Mobilizing and activating members: recruitment and retention 101

The following resource was compiled using existing organizer databases and resources by movement thinkers on mobilizing new members, and using thoughts from grassroots organizers who attended our learning circle on navigating turnover in student groups. This guide was developed in response to request from grassroots groups asking for tips on growing their membership, that is, on effective recruitment and retention strategies.

Beginning the planning process

Before you begin building or defining your recruitment and retention plan, reflect as a team on the following:

• Why are we here, and how did we get here?

• Who used to be around and why did they leave?

• What keeps people sticking around?

Models for defining stages of recruitment, involvement and retention

Each stage of recruitment, involvement and retention, depending on where folks fall in the following models, requires a targeted set of strategies.

Three categories of potential organizers

The Future Ground Network describes three stages where individuals fall in the recruitment process:

1. Prospects (not yet involved)

2. Recruits (people who engage with the group in some capacity)

3. Teammates (members of the group)

Circles of commitment

The circles of commitment helps to model the stages on involvement of people engaging with or in your group, by acting as an outline for you plan to move people from the outer circles (low commitment) to the inner circles (high commitment).

Diagram from: Momentum Training Community

Levels of the circles of commitment

Community targets	Audiences you try to reach out to and engage; those not yet involved with your group in any capacity. See the section on community mapping for more on defining your targets. Your prospects.
Crowd	Your mailing list and/or social media following. Your prospects.
Membership	Those who regularly participate; i.e. those who respond to calls to action. Your recruits.
Committed	High action takers and people who would consider themselves formal 'members' of a group. Your teammates.
Core	Steers a lot of the group's direction; typically includes those who have been in the group the longest, or who have the most lived and/or organizing experience. (In smaller teams, the committed and core may be combined). Your teammates.

Ladder of engagement

The ladder of engagement can be another helpful tool for describing calls to action folks who are not involved in your group can take to become engaged, whilst also considering how people can increase their engagement towards becoming more active members. Someone who is a “1,” or at the bottom of the ladder in the model has no connection to your campaign or issue, and a “5” is someone who is ready to show up at an action.

Actions on the ladder escalate in intensity and/or demand or requirements of the individual as they move up and become more active. Consider what people might need to feel confident in moving up the ladder, or moving from prospects, to recruits and to teammates, and how you can support.

Of course, the ladder should serve as an outline only. Some people might be more willing to participate in an action that make phone calls. The idea, however, is to paint a picture of which actions have the fewest barriers to entry, that can encourage folks to get more involved as active members.

Image by: 350.org

Strategies for recruiting prospects (moving people from community targets to the crowd)

Strategies used here should fall primarily on the lower end of the ladder of engagement (meaning engagement isn't a huge commitment). For example:

• Social media posts with messaging targeted to the particular audience you want to engage.
• Handing out info sheets at actions.
• Writing opinion pieces or reaching out to the local media to amplify your group's message and/or actions. Smaller newspapers are often happy to share events from local groups. Simply contact the editor through your local newspaper's website. You could also ask to share a call for people to join your team.
  
• Asking people to sign a petition
• Asking people to send an email using a pre-drafted template
• Recruitment through postering in the community; make sure to include information about meeting time/location (if available), and how to contact you. 
  
• Direct, one-on-one recruitment (see the below section for more details)

The following strategies were suggested from participants in our navigating turnover in student groups learning circle:

• Using Divest McGill as an example, take over a space for recruitment! We took over space on campus for 3 days, so lots of community building and recruitment was achieved.
  
• Using divest McGill as an example, take your time. Do not organize a meeting too soon after sending a message (allow people to free up their time). Mention an understanding for the lack of time of those who commit.
• In my group at university, we had the privilege of having a garden on campus. This was a big plus for students who wanted to come out and join us in the garden. An outdoor space helps with recruitment!

If you're a university-based group, check out this resource by Divest Ed for more strategies!

One-on-one recruitment

Canvassing means "talking to someone on the street, inviting them into your shared purpose or campaign goal and trying to get their signature and contact information." -The Future Ground Network. Stay tuned for more from our 'deep canvassing' offering. In the meantime, you can learn more about how to engage with people directly to join your group through this resource.

A recruitment pitch, which shouldn't be longer than about 30 seconds, should include  :

a) An explanation of the purpose of your team in general. 

• Who are the people being called to action? What challenge do you hope to inspire others to take action on? What is your vision of successful action? How can we act together to achieve this? And how can they begin now, at this moment? Describe this in two or three sentences.

b) An explanation of why you chose to be a part of the team and why you care about the issue.

