Recruitment Bounty: A Treasure Trove of Tips
Welcome to Recruitment Bounty: A Treasure Trove of Tips, a feature in the first edition of our Inside CASA newsletter each month. The feature includes ideas and tips related to recruitment and awareness to help spark creativity and grow your skills. We will be collecting all of the monthly tips and archiving them on this page so you can always refer to back to them. We encourage you to take these tips and see how you can implement them in a way that works for your program.
Treasure Trove Archive
September 2024
Mix up your information sessions to tie them into awareness months, holidays, or events in your community. Use the time to not only talk about your program and being a CASA volunteer but to share facts around the foster care system that specifically relate to what’s currently going on. And it doesn’t hurt to have a cool name for your sessions. Check out how CASA in the Heart of Texas celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month during their Facts and Snacks information session.
July 2024
Team up with local restaurants to distribute coasters with your program information and a QR code to your website. Coasters are a cost-effective and easy way to reach a lot of people in your community and can be ordered and printed from most online or local promotional shops. Check out this example from CASA of Bee, Live Oak and McMullen Counties.
June 2024
With the school year ending, teachers may be retiring and looking for a new pursuit to fill their time. Retired teachers make for great CASA volunteers as many are already familiar with CASA and love helping and supporting kids. Use the Texas Retired Teachers Association directory to find and contact your local retired teacher’s chapter, and ask how you can get in front of retired teachers or hand out materials to their members.
May 2024
June is a month with a lot to celebrate – Father’s Day, Pride Month and Juneteenth! Which one can your program focus on to help diversify your volunteer base? For Father’s Day, attend an event with a large presence of men, perhaps a local rodeo or men’s fellowship gathering. For Pride Month, grab some swag and attend a festival or parade. For Juneteenth, work with leaders to get involved with community events. Remember, bringing awareness to the CASA mission is an integral part of recruitment!
April 2024
It’s impossible for someone to be everywhere all at once. Let your banners do the talking for you and ask businesses in your community to sponsor your banner for a day, a week, or however long you agree upon. Simply put up your banner in their business and give them a shout out on social media. Be sure to leave behind some materials that people visiting the business can take or set up a QR code that directs them to your website. Check out this post asking for banner sponsors and this example of their banner at work from Child Advocates – CASA of Red River.
March 2024
When you travel throughout Texas, there is no shortage of historical movie theaters that have been around since the early 1900s. Movie-going is one of America’s favorite pastimes! We encourage you to jump on the movie train and partner with your local theater to run a CASA public service announcement before each movie. You can also host a movie night at the theater as a thank you to your volunteers. Child Advocates San Antonio has built a strong partnership with their local theater company, Santikos. Check out this video they made that plays before each movie starts.
February 2024
Partner with a local chef/restaurant, movie theater, zoo, etc. to host a bring-a-friend event. Invite current volunteers with the stipulation they must bring a guest that is not currently a CASA volunteer. See what the local organization can donate that is special to your group (private tasting or movie screening, or inside access to an attraction). Your volunteers feel appreciated and you get to tell your CASA to story to potential volunteers. It’s a win, win!
January 2024
Since word of mouth is our number one recruitment tool, think of how you can make it easy for current volunteers to spread the word to their social circles. Consider having recruitment materials such brochures, videos, volunteer descriptions, your information session or training calendar, an application, etc. in an easy to access place online so whenever volunteers are going to places, they can quickly share all about CASA. If internet access isn’t always reliable, you can put all of the materials on a flash/thumb drive and hand it out to staff, board, volunteers, judges, etc.
December 2023
Many employers offer paid time off each month for employees to volunteer. Have you researched them in your area? We encourage you to make a flier to send to the HR department of employers you find who offer this benefit to hand out to their employees. Check out this handout that CASA of Central Texas sent to multiple state agencies who have employees in their area.
November 2023
Potential CASA volunteers are not only looking to help children and families, they are also looking for a community. Show off the connection between your staff and volunteers by hosting a live event on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram. Invite staff and volunteers to talk about their role and the work of a CASA volunteer. Be sure to have your current volunteers share the event on their social channels and via email for free word-of-mouth advertising. Check out this example by Georgia CASA.
Want to brainstorm more ideas with the Texas CASA recruitment team? Email Dennise Jackson at djackson@texascasa.org or Lindsey Lee at llee@texascasa.org.
