Abstract

Knowing a program's target market and recruiting with the right "pitch" can add volunteers to a program successfully. This effective practice shares recruitment strategies from the Friends Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) in Concord, New Hampshire. As a result of improved techniques — using a well-conceived flier, direct mail postcards and more engaging presentations, their recruitment numbers rose dramatically. Program Director, Alane Hill, submitted this effective practice in February 2004.

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Issue

Under-enrollment in programs reduces the amount of service to recipients, and can be frustrating for program directors who know the needs of the program, and the service to be fulfilled. Even though a program may be doing an adequate, professional job with recruitment, recruitment numbers may remain low.

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Action

According to the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) Director of the Friends Program in Concord, New Hampshire, when focusing on increasing recruitment, follow these effective practices:

1. Know your target market (who you are trying to appeal to). Learn everything you can about this audience. The volunteer market is unique and not well-known to advertisers. Therefore,you must do your homework.

Find out what pleases your target market — in this case, senior retirees. Research your target market through existing studies and/or university research materials. One example of a great resource for honing down what retirees want and how to appeal to them is Recasting Retirement, New Perspectives on Aging and Civic Engagement, by Civic Ventures and Temple University Center for Intergenerational Learning, March 2002. According to the Civic Ventures report seniors want:

• To have freedom to enjoy life
• To be valued for using their talents, experience and education
• To have social engagement; to join fun groups doing activities together
• To make a lasting contribution
• To work with others toward a shared purpose
• Flexibility of schedule (so that they can spend time with family and friends)
• Local, personal connections, rather than the feeling of being an anonymous part of a distant organization

2. Build your program, and develop a total approach around your targets' wants and needs.

 

Make a list of all the objections (doubts) your current volunteers had when they first considered joining the program, and the objections you hear from potential applicants. Formulate positive language responses to overcome these objections.

Make a list of the things about the program current volunteers were, and are, attracted to. Make these the first things you talk about and talk about them often!

Write down the most important messages you want to convey, and make every picture and word count toward those messages. You may have only one page or less (or one initial conversation) to make an impression.

Read current materials about best advertising practices. One outstanding resource is Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes And How to Ensure They Won't Happen to Yours, by Andy Goodman, Cause Communications, 2002.Goodman's basic principles are:

a. Capture the reader's attention. A wonderful, heartwarming picture did this for the Friends Foster Grandparent Program in New Hampshire. Although they had many beautiful pictures of Foster Grandparents with children, they chose a picture that addressed several key points:

• It counters the widely held impression that FGP is a foster home program.
• It counters objections heard occasionally about loud, wild classrooms.
• It counters confusion about what exactly a Foster Grandparent might actually do.
• It displays a popular setting - a first grade classroom.

The picture is clearly a classroom, not a home, in a quiet, peaceful setting where a Foster Grandparent and student are whispering to each other. Because the picture is a close-up photo, the faces can clearly be seen and the personal relationship between the two is obvious. You may download a copy of this poster. [271 Kb PDF] http://nationalserviceresources.org/filemanager/download/mentoring/Friends_FGP_poster.pdf

b. Make an emotional connection before attempting to convey information. Use a quote or other emotional statement. The "I Love Grammy Doris" quote and the identification of it being made by a first grader further explains that this is volunteer work in a classroom setting, not a foster home. It is also emotionally appealing. Many seniors can immediately picture themselves in this woman's place.

c. Use headlines that provide a reason to read more. Highlight the personal way your program can satisfy some of the readers' needs and wants. Counter what could be objected to by stating a positive. Say what volunteers will enjoy about the program.

d. Use pictures to attract and convince. This is worth repeating — a wonderful heartwarming picture that poses no threat, doesn't confuse the issue, and supports your statements can really work.

e. Speak as personably as possible.

f. Avoid words that connote obligation ("need," "help," "become a volunteer"). Avoid a dry listing of benefits. It's better to make an emotional connection and leave some things out. You can explain the details when prospective volunteers call.

g. Every picture and word should be analyzed carefully for maximum effect. Use large print. Keep it as simple as possible. Too much text may turn people off. Say just enough to convey the personal message and entice people to ask for more information.

h. Try out the piece on your current volunteers. Are they attracted to it? What turns them off about it? Does it answer their concerns, initial questions, and objections? Is it easy to read? Is it easy to understand? Does it appeal to their feelings? Is it personal? Does it feel local, neighborly?

Once a promotional piece is completed, use it for maximum effect.

