Section 1. Developing a Plan for Increasing Participation in Community Action

Learn how to develop a plan to attract membership among diverse stakeholders in community-based efforts.

 

 

So you want to attract some members into your club or organization? Why? Are you sick and tired of trying to do everything yourself? Did someone remind you that two heads are better than one? It may not really matter why you've decided to try to attract more members. What matters is that you have a plan.

Developing a plan for recruiting members will make your life much easier. This section will show you how.

What is a plan for increasing participation in community action?

Planning is a way to organize actions that will hopefully lead to the fulfillment of a goal. In this case, your goal is increasing participation to meet the purposes of your organization. How? By providing clear directions and your approach to following them, in other words, giving a method to your madness.

Developing a plan for recruiting members will cause you to ask yourself some fundamental questions. These questions are essential to just about any recruitment effort, and your answers will be the building blocks for your recruitment plan. They are:

• Why do you want or need members?
• How many members do you need?
• What kind of members do you need?
• Who is going to find and get the new members?
• Where are the new members?
• When is a good time to look for new members?
• How should you approach potential members?
• What happens if you get a yes, a maybe, or a no?
• What are some obstacles you may encounter? And how do you get around them?

Example:  An organization in need of increasing participation in community action

My neighborhood organization wants to clean up the area around an abandoned building in our neighborhood. We hope to remove the blight and potentially lower the amount of crime in the area, but we don't know how to find the people. We are very busy and have never done this before.

Also, this may just be the beginning. We want to grow our organization large enough to clean up the whole city. Wouldn't that be amazing? But that would certainly take more members than we recruit ourselves. Maybe we should build a coalition or partnership. Then we'd have the people power we need. But how can we do that?

Here's the key point: Regardless of whether we are trying to recruit members who speak for themselves or members who speak for entire organizations, it would help to have a plan to find people and bring them together. Answering the questions above will save us time in the long run and increase the chances of accomplishing goals we set for ourselves.

Why should you develop a plan for increasing participation in community action?

• To make accomplishing your goals easier.
• To help you get from point A (an organization in need of members, or a coalition in need of member organizations) to point B (an organization with the members it needs or a coalition with the members it needs). Your organization or alliance will almost certainly always need fresh members.
• To make your search for new members more efficient and effective. A plan is essential because it focuses on steps you will need to take to achieve your ultimate goal of recruiting members. The planning stage is the time to decide what actions the organization will take to achieve its goal.

Most of the time, organizers looking for membership would have better luck recruiting potential members if they sat down and planned what they would do to achieve their goals, rather than just jumping right in. A planned effort will almost always be superior to an unplanned, disorganized attempt.

Writing things down is very important to the planning process because you don't want to waste time going over questions you have already answered. Writing down the answers will save precious time.

How do you develop a plan for increasing participation in community action?

Let's come back to the fundamental questions mentioned above and go through them one at a time.

Why do you want or need members?

It is not only enough to want members for your organization. You must think of why you want them. You must ask yourself, "Why am I looking for new members in the first place?" Your organization may be looking for members who speak for other organizations or themselves.

Your organization may need members of a partnership or coalition who:

• Represent the local government, the local school systems, religious organizations, youth organizations, businesses, other human service organizations, senior citizens, the police, parent groups, colleges and universities, etc.
• Can coordinate the efforts of the organizations they represent to achieve shared goals (for example, a city-wide event in which several organizations carry out different city beautification tasks)
• Can rally support for issues in the best interests of your organization and those of the organizations your coalition members represent

Your organization may need individual members to:

• Hand out flyers
• Help out on a specific project (for example, helping to clean the lot around an abandoned building)
• Help organize and recruit other members
• Give general support to the organization
• Do many, many other things

You must have something in mind. Otherwise, you wouldn't have decided you need more members to begin with. Think… Then write it down!

How many members do you need?

Once you have listed the reasons you are looking to get new members into your group, you should have a pretty good idea of how many individual members and coalition members you will need to recruit.

For example:  Starting a plan for increasing participation in community action

Let's think about the abandoned building example. How many people do we need to clean up the area? It's a big yard, and it is very messy. We'd like to get it done in one day, so the best guess is that it will take at least 15 people.

