If volunteering since September 11 has experienced a full-scale revival, why are so many condominiums still struggling to fill boards and organize events?

The simple answer is the condominiums are not asking potential volunteers the right way, according to Thomas W. McKee, the owner of VolunteerPower.com and co-author of the upcoming book, The New Breed: Recruiting and Managing the 21st Century Volunteer.

The Bottom Line

"I think the bottom line is [posting] announcements and all that kind of stuff never works," says McKee. Instead of relying on newsletter postings, E-mail, and general announcements, McKee says what really works is one-on-one appeals.

"When one person sits down with another, when they sit down at a cafe and say, 'Hey, these are some of our needs. You're a part of this community, you're a part of the association. We could use your expertise.' Go to them individually and challenge them. And that seems to be the thing that works better than anything else," says McKee.

The personal appeal, says McKee, will work with both small and large associations, where residents may not know each other and assume that "someone else will do it."

In a larger association, McKee advises those looking to sign up volunteers to talk to their neighbors, get some names from them, talk to those referrals, and then collect additional names. "Sometimes it's the third or fourth level of a network where you're going to come up with somebody [to volunteer] and begin to build those relationships."

When a prospective volunteer says "no," McKee says, it's not the end of the world. "I always say

Flexibility Is Key

Equally as important as changing the way volunteers are asked to participate, is changing the terms of volunteering, says McKee. "The key to 21st-century volunteering is flexibility," he says.

People are volunteering more than ever these days, but McKee says they tend to volunteer for a number of organizations simultaneously. Oftentimes, they take on commitments at their church, their schools, and in their communities. The result is that even though more volunteering is going on, volunteers have less time for any one particular commitment, he says.

The best answer to this problem is to partition volunteer duties into short-term projects to make them more attractive. "People respond to short-term projects rather than long-term commitments," he says. "Prospective volunteers, like 'snowbirds' will respond positively to short-term projects rather than open-ended requests that leave prospects thinking, 'Wow, I've got to be at this meeting every Tuesday night for the next 20 years!'" says McKee.

Instead of floating a long-term commitment, McKee says it's better to say to the prospective volunteer, "We've got this party coming up, a big picnic, but it's a short-term commitment. And you can put together a team to make it happen."

A bonus of recruiting people for short-term projects is that the approach is a great way to attract and identify talent for much longer terms of service. "You may find somebody who says, 'Hey, I really like what's going on here.' You talk with them after the event and you may find a future board member," says McKee.

Allowing for flexibility in volunteering is especially important for communities that are attempting to engage retirees, who can be great volunteers under the right circumstances. "Often retired people have a lot of energy and a lot of professionalism and expertise," says McKee. "We can get retired people involved if we're willing to be flexible because they're going to be traveling and doing a lot."

Meeting the Needs of the Times

The changing nature of volunteers' ability to serve demands that condominiums change with the times also, says McKee.

"In associations, we've had rules and regulations that were written in the 1980s or even 1950s. We've got to go back and evaluate these. Rather than requiring a person be present at every single meeting, we've got to reevaluate this and recognize that the world has changed and we need to change some of the rules," he says.

Another key to finding volunteers is to find a "point person" whose specialty is roping in volunteers, says McKee. The best person, he says, is "someone who's not shy about approaching people, who's not afraid of rejection." Many times, the ideal person will have a background in sales, says McKee. Also possible is assembling a Recruitment Committee, which meets once a month to brainstorm and interview people.

But just because a condo does have a point person or recruiting committee doesn't mean that board members are off the hook, says McKee. "I think it's the responsibility of everyone on the board to be out there looking and recruiting and finding new people."

With the board and recruiters utilizing the new rules for volunteering, McKee says there's no reason condominiums should be short on volunteers. "There's a whole new breed of volunteers out there. We've got to change the rules and work with them."