• To what values, experiences, or aspirations of your community, will you appeal when you call on them to join you in action? What stories do you share that can express these values? Describe this in two or three sentences.

c) Your hard ask

• Explain what’s happening at the next meeting and directly ask them if they'd like to attend. Specify the time, place and location of the meeting. Make them feel that you want them to be there, but not like they are doing you a favour.
• Make sure your ask is not just a suggestion or statement, but a clear and direct question that elicits a specific commitment. i.e. Will you come out on Tuesday evening at 7pm to our meeting? 

Who and how of reaching prospects: using community mapping

Community mapping aims to gather information about how a community operates to develop the right strategies to mobilize and involve them. Rather than taking a broad approach to recruitment, this longer-term process of listening develops more targeted messaging and approaches, and builds foundations of relationships that are more likely to lead to involvement.

Community mapping can help you identify:

• organizing opportunities
• campaign partners and opportunities for solidarity
• potential threats
• the political climate

This information can support you when developing outreach plans, as well as when building coalitions, developing power maps and deciding on messaging.

Community mapping takes time and it can be resource-intensive. However, it is more effective at building long term, deep and sustainable social change.

Steps of community mapping

1. Define a community	This might include a community... that is being impacted most heavily by an issue (i.e. people living near a construction zone) where some level of protest or activity has already taken place (i.e. a local union)  that your organization already has links to (i.e. another local group) that simply has people who are willing to work with you (i.e. parents or teachers at local schools) Questions to ask that can help you define a community to work with include... What are we currently doing locally? Who are our current and potential allies and partners? Who cares about this issue (consider demographics) and why? (i.e. high school/university students taken an environmental course) What's in the area? (Resources or organizations, Institutions such as churches, schools, hospitals, universities, city hall, etc., unique or problematic features such as amusement parks, factories, etc.)
2. Hold initial meetings to identify what you need to learn and who will help you	Invite a few members of the community to engage in some discussion. Make this as inviting as possible, and ensure it meets their needs! (Is online discussion best? Would they prefer to discuss over coffee?) Initial meetings are held to clarify information and discuss who might be contacted next and how. Ideally, initial meetings will enthuse community members to engage in the next steps. Further meetings can be held in informal and culturally appropriate settings Questions to ask during these meetings include... What's the best way of approaching people? Where can people be reached? How can the process be widened? What language(s) are used? What activities do people enjoy? What do people care about? What are the sources of tension? What are our threats? Where can we meet?
3. Document and carry out the plan outlined through discussion with community members	Carry out mobilization strategies specifically targeting the audience you identified. Then you can repeat the process again for another community target group! Draft a couple of lines you'll use for outreach, or a message if you're doing online outreach. Direct, one-on-one outreach or asks to join an action or group are often much more successful than general call outs. Get in touch with people directly as much as possible.

Strategies for moving recruits into teammates (from the crowd into membership/committed circles) 

Strategies used here should fall primarily on the mid to upper end of the ladder of engagement. For example:

• Holding regular social/meet up/welcome events for new or interested members to learn more about the group, and more about those involved
• Promoting positions or tasks that need filling on social media
  
• Developing a teach-in presentation for folks to deliver 
• Asking others to facilitate a team decision making process
• Asking folks to participate in or sharing opportunities to help organize an event

The following strategies were suggested from participants in our navigating turnover in student groups learning circle:

• Divest McGill made a document to inform incoming members of who the board of directors (the targets) for their campaign were, complete with their names, photos and info on each. Helps new members plug in.
• In some schools, a bootcamp (3 day online intensive) to get people up to speed on information, and bring the information to new people, is helpful. The important thing is to keep the relationships!

Retention suggestions

• Take action! Actions are not only a great opportunity to hand out flyers to people passing by; they also give existing members the feeling of having an impact, which keeps everyone motivated (rather than sitting through endless meetings). 
• Don't neglect the value of joy and connection in mobilizing. These are the elements that both draw people in and help them to stay. Invest intentional time into getting to now one another, and having fun together! Examples might include going out for coffee together, having a potluck, attending a local music event etc.
• Ask people for their accessibility needs; what is keeping them from attending meetings or actions? How can you make engagement more accessible to them? See our wiki on making your activism accessible for more.
  
• Have a welcome plan prepared for new joiners to welcome them and provide the information they need about the group they're joining! This might look like a welcome presentation or meeting to review key documents and inner workings, for example.

If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.

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