Designing Your Volunteer Program

Different types of volunteering for different campaign needs

Before you begin recruiting volunteers, take time to reflect on the types of volunteering your campaign needs. Being clear about where you need support will help you search more effectively within your own network or through the different communication efforts you undertake to recruit volunteers. Try to answer the following questions:

How many volunteers do I need, and for which activities or roles?
What tasks will they carry out? Are they recurrent or punctual?
Are there any requirements to become a volunteer?
How much time will a volunteer need to invest?
What level of commitment is required?

In addition, it is important to understand that there is not just one type of volunteering. For greater clarity, you can divide volunteers into two main groups:

Core Team Volunteers

In practical terms, these individuals will form part of your campaign’s “organisational chart.” They will work with you throughout the entire campaign period, usually taking responsibility for a specific area and making decisions alongside you. They are the people with the highest level of commitment, trust, responsibility, and time to support you.

Many people believe that if they do not have the resources to pay salaries, they cannot assign responsibilities and make people accountable – and this often results in a candidate carrying the campaign on her shoulders, supported by a group of volunteers limited to operational tasks without greater responsibility. It is essential to understand that there are roles with a high level of responsibility that can be carried out by committed volunteers, that is a regular practice in grassroots campaigns even in the US. For example: electoral administrator, campaign manager, or similar positions.

Task-Based Volunteers

These are people who want to support the campaign in some way without taking on a “position” or a major responsibility. They are not involved in campaign strategy, and their forms of support are very diverse, depending on their available time and level of commitment. Below are some examples of task-based volunteering:

Social Media Mobilisers

These are individuals who can support the campaign without leaving their homes by sharing materials you send them on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and other platforms.

Tip: You can send these volunteers different challenges each week, such as: “Share this post at 8:00 pm on Sunday.”

You can also create a materials kit they can use whenever they want to promote the campaign, such as social media cover images, a frame for their profile photo, or graphics featuring the candidate’s proposals.

Community Meeting Organiser

These volunteers will be responsible for contacting a group of friends and acquaintances and securing a minimum number of participants so that the candidate can present her proposals and answer questions.

Try to have these volunteers work in pairs to help maintain motivation. It is also helpful to create a visual graphic featuring the photo or name of the volunteers to encourage their friends to attend the meeting.

Example: “Marina and Bruno invite you to a conversation with Lia, candidate for the Congress.”

Support for One-Off Events

If you organise an event, volunteers can assist on the day in very specific ways.

For example: collecting chairs from one location and transporting them to the event venue; staying at the entrance to distribute hand sanitiser; and registering the names and contact details of all attendees.

Leaflet Distribution in the Streets

When you plan to distribute leaflets in a specific area of the city, you can mobilise people who live in that neighbourhood to take part in the activity. These volunteers will help distribute materials and explain the candidate’s main proposals – always following all relevant public health precautions.

Distribution of Materials to Personal Networks

Some people do not feel comfortable going out into the streets to distribute campaign materials to strangers, but there are other effective ways to share them: at their workplace, with neighbours, with family members, and within their personal circles. The idea is for these volunteers to always carry campaign materials with them so they can hand them out to people they know.

Tip: You can prepare a kit with leaflets, buttons, or stickers and give it to these volunteers, or leave the kits at a designated pick-up point.

Specific Skills

At times, you will need people for very specific tasks. For example, a photographer may want to support your campaign but not have enough time to take on that responsibility throughout the entire campaign period. In this case, you can ask her to photograph two or three key events that are especially important for your campaign.

Tip: Connect these volunteers with the person responsible for the area they will support, so they can receive clear instructions and understand the next steps. Still with the photography example, it is important to explain the type of photos needed and agree on how and when the images will be delivered after the event.

A Volunteer Programme

Now that you know what you need volunteers for and the different types of activities they can support, it is time to create a volunteer plan – from recruitment to closure. Every strong volunteer programme should include these four steps: