How to Hit All the Right Notes Working with Volunteers

There is a plague of civic busy work in many of our communities. Many organizations sign on to the all too common assessment that people in their community are simply uninterested and disengaged. That’s the easiest way to avoid considering that your organization might instead be failing to reach volunteers and to connect with them through meaningful work.

The truth is that competition for good volunteers in a healthy community can be fierce. Part of that competition is explained by scarcity (some people are actually not interested) but part of it is about the quality of the opportunities available. In a city like Austin, there are at least as many opportunities to “give back” as there are men, women, children, dogs and cats. And this is a city that loves its pets! An organization’s ability to retain good voluntees can make all the difference when powering up for a big event and one Austin organization has amplified their reach through their volunteers.

For each of the last ten years, the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians has pulled off an event best described as a small city-wide music festival, HAAM Benefit Day. In one long day, the organization, its volunteers and local musicans work together to provide over 200 musical performances staffed by volunteer “HAAMbassadors” who educate local residents about the organization’s work. When the collection boxes roll in at the end of the event, the whole crew hopes to have raised a third of HAAM’s annual budget. This single day event is a big deal and would never happen without HAAM’s many repeat volunteers. The organization’s Special Events Coordinator, Brandi Kinslow, worries like any other volunteer coordinator about “making her numbers” and having all the spots covered when the day comes. She would be sunk without enough volunteers each September but she benefits from an investment she makes possible for the organization all year long. She stays in a conversation with HAAM volunteers communicating how much good work their time has made possible and showing them how much the organization depends on them.

That magic has earned HAAM many encore performances from a large crew of repeat volunteers.

This September 1st, I showed up for my fourth HAAM Benefit Day with shifts scheduled from 10AM to 7PM. Brandi had made a plea for everyone to pick up any shifts that were still open so I did. I also gave myself the extra task of capturing and sharing what it is about volunteering for HAAM that works to keep so many of us coming back each year. And picking up those extra shifts!

Here’s their set list for chart topping success…

Understanding Volunteers as Assets, not Resources

Too often organizations recruit an army of volunteers for a single event and then overlook how to maintain those relationships from one event to the next. Recruitment begins again for each new event. This assigns your volunteer base to the resources list of event planning. Resources are gathered, depleted and gathered again.

Instead of resources, HAAM treats their volunteers like shareholders. A regular “HAAM Supporter Newsletter” makes it possible to follow what the organization accomplishes all year long. This includes additional live music events but also updates on the health, dental and vision services being provided as a result of those successful events. As a HAAM Supporter, I also receive their annual financial report as though the time I’ve contributed is as valuable to them as the money others have donated. That the organization transforms every single dollar raised into seven dollars in services provided is more than a magic mantra when you can trace the dollars you helped raise to the healthcare local musicians receive.

While resources often dry up, assets appreciate. When volunteers receive regular reminders that their contributions matter, they are willing to volunteer again and to do even more the next time. Future events benefit with a “carry-over” from successful previous events and that carry-over helps HAAM multiply their volunteer hours. It’s not just a question of telling your volunteers that their time makes a difference. It’s about showing them that it does.

At this year’s volunteer orientation, Brandi introduced all of the staff members present, explaining what they each had done to make this year’s HAAM Benefit Day possible. As she talked about how much the event had grown this year, she stretched out her arms to say that all the volunteers were an essential part of the HAAM team too. Volunteers made it possible for the team to take on additional venues and to boldly increase their fundraising goal.

HAAM Executive Director, Reenie Collins, then stepped into the center of the room to add that they understood their volunteers had not necessarily been able to sign up for their favorite location or to hear their favorite band play that day. She had an excellent example too. This year 67 McDonald’s locations signed up to participate and host musical performances. Brandi shared that asking musicians to play at McDonald’s at lunch time usually led to some awkward pauses and a bit of muttering. But, everyone, musicians and volunteers alike, eagerly sang a different tune after learning that these franchises were donating 10% of their lunchtime sales to HAAM.

Shared throughout the year, these reminders of the organization’s mission and efficacy add up and shift the focus from offering opportunities to contribute a few hours to cultivating a network of committed volunteers.

