The Fine Art of Volunteer Recruitment
Working with volunteers is more of an art than a science. It takes patience, creativity, and a whole lot of determination. We see all of the above in Jackie Goldberger.
For Jackie, a volunteer “area coordinator” for the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party and volunteer coordinator for Indivisible Charlotte, working with volunteers is a passion. And finding new volunteers is a never-ending quest.
Getting someone to attend a political event is one thing. Turning someone into a volunteer is another. To move people from dropping in to staying and working, Jackie uses creative tactics. At a recent “Volunteer Job Fair,” she designed a “passport” to encourage drop-ins to dig in. While candidates spoke, people went from table to table, learning about canvassing, phone banking, postcarding, and other volunteer work. To make sure everyone got to every table, Jackie gave each attendee an index card. At each table they received a sticker. A completed “passport” earned the attendee an Indivisible Charlotte baseball cap. Now that’s using your head.
Jackie recently planned another event -- “Postcards and More.” Jackie’s “more” showed her to be an experienced hand who knows how to leverage volunteer interest. For this event she ordered 54,000 postcards from Postcards to Swing States. She had tables all over with postcarders happily chatting and scribbling away. And what about the men on hand? Knowing that some don’t enjoy writing postcards, Jackie had campaign signs for them to assemble. Interspersed with speeches by several candidates, Jackie had musical interludes where volunteers got up and danced. And in closing, Jackie gave everyone more postcards to take home and share.
Postcards, Jackie says, are a way of bringing everyone onboard, from 80 year-olds who can no longer knock on doors, to active volunteers who combine postcarding with phone banking and door-knocking. At a recent canvass out of Jackie’s house, where everyone was focused on defeating Republican incumbent Trisha Cotham, Jackie invited some to write postcards while others knocked on doors. When canvassers came back after their shift they hung out with the postcarders, regaling them with stories about their adventures.
This kind of sharing breaks down barriers and makes phone banking and canvassing a social norm within the volunteer group. As the volunteer community grows, some may begin to take on other forms of voter contact.
“No one is ramming canvassing down their throat,” Jackie states. When she used to cold call people to canvass, most were reticent. The way Jackie does it now, people believe that it was their own idea to step up and do something more with friends
Jackie’s biggest frustration is with people who RSVP for events and then don’t show up. At a recent town hall for the primary in Trisha Cotham’s district, 189 people signed up. Accordingly, Jackie rented a hall for $500. But only 90 people showed up. That was $500 she didn’t need to spend. Furthermore, only half of the attendees had actually RSVP’d. The remaining people were walk-ins. Jackie understands that this happens and never lets it deter her.
Recruiting and caring for volunteers is no easy job, but Jackie is one of those special people who finds it rewarding. “I live to do this,” she says. And she adds, “I’ve made all my friends in Charlotte by doing this work.”
I live in Mecklenburg County and attended the volunteer fair and one of Jackie's postcarding parties. Lots of energy!
The GOP redrew Tricia Cotham's district to be a lot redder, but (as you would expect) average voters were clueless about the changes. That was until all the early canvassing by Nicole Sidman and the Meck Dems volunteers. The canvassers made sure everyone they talked with was aware of the impact of giving the GOP a veto-proof supermajority in the legislature - all due to Tricia's betrayal of her voters. The GOP's attacks on reproductive rights and public education are NOT in line with the voters in Mecklenburg County.
This is very inspiring! Well done, Jackie!