Using the word volunteer
Whoever you are trying to reach with your recruitment campaign you'll need to think about what image your potential volunteers have of volunteering? How are you going to persuade them that volunteering is for them too?
We all know about the stereotype volunteer: middle-aged, maybe retired, do-gooder, wears socks and sandals, most likely a woman, probably white. Much has been written about the image of the volunteer and about how to attract a new breed of volunteers by creating more inclusive volunteering opportunities.
Does it matter what you call it?
Campaigns which simply ask people to "Volunteer for us" tend to have little effect. The word volunteer is not powerful enough to motivate people to leap into action and get involved. You'll need to give people concrete reasons to volunteer, you'll need to use persuasive language and give them a better idea of what's involved in the opportunity you're promoting. More on this in the section, Create a campaign.
But the other key question to consider is whether you should use the word volunteer in your recruitment work at all?
- Some people are turned off by the formality of the term volunteering.
- Some don't call themselves a volunteer despite the fact that they are already active citizens involved with helping a neighbour, with activities at their local school or supporting their community.
- The term volunteering and voluntary work can be confusing to some and not recognised at all by some cultural groups and communities. It means very different things to people from different social backgrounds, places and faiths.
The charity TimeBank launched in 2000 and set out to re-invigorate the image and role of the volunteer. They wanted to appeal to a new generation of younger volunteers and decided to use the term "TimeGivers" to avoid the old connotations associated with "volunteer". They hoped that TimeGivers had a wider, more dynamic appeal. Watch TimeBank's first cinema advert.
Read the Institute for Volunteering Research's article, Exploring different cultural concepts of volunteering.
A better word than volunteer?
Here are just a few of the other ways organisations and groups have invited people to volunteer, without using the "v word":
Sign up, get involved, join in, be special, come forward, help out, speak up, stand up, step forward, a chance, an opportunity, a place, a position, participate, make a difference, campaign, assist, support, engage, devote, offer, pitch in, try, a challenge, share, lead, link up, get active, give time.
In 2004 Special Constables ran a volunteer recruitment campaign called "Could you?". It did not use the word volunteer. Instead the opportunities were clearly branded as "being a Special Constable". In 2007 the Metropolitan Police launched their own Special Constables campaign. This time they've clearly used the word "volunteer" so as to be clear about what the opportunity they are offering involves. They wanted to avoid confusion with Community Support Officers who are paid members of the force.
The Institute for Volunteering Research took on research about young people's attitude towards volunteering on behalf of the Russell Commission. They found that although young people didn't find the word "volunteering" particularly appealing, they couldn't suggest an alternative term. One respondent said, "Calling it Community Service is terrible, it makes it sound like punishment". Read their full research report, Generation V: Young People Speak Out on Volunteering.
Have a look at VAMU and IVR's research on The image of the volunteer in the media.
nfpSynergy produced a report on behalf of The Scouts Association looking at the image and role of The 21st Century Volunteer.
Next article in this section... Local versus national campaigns. What works?
