The Center for Creative Community

Perceptual Recruiting @

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People Approach Strategies
Perceptual Recruiting
Exercise #1

Think of a volunteer program or effort you are directly involved with or know well.

A. Strict Count

How many volunteers does this program have in the strict sense:

They are called "volunteers," by themselves and others, are structured into the program in an ongoing service capacity.

STRICT COUNT ___________

B. Volunteer Workforce Expansion

Working definition: "Any activity which helps without primary thought of immediate financial gain."

How many additional volunteer-type people not in strict count, might you have involved? (Do each category separately.)

_____1. Did you count administrative office-type volunteers as well as direct client-service volunteers? If not add them.

_____2. Policy Board

_____3. Other advisory boards

_____4. Give you advice or guidance as unpaid individuals

_____5. An auxiliary or an independent group which nevertheless renders real volunteer help to the organization and/or its clients. This group contains ____ members directly involved in this helping.

_____6. High school, college, business school, etc., student interns or field placement who worked in your setting during the past year, and whose work had some yield in service or evaluation/research.

_____7. Regularly or quite regularly on-call for occasional service, one-shot, in-out service (like a skills bank)

_____8. Groups which contribute as groups rather than individuals, such as churches, service clubs, etc.

_____ Groups which contribute regularly

_____ Contributed at least once last year

Question:
Did you count a group as one volunteer, or count the number in the group, or count the number in the group actively involved in service to your program?

_____9. How many people came in spontaneously for temporary helping, not in a programmed manner at least once in the past year?

_____10. Anyone not included in strict count who receives:

_____ Volunteer work-related expense reimbursement

_____ A subsistence "stipend," such as VISTA, CETA, PSE

_____11. People who may be fully paid by others but are volunteer (Unpaid) as far as you are concerned

_____12. Is there any sense in which your clients render volunteer-type service:

_____ To others (how many?)

_____ To themselves (self-help as individuals or groups)(how many?)

_____13. Other "individual Volunteers/"

Description, Justification:

_____ __________________________

_____ __________________________

_____ Total of items 1 to 13

_____ Minus unacceptable categories

_____ Minus estimated overlap between categories

_____ "New Perceptual Recruits" Total.  

See also Section VII - Expanding The Universe of People Who Can Help

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Ivan Scheier
Stillpoint
607 Marr
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, 87901
Tel (505) 894-1340
Email: ivan@zianet.com

For comments and editing suggestions please contact Mary Lou McNatt mlmcnatt@indra.com