There are five diehard members of my organization, and a few others around the neighborhood have offered their help if something came up. Well, now we have something.

So we know that we need to get ten more people to commit to this project. Of course, we'd love to get ten new long-term members, but for now, we just need ten more warm bodies to help clean the area.

Okay, now we know why we want new members, and we know that we need at least ten more. Wow! We're already starting to have a plan. Okay, now, let's think big. Let's go back to the city-wide beautification effort.

If our organization gets all the people we need to clean up the area that sparked our beautification efforts, we will still need members representing other organizations in our coalition. We need to have members who can coordinate the actions of their organizations so that the whole city will become beautiful.

Even thinking big is simple. What's next?

What kind of members do you need?

It's not usually a good idea to put people into categories, but in this case, determining what kind of members the organization needs will be helpful.

Organizations need many different kinds of members. As mentioned earlier, this can be especially important when deciding whether your organization is trying to build individual membership or trying to make a coalition through recruiting members who speak for organizations.

Some members may speak for organizations or whole groups of people, and some may not. Some members will be leaders, and some will not.

Members of organizations function at different levels. Some show up more frequently than others; some are more committed than others; some have other things going on in their lives that will take priority over the organization. We can use all these types of members and members with many different kinds of skills.

Members who speak for whole groups of people are especially helpful because, through their membership, your organization will gain access to people who may help out at different levels.

Organizations will often be looking to recruit members with varied skills. However, sometimes a project will come up in which specific skills are needed.

If there is a specific skill your organization is looking for to help achieve your goals, your organization or coalition may wish to recruit members who speak for organizations with some talent in those areas.

As for developing a plan for recruiting members, you must decide what kind of members you are looking for. Then it will be easier to focus your search.

Who is going to find and get them?

Well, who have you got? If it is you alone, you certainly have your work cut out for you. But even if you have a small army of recruiters, you will probably still have your work cut out for you. It's a big task. By now, you should know who you are looking for, whether they speak for themselves or organizations, and how many people you need.

Determining who finds and gets the new members is essential to your planning. You and your helpers can plan the approaches you will use to get the people you need.

Don't be shy about delegating responsibility. If you have people available to help you recruit, make those people as useful as possible. Assign recruitment tasks to different people. Don't just tell all of your people to go out there and get members. That will most definitely waste your time and possibly that of potential members too.

Getting back to the clean-up example, we may have decided that there are some people with some specific talents or assets that could help us in our clean-up, and in the neighborhood organization in general.

Divide up the recruiting task. We know that we need some neighbors with yard tools, and someone with a pick-up truck would certainly be helpful.

Make sure you break up the recruiting. Tom, with the pick-up truck, will not be happy if all five members of the group ask him to help out. After all, you want to ask for help, but not to be too pushy. Also, your organization may seem very disorganized if nobody seems to know what anyone else is doing.

So figure out who will be recruiting whom.

And in the case of the city-wide beautification initiative, your organization may wish to seek members who speak for organizations that have special skills or assets that will help achieve your goals. For example, a hardware store, a gardening association, an art club, and a florist may be incredibly helpful.

Where are new members to be found?

Truthfully, everywhere. But now, you can target where you look. Try making a list of places where the type of people and organizations you are looking for might be.

Example: You are looking to build a new clubhouse for some neighborhood kids, and nobody in your organization is good at building. What skills would be handy in a new member? Building skills, of course.

Now that you have this information, use it. Find out where people with building skills may be, and go there and ask for help. Check the yellow pages for hardware stores, construction unions, and contractors in your community. Think about other clubs, agencies, and organizations in your community where people with building skills may go.

Example: Let's think big again. Perhaps your organization started out wishing to build a clubhouse for a group of neighborhood kids. Then, everyone became so enthusiastic about the project that your organization decided to form a coalition to promote youth club activities.

Now you may not only wish to recruit members with building skills, but also members who speak for organizations, unions, community services, and local and corporate businesses that may want to become involved. After all, your organization would probably like all the help it can get.

Don't forget. You won't know who wants to get involved unless you ask.

So figure out who your organization would like as members. Then...

Make a list and write it down!

When is a good time to look for new members?

