Merrill Associates

With the United States presidential election rapidly approaching we thought it might be interesting to see how our candidates are using technology for volunteer recruitment. We know that political campaigns are very dependent on passionate, active volunteers who are willing to give a few hours or a few months in the service of their favorite candidate. Georgean Johnson Coffey offered to be our"volunteer analyst" and set off to review the cyber world of political volunteerism to see what we in the volunteer management profession can learn from this Internet approach to volunteer recruitment.
Georgean Johnson Coffey

All of the major presidential campaigns have websites and all depend heavilyon volunteers. From a volunteer management perspective I wanted to see how the campaigns were approaching volunteer recruitment and how effective their approaches seemed to be.

Based on good volunteer management practices, we know that when placing volunteers key pieces of information, such as name, address, phone, availability, skills, areas of interest, etc., are needed from them in order to match them to anappropriate position. We also know that people searching the web look for easily accessible information. So, I wondered how easy it would be to find the volunteer information on the candidate's sites? Is this information on the main page or is it buried? How many clicks does it take to sign-up to volunteer?

I viewed the major presidential candidate sites, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Republican, and Reform parties. I assessed the sites on how easy it was to sign up to volunteer and examined how much information was asked of potentialvolunteers to best match them to a task or job.

I would like to note that information on websites changes daily, if nothourly. This assessment is based on my visiting these sites during the middle of September. How well these presidential web sites were organized to effectivelyengage volunteers, at the time I viewed them, varied greatly.

The Democratic, Gore/Lieberman site ("http://www.algore.com")has a "Get Involved" button halfway down the page on the left-hand side that connected to the "Gore 2000 Get Involved" page. The first couple of lines of text on this page link you to a sign up site. (http://www.algore.com/getinvolved/volunteer.html. (This "Get Involved" page is designed to attract the internet volunteer, with language like: "On-line Activist Kit," "2000 Internet Team," and "Open Source."  The comments on the bottom half of the page regarding the involvement of the Open Source movement is very interesting. This is an active movement of on-line program development that involves volunteers in a virtual teamwork atmosphere. Comments on this page indicate that many of the elements of the evolving web site have been suggested and created through these virtual volunteers. A very interesting connection to the younger, online culture. - editor)

This page asked potential volunteers to give basic contact information,name, address and phone, etc. It also asked what type of work someone might want to do, such as: work at local headquarters, write letters, and organize on-line activities. There was also an optional section asking for more information, "I am a student, retiree," etc.

A volunteer button can be found about a quarter of the way down the Republican's Bush/Cheney site (http://www.georgewbush.com). This links to the volunteer page (http://www.georgewbush.com/Volunteer.asp). The only information asked was basic information: name, address, phone, etc.

Harry Browne, Libertarian candidate for president (http://www.HarryBrowne2000.org) has a button halfway down his home page with the catchy title of "Volunteer Scene." This brings seekers to a page with information that no other candidates page contained -- volunteer recognition. Listed were "Volunteers of the Week," profiling volunteers of the campaign. There was also a link to volunteer photos.

To recruit volunteers, after asking for the usual basic information, Browne's site asked "Yes" and "No" questions of potential volunteers including, "I prefer to work alone" or "I have experience with database software" or "I am willing to walk door to door." There was also a narrative comments section for potential volunteers to add any additional information.

The fractured Reform party has two sites. On John Hagelin's site (http://www.hagelin.org) I saw no information as to how an individual could volunteer. This site was the least satisfactory for effective volunteer recruitment.

(There is a link for volunteering http://www.hagelin.org/dosomething.htm which may not have been available when the article was researched. -ed.)

The other Reform party site Buchanan/Foster (http://www.Buchanan reform.com) had a "Volunteer" button on the main page. This connected with a "Volunteer Your Time" page (http://www.buchananreform.com/volunteer/default.htm). After asking basic information, there was a short checklist asking what a potential volunteer is interested in doing such as, "recruiting friends," "making phone calls," or "helping where most needed."

By far, the best site was Ralph Nader's Green Party. The Nader/LaDuke (http://www.votenader.com) has a "Volunteer" button right under the title on the home page in a pretty visible position. This connected to a "How You Can Help" page (http://www.votenader.com/volunteer.html). In comparison to the other presidential sites and from a volunteer management perspective, this site asked a volunteer for the mostcomplete information. In addition to the basic information, the site asked how an individual would like to assist.

This section was divided into major categories with a checklist of smaller tasks. For example, the Direct Support categories had tasks such as "I'll help with mailings" or "I'll drive voters to work on election day." The Publicity category listed such tasks as "I'll call talk radio programs" or "I'll put a bumper sticker on my car, van or truck."

The Nader/LaDuke site also asked potential volunteer how many hours they could work each week and what times they were available. In addition, there was a narrative section where individuals could describe their skills.

From a volunteer management perspective, these sites offer us a varietyof practices for the effective engagement of volunteers. Some did not ask potential volunteers a great deal of information while others asked quite a bit. Asking the correct information of a potential volunteer, whether in person or on theInternet, is key for successful recruitment and placement of volunteers. The Internet and web site pages can be an efficient recruitment tool if, as in off-line life, effective practices are in place.

If you are currently recruiting through a web site or are considering recruitment via the Internet, visiting the presidential candidates' websites may give you thoughts and ideas for designing your cyber recruitment campaign. They offer a range of ideas and I suspect a range of effectiveness. One thing is clear from all the sites, volunteer recruitment through the Internet is truly a partof the new frontier in volunteer management.

Georgean has a keen interest in politics and combined this with her experience in volunteer management to write this article. She is a trainer and consultant in the areas of nonprofit management and volunteer involvement. With more than 20 years experience in these fields, she served as the Manager of Volunteer Services at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN, where she led a program of 500 volunteers. She has held management positions at Lutheran Homes, Inc. and St. Joseph hospital in Fort Wayne, as well as other area social service agencies.

Georgean C. Johnson-Coffey, M.Ed.
Nonprofit Management and Volunteer Involvement Consulting
PO Box 15118
Fort Wayne IN 46885-5118 USA
PH: 219-485-9081
FAX: 219-485-5847
E-mail: georgeanjc@aol.com