Thwarted enthusiasm
Imagine a young person watching the news and seeing horrific images of a human tragedy somewhere far away or right on his doorstep. The indignation he feels is so great that he decides to do something about it. He wants to help. Make a difference. At school he had already come across a poster from an NGO and it looked pretty cool. In all his enthusiasm, he sends an email. The NGO puts him in touch with the local group. He plucks up his courage, emails them and, after a while, gets a reply that seems to have been typed by his grandfather, inviting him to the next meeting.
The meeting is in a room behind the pub on the corner and smells a bit musty. Our enthusiast, the youngest by twenty years, quietly joins the table and first listens to something complicated about statutes, then the chair gets angry about a question from the head office in Brussels, after which they start planning the spaghetti dinner in three months’ time. And after that, there is little chance they will see him appear again, either in their inbox or at a meeting.
From head office, based on the figures, you might conclude that young people no longer want to volunteer. But that is flawed logic; it is not that simple. The motivation is there, so is the indignation, and the desire to roll up their sleeves certainly is too. They are there, the young people, but you will have to engage them in a different way.
A parallel story
Local volunteer groups are typically organised in a classic, hierarchical way. There is a chair, secretary, treasurer, … and in the average organisation the average age will be around sixty. For twenty years, this group has shown its commitment in a certain way, all with the very best intentions, but also very set in its ways. Sometimes the chair has secretly wanted to stop for ten years already, which is why they have become a bit embittered. They would like to pass on the torch, but they do not find any candidate good enough. Unfortunately, that tendency towards bitterness or rigid self-preservation drives away new people and ideas.
In a number of organisations, youth groups do get started, but it is really important that you allow new volunteers to start up almost in a parallel system. You should not induct the enthusiast from earlier into the meeting structure of 65-year-olds. That is bound to clash and also feels to the old guard like criticism of the valuable work they have been doing for years.
How can you find young people (and keep them!)
Step 1: Do not invite them to that dull meeting
Step 2: Go and do something, close to home, one-off and limited in scope and time. And make absolutely sure it is fun. If you cannot organise it smoothly and enjoyably, ask the young person again at a later moment. Better to do it well than quickly, and nobody wants hassle in their free time. At the end of the activity, once the task is completed, make a point of thanking them. The feeling of having made an impact is super important. And if it feels right, go for a drink afterwards to give that young connection some room to grow.
Step 3: After repeating step 2 a few times, you might be able to ask for a little more.
Step 4: Now you might be able to propose a recurring task, such as writing a monthly article. Something the young person is responsible for themselves.
Step 5: Only now do you move beyond clearly defined tasks. You let them help think about the organisation and what it needs. That takes a while, but if you do it well, it is a realistic outcome. In this way, the young person can grow in their own commitment, eventually bring friends along and become an ambassador.
If you remember one thing
Okay, it is more than one thing. But these tips are really important:
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Do not respond to questions from young people with a standard email template
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If at all possible, pick up your phone. Calling is the best way to make contact and build on that enthusiasm.
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At the end of every task or contact moment, make sure the next one has already been agreed or set in motion. So do not leave any loose ends.
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Make sure it is enjoyable. Think carefully about who you pair a volunteer with.
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If you cannot do it well, do it at a later moment.
There is absolutely a future for local volunteer groups; that local anchoring remains important, and local visibility, recruitment, involvement and community building are of inestimable value. But it may happen in a different way. Locally, you can make the volunteer’s experience more personal; it can be a shared story that lives at the school gate or in the neighbourhood. People like working together at neighbourhood level, rather than communicating with a mega-organisation that speaks in automated email flows. So, local remains the way to go, but with an update and extra care for young people.