Creating a Space where Volunteers Feel Like They Belong

At venues across the city on HAAM Benefit Day, HAAM volunteers arrive for their shift, introduce themselves to one another and then start comparing notes. These volunteers have a shared experience in previous shifts and past years. Talking about other venues worked, performances assisted and even favorite local acts more generally, HAAM volunteers have their own sort of warm-up before the day’s performances get started.

HAAM makes it possible for volunteers to feel like they’re plugged into the city’s music scene without ever having to lug a heavy amp through the back door. Volunteers who have been watching the same organization for a few years or even a couple of months can share their enthusiasm about previous successes like the Corporate Battle of the Bands or the All ATX Show at ACL Live. As musicians arrive, they carry in their own moving testimonials about what HAAM has made possible for them. From something as simple as custom-fit ear plugs for gigs to assistance through terrifying diagnoses, the musicians often thank the HAAM volunteers onsite as though they made those services available themselves.

The emphasis on this good work loses no ground when all the attention turns to simply having a good time. Warren Hood played the last set at the Whole Foods where I was assigned. For a brief moment, everything seemed to stop. No shopping. No asking for spare change. Just enjoying an incredible performance in a place where people usually buzz in to grab something for lunch and buzz out again without breaking their pace. HAAMbassadors exchanged big smiles, shoppers leaned into those exchanges to ask for the musician’s name and everyone shared a moment where the importance of live music (and healthy musicians) was tangible. As those last sets came to a close, many HAAMbassadors headed to the main Whole Foods downtown where the party started very early (6AM) and would run all night. The people who love HAAM Benefit Day the most know it is also a big citywide celebration and that having fun is part of their assignment.

Shared work that is equal parts a good cause and good fun is a powerful proposition. An organization that makes volunteers feel like part of the team making all of that possible has more than a network of supporters. They have an amplified signal that helps them grow. They can reach more musicians to help, contact more contributors with donations and connect with more volunteers willing to give their time too.

Making it Matter

When HAAM volunteers wrap up each shift, they count up the money they collected. At some locations, the amounts are remarkable. Other locations, of course, are slower. It’s easy to focus on that bottom line. If you tell me how much I raised, I can tell you whether or not it was worth my time. But HAAM doesn’t rely on the money to make the experience matter.

HAAMbassadors are equipped to tell the story of the organization. They have the fact sheets to share dollars raised, dollars spent, services provided and musicians supported. They talk with curious community members about how difficult it is for musicians to cover medical expenses and to get the help many Austinites are fortunate enough to take for granted. In those moments, HAAMbassadors become the voice for local musicans and a beacon for community members who want to support live music in their city. They create an opportunity for passers-by to consider what it takes to have so much music available around us that no one thinks it’s weird to see a live show in the grocery store. HAAM Benefit day and HAAMbassadors make it possible to see that this cherished attribute of the city comes at a cost, either by way of fans contributing what they can or by way of our musicians suffering what they can endure and still perform.

There is no denying that HAAMbassadors are fundraisers. But they are also asked to represent a cause with the data and the stories that help everyone see that it isn’t just about the cash at the bottom of the box. It’s about what that money makes possible for all of us in Austin — musicians, fans and good people concerned for one another.

I have just cancelled my participation in another big local event. I believe in that cause too and would invite you to attend the event if I knew you would be in town for it. The truth is that something better came up.

And here’s how that works…

I volunteered for this organization last year and never got the feeling that anyone onsite (or off) knew my name. They asked me for it so they could keep track of my attendance and direct me to my assignment. Then I was just a question of allocation. My shift was also cut short that day when a group of high school students showed up needing to be allocated in a seemingly unexpected number or at an unscheduled time. It was hard to drive home without thinking that my time had little impact on anything that happened that day and held little value with event coordinators. When I had a better offer for that same weekend this year, I sent an email expressing my regret to a generic festival address. That was the only contact information I had been provided, and I never received a response. I’m going to enjoy my weekend away with little regret over backing out.

HAAM Benefit Day 2016, however, will be booked, blocked and time protected as soon as they share the date. I wouldn’t miss it!