Volunteers are an essential part of the setup of a grassroots football club.
Clubs generally struggle to find new volunteers and also retain them, once they have started helping out.
Here are a few suggestions to increase the number of volunteers at your local club.
- Develop a specific volunteer recruitment programme
A useful strategy is to decipher who you will want to target to volunteer at your club, how you will do it and when you will do it.
When you decide to do this, you need to focus on creating both an external and internal recruitment strategy.
For example, a large number of existing members, athletes and parents would love to volunteer at your club and help out for the greater good.
Implementing a program which introduces athletes into the staffing/ volunteering team at an early age may also be a useful idea.
- Partner with local community groups
Alongside introducing your own club athletes into volunteering, it’s important to also offer the opportunity to a wider group of young people through working with local community groups.
You could partner with local schools and colleges in your club’s catchment area, or work outside your area and try to identify local and national partners.
- Create defined job responsibilities for volunteers
Although it is unpaid, volunteering is still a form of work.
This means you must ensure your volunteers have clear responsibilities and that they understand what these exactly are.
If potential volunteers know from the beginning what being a volunteer actually entails (eg. How many hours they’ll be required to work, which days and what tasks they’ll be completing) – they will be more likely to stick around with the club.
However, if they are caught off guard and are suddenly required to volunteer for more hours than they expected, or complete jobs that they didn’t sign up for, they might not stick around with the club for much longer.
This is an easy step that only requires a small amount of planning time. It may sound quite obvious, but it’s one that can’t be forgotten.
- Identify exactly what you need volunteers for
This may include volunteers for the club canteen or security marshalling – and it may be just for one-off events. You may also need volunteers to be a permanent fixture in your club’s team structure.
Once you have sorted out what is necessary, it will be easier for your club to recruit and retain these people.
Often, a volunteer’s role is viewed as some sort of sports-specific help – like assisting with running training sessions or clinics.
However, there are many other roles and areas they can help with too, such as maintaining the clubrooms, being treasurer, advising the board and joining the fundraising committee.
- Ensure volunteers feel included as a part of the broader team
It is also paramount that volunteers are well respected for the contribution they provide for the club.
Their assistance is a vital factor towards the goals of a local club and they can achieve those goals at a much faster rate as a group.
One way to make them feel valued is to make sure they are shown appreciation by high level members at the club – ensuring that they know the club is grateful for their efforts.
- Produce marketing and advertising material that attracts volunteers
Finally, make sure to outline the benefits that your club offers to volunteers through creative marketing material that should attract people. Therefore, potential volunteers are instantly aware of what they will get out of the experience.
A communication plan must be set up, for example – this may include leaflets and posters that advertise your volunteering opportunities. Leaflets could be used for internal recruitment – given to athletes and parents at the club.
With posters used for external recruitment – put up across local community streets and hubs.
Digital marketing – such as posting success stories of volunteers on your website or social media profiles, is also a smart initiative to bring new people into the club.
It’s an essential practice to make use of these online communities on social media to spread the word about your club and your volunteering schemes.
In conclusion, volunteers bring a whole range of benefits to your grassroots football club.
However, without following a strategy to recruit these volunteers, they will be difficult to attract and retained successfully.
For further tips and tricks – feel free to sign your club up to the Football Pro Directory business platform here.
