Outreach and Recruitment
There are several ways to reach out to potential volunteers. Attractive recruitment activities at the start of a new semester will help ensure a successful and volunteer-full year. These are a few tricks that worked in the past:
Posters: This is one of the old stand-by methods of getting people to call for information. Make sure the poster is simple, easy to read and catches the eye. Some prefer to use the computer while others delve into the world of art and odd lettering. Just make sure that the poster is legible and that it features both the name of your program as well as that of Community Impact. Strategic places to poster are, of course, by elevators and mailboxes and in stairwells. Don’t forget buildings like Uris (Business School), SIPA(School of International and Public affairs) and Dodge (School of the arts) especially if graduate students have volunteered with your program before. Also, try to remember that while it is not necessary to wallpaper the campus with posters, it is more effective to post your flyers more than once. Be strategic, not excessive. Do not poster on city property including bus stops and poles; it is illegal and you may receive a summons!
Mailings: While it is strongly discouraged to stuff mailboxes with info about our individual groups, it might be a good idea for a few groups to create an informational mailing targeting prospective volunteers. Keep in mind that any mailing has to be approved by 125 Wallach before it can be placed in all the mailboxes. You can email campus groups or post your event on ColumbiaNet on the University Calendar or on the CI webpage.
Publications: Community Impact programs and events are often covered by The Columbia Daily Spectator and The Barnard Bulletin (a weekly publication). Feature articles, advertisement space, and letters to the editor in these newspapers are a great ways to publicize the joys of volunteer work. However, to ensure that Community Impact’s presence on campus remains a prominent (and attractive) one, it is absolutely necessary for all groups that are interviewed for these papers to STATE THEIR AFFILIATION TO COMMUNITY IMPACT so that it comes across loud and clear in the article. In this way, each spotlighted group has the opportunity to promote all of the other Community Impact programs. Needless to say, all posters or flyers for purposes of recruitment should also include the fine print: “A Community Impact Group.”
Presentations: These are essential, particularly at the very beginning of the year. Talk to the RAs of dorms, especially dorms with a large percentage of first year students. See if you can get the RAs to give you a few minutes during one of their floor meetings. If you plan it right, you can hit a number of floors in one night. This is also one of those times when you might want to team up with other Community Impact groups so that the RAs don’t get sick of giving us time.
Also talk to any Orientation advisors you know and get them to help us spread the word as well. Give them a card with the dates of CI’s Open House and ask them to mention it to their advisees. They might even help you send a phone mail message. RAs can sometimes be persuaded to help us get a message around the phone system, but again, don’t over-use this idea.
The Activities Day Fair (Columbia) and Clubs Day (Barnard) in the beginning of the fall term is a great opportunity to attract and to inform first-years and as well as returning students who are shopping for extracurricular activities. Community Impact as a whole will have a table, and we rely on coordinators to help staff it in shifts throughout the day.
The Open House is an obvious necessity. Please help us poster and advertise. Most importantly, BE THERE. This is a chance to speak to a lot of potential volunteers who are genuinely interested. Bring photos, food, anything to peak their interest, but make sure you’re there and enthusiastic.
Special Events: Please let us know so that we can announce them on the Website!
Student Executives: Feel free to contact the Student Executive in charge of publicity for CI, who can help with connections and suggestions.
