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107 Building Up Your Volunteer Base

Learn how to attract, keep, and renew volunteers for your PTA organization. Discover strategies for engaging new and diverse volunteers, as well as best practices for volunteer management and overcoming potential problems. Get valuable resources and advice to help strengthen your volunteer base.

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107 Building Up Your Volunteer Base

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  1. 107 Building Up Your Volunteer Base Ninth District PTA Summer Leadership Conference June 4, 2011 Jennifer Zaheer, Ninth District PTA, VP of Education & Parent Involvement jen.zaheer@gmail.com

  2. Volunteers: You Need Them • Volunteers are the heart of PTA • Everyone here today is a volunteer so can pull from their own experiences—AND SHOULD! • Today we'll talk about attracting, keeping and renewing our volunteership for PTA • Q&A to follow, use index cards

  3. A Changing Demographic • Volunteers for the 21st century: “This is NOT your mother's PTA!” • Gather your PTA volunteers from more than one source—if it's “been done before,” try something new • Not all PTA events are suited to this purpose—there are many ways to get more volunteers from “new “ areas.

  4. How to Attract Volunteers • Rare breeds: Two-parent working families, males, grandparents, caregivers (other than parents), minorities, the “uninvolved” • All of these are attractable: Key is to find out HOW! • All-school events, those not held on weekdays, during the day, newsletter/website media, PTA membership & volunteer opportunity table at registration and events, parent survey • Use your community partnerships • INCREASE YOUR MEMBERSHIP!

  5. Best Practices: Attraction • Elementary School: new parent/kindergarten orientation, back-to-school nights, family events, room parent volunteers, program nights, school tours for new parents, Connect Ed • Middle School: bridge from elementary, registration, back-to-school night, school-sponsored events, end of year activities, parent-teacher liaison, Parent Ed workshops • High School: registration, student clubs, counselors, Parent Ed (eg: college readiness)

  6. Volunteer Attainment • Volunteers do not work for YOU: they work for your children! • How easy is your board to work with? • Resolve conflict fairly and quickly—as a PTA leader, mediate and delegate, do not dramatize! • TRAIN your volunteers well through in-services, convention and web seminars • Invite them back for next year, next event, next week • Celebrate your successes and show APPRECIATION!

  7. Potential Problems & Resolutions: Best Practices • Governance Standards, Volunteer Moral Conduct Code • Overworked and Underpaid? Give your volunteers a well-focused goal, celebrate success! • Stale energy: tired of same-ol', same-ol'? Consider new ideas, invite them in! • Don't work well with others? Consider activities that can be accomplished alone. • Overachiever? COMMITTEE TIME!

  8. Recognize potential leaders Training training training Parents are usually willing to re-up their time spent, just need a reason Welcomed volunteers invite OTHER volunteers Recruit the WILLING Talk up your PTA, don't DOWNGRADE it to others Keep your business meetings short, to the point Bad news travels fast Get your administrator and your district in your corner Volunteer Renewal

  9. Constant Volunteer Overturn: Bad or Good? Depends on the REASON • Give your volunteers a reason to return • Use your best practices and resources—then EVALUATE • Have recurring problems? Use your councils and district officers for help in training your volunteers! • Be organized—use your parent culture to fill their needs • It's ok to “plaque & release”

  10. Volunteer Software & Sites: • Just Between Friends: National PTA sponsored, free • Helpcounter.net, Vertical Response & Constant Contact: monthly fees • Google Docs Survey toolbar: free, limited capabilities • Big Tent: free • VolunteerSpot & Wufoo: free to sign up, like SurveyMonkey, extended services cost money

  11. PTA Parent Resources: WRITE THEM DOWN!!! • www.ninthdistrictpta.org (The Observer) • www.capta.org (The Communicator) • www.pta.org (Topics, Idea Banks) • Your own experiences, your council and district officers, your predecessors

  12. Q&A Valuable is the work you do. Outstanding is how you always come through. Loyal, sincere and full of good cheer, Untiring in your efforts throughout the year…. Notable are the contributions you make. Trustworthy in every project you take. Eager to reach your every goal. Effective in the way you fulfill your role. Ready with a smile like a shining star, Special and wonderful—that’s what you are. --- Author Unknown

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