Citizen Works - Tools for Organizing

The recruitment process has two distinct phases. Initially (and ideally in the first two weeks of the semester), you must recruit a core group of passionate volunteers that can work to set goals, outreach, and develop campaigns. Through the work of this team will come new recruits, new leadership, and the manpower to meet your goals and to launch and successfully carry out your group's campaigns.

Recruiting your initial volunteer base will demand that you and your friends enthusiastically and personally spread the word about your organization to as many students as possible. Try not to limit yourself to a preconceived notion of your core constituency. Spreading a concrete message of your group may awaken a diverse pool of interest from people you would not have thought shared your common interest.

Focus on where support is likely to be strongest--for example, the membership (and leadership) of other progressive groups, or your classmates in courses that address issues like poverty, labor history, racial justice, or environmental activism. Many professors will allow you to take a few minutes of class time to make announcements if you ask beforehand.

Students are busy and have a lot of demands on their time. You have to compel them to pay attention - and some techniques are more effective than others. The more human and personal the interaction, the better chance you have that someone will join your effort - and that you will win.

You will want to use all of these techniques, but keep in mind their (approximate) order of effectiveness:

Often it takes a combination of three or four of these methods to convince someone to come to a rally or meeting.

To fight through the cacophony of posters and fliers on your campus you may need to put up hundreds (or even thousands) of sheets to get your message out. Follow the rules of your school, but don't be afraid to blanket the campus.

Activate your volunteers! ->