1. Pre-Recruitment Planning

☐ Gather a "Recruitment Team" from among your existing volunteers (or Board)

☐ Identify volunteer needs:

• Define specific volunteer assignments*
• Determine how many volunteers you’ll need for each job/assignment and whether you need additional team leaders or supervisors

☐ Create volunteer position descriptions*

☐ Create or Update Recruitment Tools*

2. Targeting Potential Volunteers

☐ Start With Existing Volunteers:

• Identify previous volunteers to contact.
• Review list of individuals who have offered to volunteer.

☐ Recruit Within Your "Circle of Influence:"
    Have each recruiter create a list of potential contacts, including:

• Friends
• Family
• Co-workers
• Neighbors
• Community members (at church; clubs; sporting teams, etc.) 

☐ Broaden Your Circle:
    Once you exhaust the family and friends list, you might need to widen your search by:

• Writing a newsletter article or a post on your organization's blog or forum
• Posting a video or photos of last year's even on your Facebook page and ask for new recruits
• Putting an ad in your community newspaper
• Posting a request through your municipal or state/province volunteer center
• Posting a request at a local high school, or college student volunteer center
• Signing up with one of the volunteer matching sites*

☐ Target Specific Skills or Needs:
    If you need volunteers with specific skills or experience, consider talking to:

• Local small businesses RE: pro bono services
• Individuals who have volunteered at similar events in your community (e.g. an auctioneer; member of a service club, etc.)
• Local companies that might be willing to organize their employees to assist with your event as a corporate initiative

Download this checklist (PDF)

3. Screening and Confirming A Commitment

☐ Screen each potential volunteer:

1. Create short-lists of volunteers in each job category
2. Develop screen process and documentation*
3. Interview each volunteer applicant and capture information from all interviews*

☐ Determine appropriate roles for each volunteer

☐ Contact each volunteer to inform them of their role

4. Follow-Up and Orientation

Effective follow-up communication and orientation can impact both an event’s success and the volunteering experience. So be sure to:

☐ Send volunteer confirmation:
Send an email or letter with all of the pertinent details of their commitment.*

☐ Conduct volunteer orientation(s):
While orientation sessions will differ depending on the volunteer job tasks, you should provide training or orientation sessions for each group of volunteers.*