Invitation & Recruitment

Setting Expectations with Potential Volunteers

This stage is all about open and honest communication. Think of it as the ‘dating’ phase of the Volunteer Journey—both AFS and the potential volunteer are exploring whether this is the right fit. At this point, the investment on both sides has been minimal in terms of time, effort, and resources, making it easy for either party to walk away.

The Invitation should be a structured yet welcoming conversation where potential volunteers can ask more in-depth and personalized questions about available roles, time commitments and development opportunities.

The goal of this stage is to gather enough information to make an informed decision about moving forward to the Commitment Stage or deciding to step away. Ensuring transparent and open communication will ensure both sides feel confident in their decision!

Questions for Analysis

Use these questions to assess how well you are guiding potential volunteers through the invitation and recruitment stage:

✦ How well do AFS’s expectations for volunteers align across the National and Local levels?

✦ Have you identified the key needs and opportunities within your chapters?

✦ How do you present opportunities to potential volunteers?

✦ How do you assess whether a potential volunteer’s skills and interests align with the chapter’s needs?

Setting Expectations for Both Sides

Ensure they get the full picture of what volunteering with AFS involves, including the opportunities available and the level of commitment required.
Let them know what kind of guidance, training, and mentorship they can expect from AFS.
Local recruitment is most effective when chapters are engaged early in the process. Provide opportunities for them to connect and determine if they are a good fit for the local context.

Facilitating Meaningful Conversations

Choose an appropriate setting for face-to-face or virtual invitation meetings—one that fosters open dialogue and a sense of connection.
Decide who will lead these conversations—staff members, key volunteers, or a combination of both.
Develop a structured list of questions to understand a volunteer’s motivations, interests, and expectations.
Tailor questions and shared experiences based on different volunteer motivation profiles to ensure a personalized and engaging discussion.

Staying Connected and Maintaining Momentum

Targeted Actions for Volunteer Motivation

Make sure your recruitment targets all Motivational Profiles:

Aligning expectations to see if the organization and the volunteer align well

Setting Expectations with Potential Volunteers

Questions for Analysis

✦ How well do AFS’s expectations for volunteers align across the National and Local levels?

✦ Have you identified the key needs and opportunities within your chapters?

✦ How do you present opportunities to potential volunteers?

✦ How do you assess whether a potential volunteer’s skills and interests align with the chapter’s needs?

Focus On: Building Strong Connections

Setting Expectations for Both Sides

Facilitating Meaningful Conversations

Staying Connected and Maintaining Momentum

Targeted Actions for Volunteer Motivation

📋 Task Achievement

Highlight how they can take ownership of tasks and roles and make a specific activity or project successful.

🏅 Self-Rewarding

Invite them to a local event, where they can directly see the impact of AFS on participants and families.

🔧 Skills Development

Prepare an info doc with an overview of the different training opportunities.

♥️ Relational

Invite them to a local event, where they can get to know the volunteer group.

📣 Impact & Influence

Showcase roles that allow volunteers to contribute to the development of AFS.

The following Stages of Engagement:

Commitment

Induction