Trouble - Volunteer Attraction Campaign

Plan B & Beyond
When it comes to volunteer recruitment, we hope and work hard for the best, but we prepare
for the worst. That's why, before you even launch your recruiting campaign you need to
determine what I call the "emergency threshold", and also put in place your Plan B.
The emergency threshold is a specific date + a specific number of volunteers. If you don't reach
that number, it's time to activate plan B.
Based on my own experience, I recommend that your emergency threshold should provide you
with a buffer time of 2-3 weeks. Here's an example to illustrate the point.
Let's say I need to recruit 48 new volunteers by August 28 so we can be fully staffed to start a
new school year on September 11.
07.24
Volunteer Campaign
Starts
If I come to August 22 (my Emergency Threshold), and I am still short 20 volunteers, it's a clear
signal that I need to activate plan B.
This may involve:
Reaching out to parents and asking them to serve in their children's classes until we fully
staff them
Asking my existing volunteers if they would be willing to serve every week for the next 4
Sundays to give me more time to find new volunteers
Reaching out to Life Groups (small groups) and asking them to adopt a class
Combining several age groups into one class
Temporarily closing some of the classes
08.22
Emergency
Threshold
08.28
Sign-up
Deadline
09.11
School Year
Starts
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