Recruiting volunteers, how do you do it?

I started off as a volunteer in a charity.

There was training, good experience and lots of support sometimes.

There was also the possibility that a job would come up, and that you would be guaranteed an interview if so.

So you need to offer a volunteer something imho. You can't expect people to work for nothing unless there's something in it for them.

I’d agree. I’ve been through toddlers, pre-school helping (pre OFSTED) and PTA volunteering, through village hall and gardening club committee, running a fund raising pop-up food nights and now support the bowls club where my husband is club captain. Sometimes there’s not much to offer other than companionship and doing a job well together but a volunteer must feel willing rather than expected to do. In my type of volunteering there’s usually a community connection which tends to be the biggest motivator.

I have found apart from a small core of regulars who are loyal because they know the project would fall apart without them, it's a good idea to have occasional work days. These don't have longterm commitment but appeal to busy people who like to see a result.
We have painting days when walls get finished quickly. Clearance days at the community garden with a picnic shared lunch or bonfire.
You are right though. It's not simple and young people don't always have time.

I help out at our local hospice, and it is a constant worry for them, how to recruit more. The dyamic of volunteers is changing, younger ones don't want to commit to a regular time each week, they come and go to suit, which is fine, but makes planning difficult. Our organisation has one paid member of staff for every 7 volunteers, so would collapse without them.

Email and word of mouth from friends seems to be the most successful way, plus publicity from charity runs etc. Volunteering is a wonderful way to make friends, and everyone needs to feel useful, to have a reason to get up in the morning.

B9exchange - crikey!

That organisational strategy seems a bit questionable....

End of life care isn't funded, charities have to do it, and to keep costs down, they rely on volunteers whenever they can. Charity shops are staffed by volunteers with one manager, administration tasks given to volunteers where ever possible. Supporting Hands help out with shopping etc, and volunteers drive patients to hospital appointments and day hospice. The paid staff are the nurses and education department, and higher management.

If only end of life care received the same sort of funding as the beginning!

The shop I work in has 2 paid staff and about 30 volunteers mostly retired but some out of work or young people looking for experience one or two on the autistic spectrum we all seem to manage very well a couple of long term volunteers are key holders in case anything goes amiss with the manager
We rarely have any problems but there is a core of about 20 who have volunteered 5 years or more so know the place like the back of our hands

It wasn't clear to me from your original post what the organisation was, That rather changes things that it is a hospice.

My friend volunteers for a charity where they store sensitive information and have vulnerable clients so ofcourse any volunteers have to be vetted and have disclosures etc. They also run induction courses and it's a serious process.

Our community garden is far less prescriptive and any vulnerable groups are brought by paid staff; children by parents, carers or teachers.

These organisations are large and have recruitment days and stalls at volunteer recruitment days.

Our charity is registered with the county volunteer bureau too and the job centre who are supposed to promote us and send likely candidates

Large organisations must have their own strategies for recruiting volunteers. I'm in charge of it in a much smaller way in the library I volunteer with. It's usually people with a shared interest, word of mouth etc. I hold meetings from time to time so everyone can express their views, come up with ideas and generally be proactive in running things. There is always an ebb and flow of helpers with a core group who remain through thick and thin.