CASE STUDY

Play it Again, Sam: Using PR Tactics to Encourage Repeat Volunteerism

A current PR-related problem that non-profit PR professionals face is a lack of knowledge about using PR

tactics to encourage repeat volunteering. We need to demonstrate the need for a change in philosophy

and action by writing a case study about how to evaluate and implement PR tactics to encourage repeat

volunteerism.

Objectives:

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Establish PR methods for encourage repeat volunteerism

• Implement previously identified PR tactics to encourage repeat volunteerism

• Identify and target the best/right target audience based on organizational needs

Summary:

Sally works for Community Build, a medium-sized, non-profit homebuilder in a small state as the PR

Director and Volunteer Coordinator. Community Build targets low- to moderate income families in its

county and relies on a source of volunteer labor to do much of the work. (Professionals like plumbers

and roofers handle some specific jobs.) The organization recently decided to double its homebuilding

efforts from eight to 16 homes annually, thereby making a greater impact in the community. The

organization only plans on increasing its budget enough to cover the expenses of the extra tradesmen

needed for the additional eight houses per year.

Sally was tasked with increasing the amount of volunteers on the construction site to help with the

additional homebuilding efforts. Sally drafted a press release detailing Community Build’s new plans as

well as a short bio about a new prospective homeowner. She shared the details with her boss and the

Family Services Coordinator to ensure all of her details were correct. After getting the green light from

her colleagues she distributed the press release to every news outlet on her distribution list.

She then added an abbreviated version to her bi-weekly e-newsletter and her quarterly print newsletter.

In January 2009 she utilized the database to cull 3,000 names to send the newsletter to. Sally appealed

to several corporations whose volunteers had stopped coming out to volunteer. At that time, Sally also

sent a letter to many of the construction companies listed in the yellow pages asking if they would

consider a group build day.

Six months passed and Sally’s boss called her into his office to update her on the information he has

been given from the Construction Manager. Sally’s boss said building on the first eight houses was

completed on time with the help of hundreds of volunteers. However, because volunteer sign up on the

construction schedule has been so light for phase two of the project, the last eight houses will not be

completed before year’s end. Sally then reviewed with her boss all of the efforts she has undertaken to

get the word out about the need for more volunteers on site. He realized Sally forgot one key element in

her plan to help increase repeat volunteers.

Questions:

1. Looking at Sally’s overall plan, what element(s) of her PR outreach efforts, if any, would you have

changed? Why?

2. What other factors may have affected Sally’s outcome?

3. What, if any additional resources, could Sally have utilized?