ETIQUETTE
A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT BROUGHT TO YOU BY IMAGE IMPACT
HOW TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH VOLUNTEERS—
REACH OUT FOR SUCCESS BY PAMELA JUDD, AICI CIP
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on-profit organizations move their mission forward with the help of volunteers. Small businesses can too. At Image Impact International, we reach out to volunteers to tap the passion and productivity of our Board of Directors, Civility Council, and College 2 Career 2 Community Impact teams. As an image consultant, you may benefit from the following easy-to-use tips if you are thinking about bringing volunteers such as interns into your business.
First, identify potential opportunities for volunteer support. Ask yourself what your top three projects are over the next 3-6 months. Think about the skills needed to achieve these goals. Do you need an organized, detail-minded administrative assistant or an outgoing sales champion? Create a compelling list of attributes to describe who you want for your dream team. Spell out what you want your volunteers to focus on and show how they will benefit from these opportunities. Craft an authentic outreach message that resonates and attracts potential volunteers. Second, look at new ways to find volunteers such as Idealist.org and popular internship sites. Consider reaching out to a local college or university. Try offering schools experiential or “service learning” opportunities, an exciting trend in education today. For example, Image Impact International recently collaborated with two professors and their classes at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). College student teams produced invaluable results for our nonprofit. Student projects included developing different competitive analyses, offering branding and social media 26 | January 2015 magazine
recommendations, and conducting student focus groups. Valued supervision was provided by AICI members Daphne Magna, Tamara Glick, and Cindy Ann Peterson, AICI FLC. Student volunteers got the chance to give back and add real life experience to their resumes. In return, Image Impact International benefitted from the feedback of college students, the very millennial population we serve through our College 2 Career 2 Community Impact philanthropic program. Their creative ideas were also an added bonus in our needs analysis process, which is a requirement to become an IACET.org Continuing Education Unit (CEU) provider. Finally, stay in touch with volunteers and keep them active in your cause or business by recognizing their contributions during and after your collaboration. Profile their passion and productivity through online success stories plus a simple but effective volunteer recognition program. To find out more or reach out to us as a volunteer, contact Image Impact International VP Governance Mary Spalter at mspalter@sbcglobal.net or visit www.imageimpact.org.
Pamela Judd, AICI CIP, is the President of Image Impact International, a global philanthropic non-profit community of trainers, which empowers students to successfully transition into the workforce by equipping them with leadership, communication, and presentation skills. Contact Pamela at juddpamela@aol.com.