April 2003 Archives - Recruiting & Retention

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*RECRUITING & RETENTION* Visit this page for ideas, suggestions and hints to build recruitment capacity.
~ April 2003 ~Topics	Age and Volunteers in Membership Organizations Reaching Those New Volunteers The Power of the Cell Phone

NEW from Volunteer Online Bookstore

The One Minute Answer to Volunteer Management Questions by Mary Kay Hood

Written especially for the beginner, this book provides a quick reference for the practical aspects of managing a volunteer program. It provides an easy read for the harried volunteer program manager on topics such as recruitment, interviewing, risk management, networking, community involvement, and leadership. The author, Mary Kay Hood, is currently the Director of Volunteer Services, with 13 years experience.

Age and Volunteers in Membership Organizations

Volunteers are the backbone of clubs and fraternal organizations. 56% of Americans belong to some type of an association. The current statistics show that the older you are the more likely you are to be a member of a club. Here are some facts on the ages of those in various types of clubs. (Research from Simmons Market Research Bureau of New York)

Percent of Adults Belonging to Membership Organizations by Age

	ALL AGES	18 - 34	35 - 49	50+
Church, temple, synagogue	41%	32%	40%	49%
Union	9%	6%	10%	10%
PTA	8%	5%	14%	5%
Fraternal Order (Elks, Masons, etc.)	5%	2%	3%	9%
Art Association	5%	3%	4%	6%
Veteran’s club	5%	1%	2%	11%
Civic club	3%	2%	2%	4%
Business club	3%	2%	4%	4%
Country club	3%	2%	2%	3%
Environmental organization	3%	3%	3%	4%
Religious club	2%	1%	3%	4%
Human Rights organization	1%	2%	1%	1%
Regional Development Committee	1%	----	1%	1%
Any organization	56%	44%	57%	66%

Source: American Demographics, March 2003

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Reaching Those New Volunteers

What media sources are you using to recruit volunteers or promote your program? Who are you trying to reach with your efforts? Are you convinced that Internet based recruiting techniques are the way to go? Here are some facts that might convince you that a mixed media effort is still the best plan for most volunteer programs.

Adults Reached Yesterday By Major Media

AGE

TV

NEWSPAPER

RADIO

MAGAZINES

INTERNET

All Adults

93%

63%

76%

43%

35%

18 - 34

91%

52%

85%

41%

42%

35 - 64

92%

65%

78%

43%

39%

65+

97%

78%

57%

41%

12%

Internet Usage By Age Cohort

AGE

TOTAL USERS (IN MILLIONS)

AVERAGE USAGE DAYS PER VISITOR, PER MONTH

AVERAGE NO. OF MINUTES PER VISITOR, PER MONTH

All Users

144,754

18.9

1,498

18 - 24

23,968

15.2

1,476

25 - 34

25,656

20.4

1,619

35 - 54

55,206

22.2

1,732

55 - 64

11,647

21.6

1,653

65+

6,770

20.1

1,319

Source: American Demographics, March 2003

Interested in more information? Check out our online bookstore for: Recruiting and Retention: A Marketing Approach, by Nancy Macduff. Recruiting & Retention book Image

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The Power of the Cell Phone

Cell phones were once the way to spot the harried businessperson. Striding confidently down the street or airport jet way, talking quickly into their cell phone set these people apart. The fact is that by 2002 the cell phone was more pervasive an influence in the American family than the computer. In a research study by Pew, 59% of Americans were logged on to the Internet, while 62% were using a cell phone. Last year at this time 50% of all teens between 12 – 17 had cell phones. African-Americans have taken the lead in cell phone use. Fully 75% of those between 12 – 34 have cell phones.

What is the point of these numbers? Volunteer program managers need to do several things to stay on top of this technology. Here are some tips.

Gather more information on means to communicate with volunteers on the intake application. Be sure to include a place for cell phones.
Ask about the ability to receive text messages. Young cell phones users are more adept at this capacity of cell phones than their older counterparts.
Insist the organization have a cell phone for the volunteer program differing capabilities of communication. The technology is such that people can retrieve email from their cell phone.
Stay abreast of the latest technology for cell phones and how it can be used to communicate with volunteers. For example, you can send meeting reminders, short, short, short email as up-dates, calls directly to the person who wants to hear from you on his/her cell phone, etc.

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Interested in assessing volunteer and staff relations in your program?

Looking for help from an expert?

Get help with one of the Volunteer Program Evaluation Series.

DAILY POINTS OF LIGHT AWARD FORMS AVAILABLE

The Points of Light Foundation has forms available to nominate volunteers and volunteer organizations for the Daily Points of Light Award. It is designed recognize individuals and groups that demonstrate unique and innovative approaches to community volunteering and citizen action, with a strong emphasis on service focused on the goals for children and young people set by the Presidents Summit for American's Future.

The award is given five days a week, excluding holidays. If you would like nomination forms, contact Crystal Hill at 202-729-8000.

1-800-VOLUNTEER

By calling 1-800-VOLUNTEER in the U.S., individuals can be connected to their local volunteer center.
This is a national interactive call routing system designed to get volunteers connected to people who can help them volunteer.

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