions; b) support for market development; and c) demand for policies and systems that create new opportunities for those in need of adequate, affordable shelter.

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Brand Promise Activity

What do we want people to associate with our organization?1.Silently write ideas down.2.Share with three people around you.3.Vote on top 3 choices.

04/18/23

How to attract volunteers: Brand Promise

Habitat’s Mission Statement

Seeking to put God’s love into action

Habitat for Humanity brings people together

To build homes, communities and hope.

04/18/23

How to attract volunteers

Recruitment: A process to attract and invite people to consider volunteer involvement within your agency, faith community, or organization.

Making connections

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How to attract volunteers

Draw a map of a volunteer’s experience from the moment he/she interacts with the affiliate:1.Who does he/she see and interact with?2.Where does he/she go in the facility or on the site?3.How can staff engage with he/she at each “stop” on the map?

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How to attract volunteers

How can your brand promise be integrated into each stop:1. Everyone a volunteer sees and interacts with?1.Everywhere he/she goes in the facility or on the site.2.With staff or other volunteers.

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How to attract volunteers

Identify any organizational or personal barriers that may keep prospective volunteers from responding positively to opportunities to work in our organization.

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How to attract volunteers

Barriers Responses

People’s limited time

Costs related to volunteering

Distant location of organization

Need flexibility; regular commitment difficult

Lack of skills

Habitat’s Christian identity

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How to attract volunteers

• For volunteer recruitment to be successful, the needs of the organization and the needs of the volunteer must be met simultaneously.

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How to attract volunteers

• What’s your volunteer recruitment message?

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Retention: Create a Community

• Connect your volunteers to the organization/mission• Connect your volunteers to your homeowners• Connect volunteers with similar interests or skills to one

another• Use those small groups to keep volunteers engaged,

even when there’s no work to do• Empower those volunteers to stay involved, and to

recruit others

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Retention: recognizing volunteers

• Think about volunteer recognition in your own life:– What kind have you received?– How meaningful was it?

• What did you learn about recognition as you listened to the other participants tell about their experiences with it?

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Retention: recognizing volunteers

Understanding volunteer motivations:•Praise•Affiliation•Accomplishment•Power/Influence

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Retention: recognizing volunteers

• Recognition is an ongoing, integral part of the management process.

• Recognition can be formal or informal and can be given often.

• Recognition should be meaningful to the recipient.

• Recognition can be creative and fun to give and receive.

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Retention: Gathering Feedback

• Why would we spend time gathering feedback?• How are you currently gathering feedback?

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Retention: Make the connection

Go back to your Connections Map. Where along the map can you insert recognition and feedback opportunities for volunteers?

Thank you!

Betty StallingsThe 55 Minute Training Series

bettystallings.com

Hospitality + ServicePoints of LightHilton Hotels

https://sites.google.com/a/pointsoflight.org/hospitality-service/home/curriculum

Joe Gatlin, US Office04/18/23

Managing the Volunteer Experience