• Put up posters everywhere your target market might go. Ask current volunteers where they remember having seen program materials. What places in their town do they frequent?
• If the piece is well responded to, use the content and tone in all contact opportunities, such as presentations, phone conversations, media opportunities, and direct mail.

Using the principles from your promotional piece, consider a direct mail oversized postcard. According to the program director of The Friends Foster Grandparent Program, this is the most successful marketing effort they have ever undertaken. These postcards have the following advantages:

• They reach into homes of people who aren't accessible using the standard methods.
• A large post card with a genuine message written in a friendly tone — one that is not asking for money — is a fresh, welcome addition to a person's mailbox.
• Many seniors view a gentle, non-threatening postcard as a personal invitation. The costs are worth it in the long run and include:
• The purchase of a mailing list for specific counties and/or towns, prefiltered by age and income
• The printing of the card and the paper
• Postage
• A mail service that prints labels, prepares, and mails the postcards
A return of two percent is considered excellent in the direct mail business. However, even small gains in the service world are helpful. For example, obtaining 30 recruits is a significant amount for a Foster Grandparent program. This many recruits will go a long way in helping sustain a program, especially when you start getting referrals from the new volunteers. Also, after you purchase the mailing list you can use it again in another year or two, even more selectively targeting certain towns, if desired, and bringing down the cost of a second mailing.

Presentations provide another great recruitment opportunity. Take an enthusiastic volunteer with you to speak about his or her experience — ask him or her to bring mementos to talk about, such as thank you cards, children's pictures, teachers' thank you cards, and so forth.

Best places for presentations include senior housing facilities and senior centers.

Best choices for written articles are those in publications by other social, city, or state organizations that are mailed directly to the homes of seniors, such as:

• Division of Elderly and Adult Services newsletters
• Energy utility companies' newsletters
• Private nonprofit senior health advocacy newsletters

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Context

The Friends Foster Grandparent Program had been under-enrolled. This promotional effort was a complete revision of recruitment strategies they had been using. The program expanded its outreach into areas they had not previously focused on, and also continued outreach in towns in which they already had a presence. They targeted low-income seniors for a direct mail promotion, and chose low-income settings for the posters and presentations.

Founded in 1975, The Friends Program is a non-profit, social service organization that strengthens communities by building relationships that empower people, encourage community service, and restore faith in the human spirit. A United Way agency, the organization strives to achieve this goal through the implementation of mentoring programs for at-risk youth, emergency housing for homeless families and medically challenged individuals, an intergenerational program that creates meaningful opportunities for seniors to work with children, and a volunteer service program that connects people of faith with elderly people in need of assistance to maintain their independent lifestyle.

A subsidiary of the Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association, the agency provides services to over 3100 people annually with the assistance of over 630 volunteers. Services are offered in parts of six counties in New Hampshire through offices in Concord, Laconia, and Somersworth. The agency has a long history of providing cost-effective, community-based services that have been recognized by State agencies and community organizations.

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Outcome

An analysis of their "target market" and the inclusion of details that attracted that market, taking the time to create a well-crafted promotional piece and incorporating this information into the program's recruitment "pitch," have directly contributed to the program's enrollment gains.

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Evidence

In 2003 the Friends Foster Grandparent Program had 55 volunteers. In 2004 enrollment has reached 85, with at least 15 more promising applicants hoping to join. These 30 new Foster Grandparents were recruited in a three-month period.The program director reports that they received about 100 calls from their direct mail campaign and that numerous calls were received from people who had seen the posters around town.

See the related effective practice, "Turning telephone inquiries into recruitment opportunities."

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Posted On

February 20, 2004

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For More Information

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Resources

Civic Ventures and Temple University Center for Intergenerational Learning. Recasting Retirement: New Perspectives on Aging and Civic Engagement. March 2002.

This resource can be downloaded from the Civic Ventures website at http://www.civicventures.org:
Goodman, Andy. Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes And How to Ensure They Won't Happen to Yours. Santa Monica: Cause Communications, 2002.

This book can be downloaded from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website at http://www.rwjf.org/publications/badAds.jhtml.

Related Practices

• Turning telephone inquiries into recruitment opportunities
• Giving effective presentations to recruit Foster Grandparents

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Related sites

Senior Corps

Topic Areas

• Recruitment
• Capacity building
• Marketing and media
• Sustainability
• Senior Corps
• Volunteer
• Foster Grandparent Programs
• Seniors
• Program management
• Temple

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