How to recruit new members?
Almost everyone in my club is a senior who is graduating in May, and I am having a hard time recruiting new students to guarantee the club and campaign will stay alive. If you are dealing with this also or have dealt with it in the past please share any tips, ideas and or recommendations you have!
Community Answers
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It’s good you’re thinking about this early! I would ask your school if you can send out a mass communication (email blast, social media etc) to get out the word that you’re looking for new members. I would also suggest creating an application, so that individuals with a strong commitment to the Fair Trade club sign up.
Another idea, I would look up relevant clubs and reach out to individuals personally that you might think are a good fit given their role on other clubs. Explain that you want student representation from different clubs on your Fair Trade committee.
Some other ideas for building strong committees in this blog:
https://fairtradecampaigns.org/2016/02/building-your-team-becoming-a-fair-trade-university/
I am contacting you to inquire about today’s meeting scheduled for 1:30? Is it still occuring? If so I need the conference information.
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——– Original message ——–
From: jgilmanvorm
Hey Jess + Cal Lutheran!
I agree with what Tori said about reaching out to other relevant clubs and organizations. I also think that creating an application that interested students fill out is a great idea! If people are interested enough to fill out paperwork or a survey – they are more likely to put time and effort into your campaign.
Another option would be to reach out to professors teaching lessons on economics, trade, human trafficking, sustainability, ethical consumerism, gender studies, etc … and ask if they would either be willing to talk about Fair Trade or have a rep from your campaign visit a class and give a short presentation. Students signing up for a class related to Fair Trade might also be interested after being educated!
Another idea might be to designate each member of your team to recruit and then mentor one younger student. I’m sure the people on your team have at least one person who might be interested in mind and be able to educate them and excite them about the cause.
Hope this helps! I hope others will have more ideas or suggestions – thanks for utilizing the forum as a resource!
Rosalie
Jess
The responses so far give you some really great tools and resources to utilize in helping to address the concerns you have in regards to recruitment. I would definitely check out the Sustainable Leadership blog post that Tori posted for you. You’ll find several ways to help build a strong team as well as links to different case studies that can potentially help you.
I also will mirror what was said in the comment above in that going into different lectures to give a mini presentation on Fair Trade is another tactic to utilize. Of course, speak the professor ahead of time about this so they can make the time in their schedule. If there is a way to connect the course’s overall topic to Fair Trade, that can help to appeal to the interests of the students. Another little incentive, bring some Fair Trade treats (chocolate perhaps?).
When talking about Fair Trade, make it into a narrative. Appeal to the interests of the individual. Many people buy coffee or tea daily. Make these links and suggest how they can help contribute to the improvement of the lives of marginalized populations in the global south that produce these commodities.
I hope that helps!
Jackie
Ditto to everything everyone is saying up to this point!! Every year I go through this for Fair Trade, the Sustainability Program, and the student org EcoRollins. I start thinking about who is replacing who at least in mid fall semester!! Yes…..reach out to any groups that have similar interests…….I pull Fair Trade student members from both EcoRollins and the sust. program. How about majors …….. like Social Entrepreneurship , Environmental Studies, Sustainable Development? Reach out to faculty that teach those subjects…….
I agree that reaching out to faculty and visiting classes has been a great way to move the campaign forward. Also, if you are light with numbers in the campaign, but have a couple good leaders, maybe invest some time in targeting incoming first years. We use the summer time to gather lists of interested students and reach out to them before they even arrive on campus.