Marketing and Recruiting

Go to the Marketing and Recruiting section in the Community Guide for complete details on:

• Public relations ideas for your project
• Recruiting and enrolling youth
• Defining and finding volunteers
• Volunteer management policies
• Annotated sampling of available forms

Recruiting and Enrolling Youth

What Worked; What Didn't

We discovered that recruiting and enrolling participants is a challenge that is inextricably related to schedules, transportation and interest levels. There is tough competition for the time commitment of teens - especially high school juniors/seniors. We found that unless they participated as a part of an already established group (such as Upward Bound or Scouts), they tended to have a lot going on: hanging out with peers, jobs, school sports and fine arts afterschool programs. We initially had targeted LTTR activities to small groups (six or eight) of 11-17 year olds, but found ourselves trying different age groups in an attempt to determine what age range was most interested and available for project activities.

We had success using varied approaches to target different events to different age groups. Go to the full chapter in the Community Guide for all the details.

Getting Your Message Directly to Teens - or Not

To find out how to communicate better with teens who might be interested in the LTTR project - and how to stay in touch with them after they participated, we held three focus groups with 14 - 19 year-olds. They offered numerous suggestions on their preferred methods of communication. They also gave us tips on how best to inform them of new programs and how to keep in touch after the program activities ended.

First, they told us what technologies we shouldn't use to contact them:

• Blogs: they neither build nor use them;
• E-mail: they don't check it very often, using Internet time mostly for research and on social networking sites;
• Print and electronic news sources: few of them read the paper regularly or watch TV news;
• Radio PSAs: they only listen to music radio in the car;
• Cell phones: they don't want to receive program information via cell phone text messages because of the cost to them - and because they would not respond to an unrecognized number;
• You Tube: it wouldn't get "play" if it was in any way "adult-oriented" (meaning "formal");
• Post card announcements: "Post cards are only for vacation."

What does that leave? It is clear that maintaining a personal connection via technology was very important to teens for purposes of making plans, staying in touch with friends, and random browsing for entertainment.

Students use the social networking site, Facebook, to send messages, saying friends get wall posts quicker than they do using straight mail. Most of them use instant messaging (IM) but only for short exchanges.

For more tips on how to recruit teens, go to the complete chapter in the Community Guide.

Recruiting and Enrolling Adults

Adult volunteers play an important part in LTTR activities. Content specialists offer information, support, and guidance on a particular science, technology or nature site-related topic. General volunteers help as field team facilitators and can provide overall support such as driving on field trips, coordinating meeting logistics or acting as mentors through all aspects of developing a media project.

Special Considerations in Working with Volunteers

• Understand the project's philosophy of volunteer involvement - do staff support the utilization of volunteers?
• Clearly articulate and communicate the project's goals for volunteer involvement with all staff, partners and targeted volunteers.
• Detail what will be offered to volunteers: transportation, food, free gifts, training, on-going support, etc.
• Be clear on what the volunteer will gain.
• Consider challenges volunteers may face such as language barriers, organizational or cultural traditions.
• Commit to volunteer recruitment as a year-round process.
• Don't confuse recruitment with publicity.
• Ensure there is regular and meaningful two-way communication with volunteers, utilizing whatever means works for each volunteer (e.g., email for some, phone calls for others and lunch meetings too).
• Include risk management practices and a risk management plan in program planning.

Orienting Volunteers and Content Specialists to the Program

All volunteers should be thoroughly oriented to the program goals and activities. This can be done in group settings, or on an individual basis. We typically started with a phone call, and then requested an in-person meeting. A sample agenda is provided in the Community Guide.

Suggestions for Ensuring a Sustainable Volunteer Effort

1. Enlist partners in helping develop a "circle of resources."
2. Look at people that are close to and connected with the project and its mission.
3. Set timelines so progress and impacts can be assessed.
4. Consider what the project needs as it relates to volunteers.
5. It's imperative that a volunteer's desired qualifications, the proposed tasks and benefits - both tangible and intangible - are clear, written and communicated to volunteers and all those involved.
6. Be sure you understand volunteers' motivations: achievement, affiliation, power.
7. Once you have a cadre of people in mind, formalize the application process to vet their credentials. Whenever adults work with youth, they should be careful-ly screened first.
8. Make sure that volunteers know where they can get more information or additional support.

Support Materials*

• Packet of Sample Marketing Materials
• An Invitation to Potential Field Guides and Content Specialists
• Description of Roles for Volunteer Guides and Content Specialists
• Content Specialist Honoraria Form
• Agenda for Adult Orientation Training
• Adult Application and Screening Packet - D
• Youth Application and Consent Form Packet - D
• Volunteer Recruitment Plan and Communication Strategy - D
• Tips for Working with Adolescents - D