Finding qualified professionals to contribute as volunteers can be a challenge. This webinar provides leaders of non-profit organizations and social purpose businesses with tips and logistical steps to successfully engage professional volunteers, access new relationships, and build board membership.

1. Sponsored by:A Service
Of:
Recruiting Professional
Volunteers
Drew Tulchin
May 1, 2013

2. Sponsored by:A Service
Of:
Advising nonprofits in:
• Strategy
• Planning
• Organizational Development
www.synthesispartnership.com
(617) 969-1881
info@synthesispartnership.com
INTEGRATED PLANNING

3. Sponsored by:A Service
Of:
Affordable collaborative data
management in the cloud.

4. Sponsored by:A Service
Of:
Today’s Speaker
Drew Tulchin
Managing Partner
Social Enterprise Associates
Assisting with chat questions:
Jamie Maloney, Nonprofit Webinars
Founding Director of Nonprofit Webinars and Host:
Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership

5. Recruiting Professional
Volunteers for Your NPO
Webinar Training
Synthesis Partnership
May 1st, 2013
Drew Tulchin
Managing Partner
Social Enterprise Associates

6. Recruiting Professional Volunteers
In This Session
About Social Enterprise Associates
Need for professional volunteers
Recruiting steps
Case study: William James Foundation
Tactics & Places
Q&A

7. Before We Begin
• What questions do YOU have?
• What is your org’s experience w/ volunteers?
• How many volunteer hours / year 4 your org?

8. What Tasks Are Good Fits
For Professional Volunteers?
Group Activity
TASK TYPE CHARACTERISTICS

9. Professional Volunteers
Professional volunteers CAN fill roles at little to no
financial expense (there are always costs)
Professional volunteers CAN bring in new expertise,
otherwise lacking or unavailable
Professional volunteers CAN help complete work your
organization hasn’t done yet

10. About Your Presenter
Drew Tulchin, Managing Partner, MBA
• Former Program Officer, Grameen Foundation
• Written >100 business/strategic plans; efforts raised >$100 mil. in capital
• Biz plan winner, Global Social Venture Comp; raised $1.2 mil. in social investment
• Judge in international social enterprise & social business competitions
Social Enterprise Associates
Consulting firm network of experts. Offers consulting & capital
raising to triple bottom line efforts- for people, profits, planet
Registered ‘B Corporation’, recognized:
2011 'One of the Best for the World' small businesses
2012 Honoree, Sustainable Business of the Year

11. Recruitment Steps
1. Assign Task
Whose job is this / would this be?
Do they have time?
2. Conduct Organizational Self Evaluation
Conduct org self-evaluation; can be brief
Identify strengths & weaknesses (SWOT)
Inventory, database, track
What do you have, what do you need?
3. Document Gap Analysis
Identify gaps & who you want to recruit
What type or profile?
Adapted from: National Council on Aging, see handout

12. Recruitment Steps (cont’d)
4. Follow a Plan
Write a Recruitment Plan with timeline
Specify who does what, and how.
Stick to it. Review it at meetings (& hopefully more often)
Okay if short, but have it in writing, in one place
5. Prospect List
SPECIFIC names of organizations and/or people
TRACK them

13. Recruitment Steps (cont’d)
6. Build Upon Existing Relationships
Chart who you know; relationships you already have
Build from initial start
Keep tabs on successful places
On-going
7. Grow Relationship Web
If existing relationship don’t generate who you need, draw a web
to connect to your Prospect List
How do I get to the people I want

14. Paint The Fence
This is special!
They are lucky to be
able to do this
Sell it!

15. CASE STUDY
William James Foundation

16. About William James Foundation
William James Foundation educates & supports entrepreneurs
starting or expanding for-profit businesses with built social
and/or environmental values into how they make money
10th Annual Sustainable Business Plan Competition is an
excellent way to get professional & constructive comments on
your business plan - as well as mentors, connections, cash and
in-kind prizes.
Next happenings: July conference in DC

17. Volunteer Management Experience
Their ED, Ian Fisk, had previous exp w/ volunteers:
Charter Member, Hands On DC, largest in mid-90s all-volunteer
serve-a-thon in nation
Director of Projects, Wall Street Without Walls, worked with
senior and retired financial executives, matching with complex
economic development projects
Executive Director, William James Foundation, engaging
entrepreneurs, investors & senior managers of multiple-
bottom-line firms to provide advice and guidance to new
entrepreneurs

18. Lessons Learned
Time Fixed Volunteering: Volunteer understands project is
discrete. These are busy people, happy to help, but can’t be “sucked
down the rabbit hole"
Detailed Matching: Detailed databases on volunteers, tracking
standard skills and perspectives, connections with projects in mind,
and long list of past projects involved in, etc.
Team Creation: Projects team based. Guards against
underperformer. Awareness of creating diverse set of perspectives,
and awareness how team members work with each other.

19. Why Judges Stick to WJF
1. They enjoy it!
2. WJF pays attention to what they want to
learn
3. Allows them to interact with other judges

20. Where Find Volunteers?
YOUR TURN
What are your ideas

21. How Get Volunteers?
Actively (& Passively) Recruit
• ASK internal resources, recommendations current volunteers
• Post interesting, detailed descriptions what looking for
• Post online ads & at local institutions
• Recruit all the time. Virtuous cycle. People know you, see
you, want you
• Market! Have a good posting; refresh at least quarterly
Recruitment Types
• Targeted: recruit for specific skills, characteristics. Seek out,
like job recruitment, same focus & process
• Concentric circles: use populations in contact, chain of trust

22. Volunteer-Seeking Sites (a few)
Fed gov’t sponsors & operates Serve.gov, w/ a volunteer
opportunity search engine using interests and location.
VolunteerMatch is a non-profit service that allows you to search
for volunteer positions by location and keywords.
Idealist.org, project of Action Without Borders, locate
opportunities and supporters – post jobs, too.
Points of Light promotes Hands On Network, search for volunteer
opportunities, including location & keyword.
LinkedIn members can add volunteer positions, causes they care
about, and organizations.

23. What Tasks Are Good Fits
For Professional Volunteers?
TASK TYPE
• Promotion / Speaker
• Advising
• Editing / writing / web
• Fund raising
• Planning (biz & strategic)
• Prof services: CPA, legal
• Board member
CHARACTERISTICS
• Short-term, flexible
• Not deadline driven
• Fun for them
• Gives them something
• Not something u should
pay for
• Convenient times

24. What to Ask Potential Volunteers
1. What motivates you as a volunteer?
2. What do you want to learn?
3. What makes you passionate about this cause?
4. How much time do you have to commit?
5. What expectations do you have of us?
Adapted from “What to Ask Every Prospective Board Member”
Guidestar, 2007

25. Challenges
RISK MITIGATION
Not dependable Non-time sensitive tasks,
Identify their interests & passions
Do formal letter of engagement
Does a bad job Train, keep it internal, match with staff
Doesn’t present well Set them up for success, pilot first, monitor
Does something illegal Background checks, Due dilig, sign contracts
Uses for own gain Always seek win/win
Lack attention to detail Match skills w/ interests
If really important, pay someone

26. Sample
Recruitment
Description

27. Paint The Fence
This is special!
They are lucky to be
able to do this
Sell it!

28. Thank you!
Drew Tulchin
Social Enterprise Associates
www.socialenterprise.net
drew@socialenterprise.net
Q&A
Ian Fisk
The William James Foundation
www.williamjamesfoundation.org
ian.fisk@williamjamesfoundation.org

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