Resources for Recruiting Members and Volunteers

Start here to see our favorite resources on member recruitment and volunteer recruitment.


Member Recruitment and Placement

Finding, recruiting, screening, and placing AmeriCorps members effectively is key to a successful program. Apply tried-and-true processes to match the most qualified applicants to your available positions, and increase the likelihood of a rewarding experience for everyone involved. Listed below are some of our most relevant resources for this topic.

EnCorps: Recruitment and Placement
Recruiting AmeriCorps Members: Creating a Strategy and Making it Work
Volunteer/Member Recruitment Resources for Tutoring and Mentoring Programs
Using My AmeriCorps to Recruit Applicants
My AmeriCorps Training and User Support Resources
Recruit AmeriCorps Members / The Online Recruitment System

Online course
AmeriCorps*VISTA and Prisoner Reentry - Focuses on how to recruit VISTA members for reentry programs.

Effective practices
Designing a recruitment timeline
Streamlining member recruitment and placement
Establishing strong ties to local college and university career service offices

Library items
Walk the Walk: An AmeriCorps Recruitment Video


Volunteer Recruitment

Successful recruitment and placement helps service programs achieve their goals more effectively and is often the result of thoughtfully considered marketing and public relations efforts. A recruiter must be clear in his own mind about why the organization wants to engage volunteers; he can then design valuable and fulfilling assignments around those specific needs. Issues to consider include recruiting for diversity and appealing to special target audiences. Following are some of our most relevant resources related to this topic.

VolunteerMatch
Looking for a great volunteer, or a great place to become a volunteer? Check out the largest online network of participating nonprofits. The VolunteerMatch User’s Guide and Training Manual (approx 45 page PDF) provides an overview of using the VolunteerMatch system, step-by-step guidelines on how to improve volunteer recruitment, and information on research and trends related to recruiting volunteers ages 55 and over.

Volunteer Recruitment Plan
Volunteering in America: Resources for Retention
Ideas for Recruiting Volunteers - from internationally known expert Susan Ellis
Volunteer Recruitment Campaigns - sound advice from Steve McCurley about different types of recruiting

Online course
Engaging College Students as Volunteer Leaders

Effective practices
Building a recruitment plan
Choosing appropriate outreach techniques for different generations
Considering the types of volunteers available to your program
Using a project calendar to assist with recruiting and scheduling volunteers

Library items
Count Me In! 501 Ideas on Recruiting Volunteers
77 Ways to Recruit Volunteers
Volunteer Recruitment (and Membership Development) Book