Well, how about now? Any organization should always be looking for new members. Sure, some times are better than others. It is easier to recruit members when the organization is rallying around a particular project or issue. Find a hook (something to attract people to your specific project, cause, or problem). Hooks are useful.

But there are also many important times for an organization to look for new members or a coalition to look for new member organizations. Some of them include when you are:

• Taking on a new initiative
• Wanting to become more powerful in the community
• Starting a publicity/fund-raising campaign
• Replacing former members

If your organization does not have a specific need for new members but is just waiting for a good issue or event to help you start a recruitment drive, certain topics often draw attention and support. These include:

• Children
• Fairness
• Health
• Safety
• Jobs

Are any of these issues related to your project? What others can you think of?

For your plan, you must decide when you will start actively looking for new members. Developing a timeline will prove to be helpful—set goals.

You may also need to know how soon you need your new members. You might have a big event coming up, such as a fundraiser, that you will need more members for. In that case, you might want to create a timeline with your plan of action.

For example, our group needs to have 30 new members before putting on our annual dance in January. It is September now. So, we'll try to recruit at least 15 new members by mid-October. It makes sense for us to aim a little on the high side, so we'll be okay even if we fall short. Our group met together and created the following timeline:

September	October	November	December
Develop a recruiting plan	Set goals to recruit member organizations or representatives.	Meet with representatives of member organizations	Continue looking for support. The more, the merrier!
Begin recruiting members or organizations for a coalition. The goal is to have recruited 15 members by mid-month	We will meet to keep new members' interest	Continue meeting and recruiting. Remember, our goal is 30. But don't stop there!
If we are having trouble, review tactics.	Keep recruiting

 

Remember to develop your plan for recruiting members before you start doing the work. You don't want to spend time switching from tactic to tactic trying to achieve your goals. Be sure to organize your search for new members. Don't forget to make a plan and write it down.

How should you approach potential members?

Ahh, the approach. Let's imagine that although our group feels very strongly about our project (in this case, cleaning up the messy area), it may not sound as appealing to others. Getting new people involved with the project or group sounds about as easy as, say, meeting a life-long partner at a bar.

It's crucial to design an approach carefully. Look at this example:

"Hey, do you want to come out Sunday to pick up trash and scrub graffiti off walls with some people you barely know?"

Not likely to get a very favorable response. Maybe this one is a little better:

"Hello, you live in our neighborhood, don't you? I've seen you around a bit. Well, you know the messy area around the old Spooky House that makes our neighborhood look like a parking lot after a flea market? A group of us are going to get together Sunday to clean it up, and then we're having a potluck at Shawn Barge's house."

It may be a good idea to personalize your metaphors if you know the person you're trying to recruit. For example, for a sports fan:

"...It makes our neighborhood look like the parking lot of a football stadium on after the game."

Remember, when you are trying to convince people to help out that they need to feel they will get something out of it too: satisfaction, new skills, personal fulfillment, et cetera. You want to make potential members feel as though cleaning up the yard will benefit them because they live in that neighborhood too.

Coalitions that wish to attract member organizations should be careful to give the organizations they are trying to recruit compelling reasons to join. Organizations will not want to become involved with a disorganized, inefficient effort.

What to do if you get a yes, a maybe, or a no.

Suppose you get a yes. Great! By now, you should certainly know why you've recruited this person in the first place. Just make sure you can tell the new member or organization what is needed when.

A maybe is pretty good too. A "maybe" shows you that this person or organization is not entirely without interest in the cause. Keep in touch with those who say "maybe." Maybe they will be interested in joining at a later date or becoming involved in a different capacity.

A no...well, you can't win them all. You should also try to distinguish a "no" from a "not right now." You may have asked at the wrong time; after all, you don't know everything in everyone's lives. If you didn't get the door shut in your face, you might want to try again later. You never know when someone may have a change of heart.

Whatever someone says, don't be caught by surprise. Think ahead to what you will say next.

Obstacles

Anticipate obstacles that may occur. Things don't usually run perfectly, and anything can (and sometimes does) happen. Be prepared to overcome possible barriers. A hurdler doesn't worry about tripping over hurdles; she hurdles them. You must be ready to also.