Strong team members, volunteers, and community support make Ventures possible. It’s important to keep current members engaged and recruit new people to keep the Venture going strong.
Recruiting new members:
- Make recruiting a priority. Decide on a point person for recruiting members and volunteers. His/Her approach should be friendly and welcoming. He/She should also understand your Venture and be able to easily talk about what you do.
- Use current members. All existing members can help spread the word about recruitment. Invite classmates, friends, or family members who might be interested to get involved.
- Advertise regularly. Publicize your project at school, conferences, public places, community events, and on the Internet.
- Network. When you meet new people, engage them in conversation and tell them about the work you do with your Venture. Invite them to contact you if they are interested in receiving updates or in coming to a meeting.
Maintaining membership:
- Create informational media. By creating a newsletter, website, or blog, you can keep members updated on your events and sustain their interest.
- Socialize. Organize special social events to have newcomers and longer-term members meet, talk to each other, and have fun. If members like each other, they’ll be more likely to stay involved.
- Offer opportunities. People lose interest when they aren’t being used to the best of their abilities. Offer members the opportunity to become officers of your Venture or to lead a committee. By giving responsibilities to members, the team will make them feel needed and involved, and prevent burn-out by spreading out the work among many people.
More YV Tip Sheets
"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is a process; working together is success."
-Henry Ford
© Youth Venture, 2007. All rights reserved.
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