Youth mentoring nonprofit
A youth mentoring nonprofit needed more volunteers, especially men, and needed them to stay.
Prior experience: pro bono work done as part of a management consulting team, before Periscale.
The challenge
Busy work schedules are the most common reason people give for not volunteering, and recruiting was the organization’s biggest roadblock. It needed outreach that would bring in more men and give every volunteer a reason to stay.
Thinking differently
Profiles of today’s volunteers and research into similar programs pointed to a different way in for men: a shared activity with other men, not a cold sign-up. The idea for sponsored sports days came from a case study of another mentoring organization that had made it work. Corporate and faith partners could bring men in groups.
An extraordinary result
The organization adopted the sponsored days and has now held two: a corporate partner hosts men for football or another sport, and they meet a young person who could become their match.
A partner hosts the day, and men meet potential matches while they play.
Partners bring groups of potential mentors at once.
A clear picture of who volunteers today, and who is missing.
What has worked for comparable mentoring organizations.
How it scaled
Each partner brings a group of potential mentors at once, rather than one recruit at a time.
Your next step
We can find who you’re missing and why, and build a recruiting plan around the partners who can bring them to you.
